|
Constans – Roman Emperor: 337-350 A.D. –
Bronze AE3 16mm (1.19 grams) Cyzicus mint: 347-348 A.D.
Reference: RIC 50
(VIII, Cyzicus)
DNCONSTANSPFAVG – Diademed (rosettes) head right.
Exe: SMKZ –
Wreath, VOT/XX/MVLT/XXX within.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Constans (Latin:
Flavius Julius Constans Augustus)
(c.323–350) was
Roman Emperor
from 337 to 350. He defeated his
brother
Constantine II
in 340, but anger in the army
over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards led the
general Magnentius
to rebel, resulting in the
assassination of Constans in 350.
Career
Constans was the third and youngest son of
Constantine the Great
and
Fausta
, his father’s second wife. He was
educated at the court of his father at
Constantinople
under the tutelage of the poet
Aemilius Magnus Arborius
.
On 25 December 333, Constantine I elevated Constans to the rank
of
Caesar
at
Constantinople
. Constans became engaged to
Olympias
, the daughter of the
Praetorian Prefect
Ablabius
, but the marriage never came to
pass.With Constantine’s death in 337, Constans and his two brothers,
Constantine II
and
Constantius II
, divided the Roman world between
themselves and disposed of virtually all relatives who could possibly have a
claim to the throne.The army proclaimed them
Augusti
on September 9, 337. Almost
immediately, Constans was required to deal with a
Sarmatian
invasion in late 337, over whom he
won a resounding victory.
Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by
Constantine I
: from left to right,
the territories of
Constantine II
, Constans,
Dalmatius
and
Constantius II
. After the death of
Constantine I (May 337), this was the formal division of the Empire,
until Dalmatius was killed and his territory divided between
Constans and Constantius.
Constans was initially under the guardianship of Constantine II. The original
settlement assigned Constans the
praetorian prefectures
of
Italy and Africa
.[6]
Constans was unhappy with this division, so the brothers met at
Viminacium
in 338 to revise the boundaries.[6]
Constans managed to extract the prefecture of
Illyricum
and the
diocese of Thrace
,[6]
provinces that were originally to be ruled by his cousin
Dalmatius
, as per Constantine I’s proposed
division after his death.[5]
Constantine II soon complained that he had not received the amount of territory
that was his due as the eldest son.[7]
Annoyed that Constans had received Thrace and
Macedonia
after the death of Dalmatius,
Constantine demanded that Constans hand over the African provinces, which he
agreed to do in order to maintain a fragile peace.[7][8]
Soon, however, they began quarreling over which parts of the African provinces
belonged to Carthage
, and thus Constantine, and which
belonged to Italy
, and therefore Constans.[9]
This led to growing tensions between the two brothers, which were only
heightened by Constans finally coming of age and Constantine refusing to give up
his guardianship. In 340 Constantine II invaded Italy.[8]
Constans, at that time in
Dacia
, detached and sent a select and
disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, stating that he would follow them in
person with the remainder of his forces.[7]
Constantine was eventually trapped at
Aquileia
, where he died, leaving Constans to
inherit all of his brother’s former territories –
Hispania
,
Britannia
and
Gaul
.[4]
Constans began his reign in an energetic fashion.[4]
In 341-42, he led a successful campaign against the
Franks
, and in the early months of 343 he
visited
Britain
.[3]
The source for this visit,
Julius Firmicus Maternus
, does not provide a
reason, but the quick movement and the danger involved in crossing the
channel
in the dangerous winter months suggests
it was in response to a military emergency, possibly to repel the
Picts
and
Scots
.[3]
Regarding religion, Constans was tolerant of Judaism but promulgated an edict
banning pagan sacrifices in 341.[3]
He suppressed Donatism
in Africa and supported
Nicene orthodoxy
against
Arianism
, which was championed by his brother
Constantius. Although Constans called the
Council of Sardica
in 343 to settle the
conflict,[10]
it was a complete failure,[11]
and by 346 the two emperors were on the point of open warfare over the dispute.[12]
The conflict was only resolved by an interim agreement which allowed each
emperor to support their preferred clergy within their own spheres of influence.[12]
Death
In the final years of his reign, Constans developed a reputation for cruelty
and misrule.
Dominated by favourites and openly preferring his select
bodyguard, he lost the support of the
legions
who were also offended by his
homosexuality. In 350, the general
Magnentius
declared himself emperor at
Augustodunum
with the support of the troops on
the Rhine
frontier, and later the western provinces
of the Empire. Constans was enjoying himself nearby when he was notified of the
elevation of Magnentius.
