L’assedio della Deorici civitas (Cassiod. Or. fr. p. 474, 20 Traube): localizzazione e cronologia

The first fragment of Cassiodorus' panegyric of Witigis and Matasuintha (Cassiod. Or. fr. p. 474, 20 Traube) mentions an otherwise unknown ‘Deorici civitas’. Traube argued that the toponym had been wrongly transcribed by a copist, but Rota has convincingly shown that ‘Deorici’ is in all likelihood a personal name, possibly identifying the ruler of the city. She conjectures that Cassiodorus refers here to the city of Arles, but such reconstruction is unlikely. The fragment deals with the War of Sirmium (504-505), first mentioning Witigis' deeds during the battle of Horreum Margi and then describing the siege of a city held by the Gepids, who spoke a Gothic language and therefore could have been ruled by a chieftain named Deoricus. - Full text available upon request.