person page - 153

This unnamed noblewoman was a descendant of a senatorial family. The designation "clarissima" was a rank of nobility.

In his Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and the Senatorial Aristocracy of the West, Dr. John Alexander McGeachy writes, "The changing relationship between the emperors and the senatorial nobility was signalized by the development of a new social aristocracy, the clarissimate, which included both the euqestrians, who had not ceased to serve the emperors, and the senators, who were no readmitted to theri service. The older distinctions tended to disappear, and were replaced by the new order of nobility, with irs ranks of clarissimi, spectabiles, and illustres, attained in ascending order according to the importance of the imperial position which the individual held," p. 27.

Senator Avitus' wife was the daughter of Julius Agricola who had been Praetorian Prefect of Gaul in 418.

The Ferreoli were an established noble Gallo-Roman family. One estate was at Trevidos in Gaul, possibly the modern-day Treves.

Flavius Afranius Syagrius was from a Gallo-Roman senatorial family. The earliest thing we know of him is that he served as secretary to Emperor Valentinian I in 369, if not before, he being a young man of education from a distinguished family. During that same year, Valentinian sent Afranius to the frontier of the empire on the Rhine where the barbarian Alamanni were entrenched. Afranius delivered a command to General Arator who was erecting fortifications, to cross the river and erect another fortress. The troops obeyed the imperial order, crossed the river and were ambushed. All were killed except Afranius who had stayed behind on the other side of the river. Syagrius returned to the imperial court at Mediolanum (present day Milan) and informed the emperor of the whole state of affairs. Enraged, Valentinian lashed out at Afranius for having managed to escape and sent him back to his home in Lyons. For an account of this, see Ammianus Marcellinus 28.2.1-9.

The next we hear of Afranius is in 379, four years after the death of Valentinian. He had been appointed by Emperor Gratian, Valentinian's son, as his magister officiorum. This meant Syagrius was the imperial minister in control of the secretariats, the corps of imperial couriers and the Emperor's bodyguard. He likewise regulated the Emperor's audiences, thus Afranius played a central role in the daily administration of the Roman Empire.

Impressed with his capable service, Gratian appointed Afranius as Praetorian Prefect of Italy for three consecutive years, 380-82. At this time, the Praetorian Prefect controlled all courts, troops, and finances and levied taxes. During the reign of Gratian's father, the Roman Empire had been divided into two administrative halves. Gratian governed western Europe and was served by two Praetorian Prefects. Afranius' counterpart administered Italy, part of the former Yugoslavia, as well as northern Algeria and Libya. In 381, the Roman Senate elected Syagrius as Consul of Rome. The consulship is somewhat like a vice-regency; if anything happened to the Emperor, he and the one other consul would take charge. The office of Consul was for one year, as was Praetorian Prefect. This was so that no one person other than the Emperor exercised too much authority, though the Emperor was free to appoint a person Prefect for consecutive terms if he so chose. The case of Afranius being Praetorian Prefect for three consecutive years was a great departure from the norm, obviously indicating the immense honour and trust with which he was held by the Emperor and Senate.

Regarding the consulship, Dr. John McGeachy in his Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and the Senatorial Aristocracy of the West, states that the Consul of Rome was either elected by the Senate or appointed by the Emperor. "The consul had the honor of giving his name to the year, and he too presented his elaborate inaugural games, but after that he had little to do," p. 40. Thus in 381, Flavius Afranius purchased exotic wild beasts and held impressive gladiatorial games in the Colosseum of Rome to mark his ascension to the consulship.

McGeachy further remarks, "The highest social position which a senator could attain was the consulship. By the age of Symmachus [Afranius' contemporary] this office had lost its political power, but the consul ordinarius still gave his name to the year, and the attainment of the consulate marked the culmination of the senator's social career. For that reason the act of entering upon the consulship was surrounded with a most elaborate set of social ceremonies and conventions. Etiquette demanded that the consul send to his friends and to important personages invitations to attend the ceremonies of inauguration. In addition it was customary for the consul to present to the guests who attended or forward to those who sent their regrets, a token gift of a gold piece (solidus)," pp. 98-99.

Syagrius sent one such invitation to Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, the leader of the Senate and distinguished author, who himself later became Consul. Symmachus was born about 345 and died in 402. Symmachus, unfortunately had to decline the invitation of his friend because of the recent death of his brother Celsinus Titianus. See letters 1.101; 3.21; and 9.113.

Syagrius and Symmachus were friends and regular correspondents. The following excerpts are illustrative of their relationship. Symmachus to Syagrius: "Lest you should think me entirely at leisure, I am sending to your erudition in witness of my activities a little publication upon which, not long since, I was accorded the favorable votes of my fellow citizens in the senate. You see how I am anticipating the strictness of your very severe criticism by a decision already given. I plead not the merit of my pen but the judgment of the senate. My audience and I are pleading the same case. All will know, either the agreement of your opinion and theirs concerning me, or your disdainful rejection of their judgment. (Letter 1.105). Syagrius had approved of Symmachus' publication as witnessed in Symmachus letter 1.96 (The numeration of Symmachus' letters is not chronological but the order in which they were later collected and copied in books.) "By the reward of yor praise, you have increased the interest which I was showing in the writing of speeches. Of course, it is an old aphorism that the arts are nourished by honour. What honour, however, is so elevated as the palm of oratory?" (Letter 1.96) This correspondence had taken place around 376, before Syagrius had become Praetorian Prefect.