Lacking any support beyond his immediate household, he was
forced to flee for his life. As he was trying to reach either Italy or Spain,
supporters of Magnentius cornered him in a fortification in
Vicus Helena
(now
Elne) in the
Pyrenees
, southwestern
Gaul
, where he was killed after seeking
sanctuary in a temple.
A laurel wreath is a circular
wreath
made of interlocking branches and leaves
of the
bay laurel
(Laurus nobilis), an aromatic
broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher’s broom (Ruscus
hypoglossum) or cherry laurel (Prunus
laurocerasus). In
Greek mythology
,
Apollo
is represented wearing a laurel wreath
on his head. In
ancient Greece
wreaths were awarded to victors,
both in athletic competitions, including the ancient
Olympics
made of wild olive-tree known as “kotinos“
(κότινος),[1]
(sc. at
Olympia
) and in poetic meets; in
Rome
they were symbols of martial victory,
crowning a successful commander during his
triumph
. Whereas ancient laurel wreaths are
most often depicted as a
horseshoe
shape, modern versions are usually
complete rings.
In common modern idiomatic
usage it refers to a victory. The
expression “resting on one’s laurels” refers to someone relying entirely on
long-past successes for continued fame or recognition, where to “look to one’s
laurels” means to be careful of losing rank to competition.
Academic use
Ovid
with laurel wreath, common in
poets.
In some countries the laurel wreath is used as symbol of the
master’s degree
. The wreath is given to young
masters in the
graduation ceremony
of the university. The word
“Laureate”
in ‘poet
laureate‘ refers to being signified by the laurel wreath. The
medieval Florentine poet and philosopher
Dante Alighieri
,[dubious
–
discuss
] a graduate of the
Sicilian School
, is often represented in
paintings and sculpture wearing a laurel wreath.
Laureato[3]
is the term used in Italy
to refer to any graduated student. In
some italian regions (Veneto,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
and
Trentino
), right after the graduation ceremony
(in Italian: laurea), the student receives a laurel wreath and is allowed
to wear it for the rest of the day. This tradition was born in the
University of Padua
and since the end of the
19th century is common to all
northeastern Italian
universities.
At
Connecticut College
in the United States,
members of the junior class carry a laurel
chain
, which the seniors pass through during
commencement. It represents nature and the continuation of life from year to
year. Immediately following commencement, the junior girls write out with the
laurels their class year, symbolizing they have officially become seniors and
the cycle will repeat itself the following spring.
At
Mount Holyoke College
in
South Hadley, Massachusetts
, United States,
laurel has been a fixture of
commencement
traditions since 1900, when
graduating students carried or wore laurel wreaths. In 1902, the chain of
mountain laurel
was introduced; since then,
tradition has been for seniors to march across campus, carrying and linked by
the chain. The mountain laurel represents the
bay laurel
used by the
Romans
in wreaths and crowns of honor.[4]
At Reed College
in
Portland, Oregon
, United States, members of the
senior class receive laurel wreaths upon submitting their senior
thesis
in May. The tradition stems from the use
of laurel wreaths in athletic competitions; the seniors have “crossed the finish
line,” so to speak.
At
St. Mark’s School
in
Southborough, Massachusetts
, students who
successfully complete three years of one classical language and two of the other
earn the distinction of the Classics Diploma and the honor of wearing a laurel
wreath on Prize Day.
In Sweden
, those receiving a Doctorate or an
Honorary Doctorate
at the Faculty of Philosophy
(meaning Philosophy, Languages, Arts, History and Social Sciences), receive a
laurel wreath during the ceremony of conferral of the degree.
Architectural and decorative arts motif
“Victory, A Knight Being Crowned With A Laurel Wreath” by
Frank Dicksee
.
The laurel wreath is a common motif in
architecture
,
furniture
, and
textiles
. The laurel wreath is seen carved in
the stone and decorative plaster works of
Robert Adam
, and in
Federal
,
Regency
,
Directoire
, and
Beaux-Arts
periods of architecture. In
decorative arts, especially during the
Empire period
, the laurel wreath is seen woven
in textiles, inlaid in marquetry, and applied to furniture in the form of gilded
brass mounts.
Alfa Romeo
added a laurel wreath to their
logo after they won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in
1925 with the
P2
racing car.
|
