The Chronicle of Hydatius

This chapter will reexamine the different layers of the Chronicle of Hydatius – bishop of the bustling Galician town of Aquae Flaviae for more than 40 years (427–ca. 469) ¹ – and the apocalyptic thinking of the author visible in them. Building on the seminal works of Richard Burgess and Carmen Cardelle de Hartmann, we need to pay attention to the chronicle’s specific political and ecclesiastical context and connect it to late antique traditions of historical writing and apocalyptic discourse. Although Hydatius’ approach to the end of history seems to be quite straightforward, given that it was primarily founded on the calculation of the end and the nightmarish visions that would accompany it, the added value of the Chronicle’s lies in the intertextual approach the author takes to his work. His apocalyptic rhetoric was not solely connected to the interpretation of specific, outstanding political events, but formed a commentary to the historical account – in the process creating a dialogue between bible, historiography and a radically changing present. Hydatius explained the fundamental political changes of his time in the light of prophecies from the Old Testament, interpreting the destruction of all worldly powers, Roman Empire and barbarian kingdoms alike, as a process of transformation. In doing so, he also incorporates the idea of renewal and renovation into his chronicle: in the end, these kingdoms would give way to God’s promised eternal empire, old structures would perish and new ones arise (Rev 21). Hydatius’ chronicle thus allows us to gain a deeper understanding into the way one observer in the middle of the fifth century thought the end of the Roman Empire and the arrival of God’s kingdom would unfold.