As a Gallo-Roman Prefect, Afranius would have inherited his position from his well-established ancestral family which at one time might have been intermarried with one of the imperial dynasties. Afranius was buried in Lyons and a statue was erected there in his honour.

Agricola was the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul in 418.

The exact name of Afranius's father is unknown, but given that Afranius was actually (Flavius) Afranius, and that he had a relative, possibly a cousin, named Flavius Syagrius, it is plausible that Afranius' father's given name was Flavius. Afranius' relative (cousin?) Flavius Afranius was somehow related, probably by marriage, to the Imperial Family. However, Flavius was an imperial additional given name and perhaps the Syagrii Family were at some point descendants of a Roman Emperor.

In Professor Samuel Dill's book: Roman Society in Gaul in the Merovingian Age, he wrote, "The Syagrii were a great Gallo-Roman family, possessing estates probably in the neighborhood of Soissons, and also in Burgundy. They were one of those great houses in which, during the Imperial Period, high office was practically hereditary, at a time when high office meant almost regal power." p. 12

Afranius Syagrius' father was of the senatorial class and most probably also served as Praetorian Prefect at one time. The Syagrii had long served the Emperors. Because one of his ancestors served as Praetorian Prefect, I thought it would be enlightening to read about this office during the earlier Imperial Roman period.

Professor Jones writes in volume one of his massive two volume work entitled, The Later Roman Empire 284-602, "The praetorian prefects were originally attached personally to the emperor . . ., and each Augustus and Caesar who ruled a portion of the empire had his prefect. . . . .

By Diocletian's time [284-305], the praetorian prefect had become a kind of grand vizier, the emperor's second in command, wielding a wide authority in almost every sphere of government, military and judicial, financial and general administration. He was the emperor's chief of staff, adjutant-general and quartermaster-general rolled into one, being responsible for the recruitment, discipline and supply of the army and, on occasion, taking command in the emperor's place. As the emperor's delegate he exercised an appellate jurisdiction which covered the whole empire, and from which there was no further appeal, except perhaps to the emperor himself. He exercised a general administrative authority over all provincial governors and through them controlled such services as the post and public works. And finally, since owing to the depreciation of the currency the major needs of the empire were supplied by requistions in kind, operated through the provincial governors, he had become de facto the principal finance minister of the empire." pp. 370-71

This ancestor dubbed Flavius Syagrius was probably a great great grandson of Postumius Suagrus Prefect of Rome in 275. Professor Coville in his book, Flavius Afranius Syagrius, demonstrates how the surname Syagrius is a stylistic descendant cognomen from Suagrus. The surname Suagrus and Syagrius is the Latinization of the Greek noun "suagros" which means wild boar, or hunter of wildboars. The Syagrii family was argueably of Graeco-Roman extraction.

In this case, four generations probably separated Praetorian "Flavius" Syagrius from the Roman Prefect Postumius Suagrus who must have been at least in his forties, if not fifties, by 275. Unfortunately, Afranius Syagrius' ancestry can not be traced back in documented fashion.

This ancestor is "reconstructed." The office of prefect was hereditary; see comments on his son Praetorian Syagrius.

The Syagrii were a Roman senatorial family. This ancestor is "reconstructed" and a hypothetical link.

This person is the unnamed son of Postumius who was Prefect of Rome. This office was hereditary.

In the year 275, Postumius served as Prefect of Rome during the consulate of Aurelius III and Marcellinus when Aurelian was Emperor (270-75) followed by Tacitus (275-76). To be Prefect of Rome, one needed to be an elder statesman, thus at least in his late forties.

His surname Suagrus is a Latin form of the Greek word "suagros" which means wildboar. The family was of Graeco-Roman roots. This Prefect of Roman most probably was a distant ancestor of our last documented ancestor Afranius Syagrius who served as Paretorian Prefect of Italy and Consul of Rome in 381. Because this position was usely hereditary, the connection between Postumius Suagrus and Afranius Syagrius is plausible, though unsubstantiated. Professor Coville has demonstrated that the change in the surname from Suagrus to Syagrius was typical of this time period. See his work (written in French), Flavius Afranius Syagrius, pp. 4-5.

Unfortunately, there is no baptismal record for Thomas; however, a Jonathan, son of Rafe and Mary Travis was baptized 5 Oct 1606. Thus Rafe and Mary might also be the parents of Thomas, who names his son 'Johan' with an abbreviation mark, most probably Jonathan. Consequently, I am adding Rafe and Mary as his parents. Furthermore, the Victoria History makes the following significant statement regarding Croydon cum Clopton. 'By 1524, after the inclosure, the only households were those of the lady of the manor and five labourers. In 1561 only two households remained in the parish, whose former area contained only five or six scattered farms.' Victoria History of the Counties of England, A History ofthe County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol. VIII (Oxford University Press1982), 30. Given that there were only two households in 1560, it is almost certain that Thomas Travis was the son of Rafe Travis, or at least his nephew.