Ferreolus of Rodez

Who is Ferreolus of Rodez?

Ferreolus, also called Ferreolus of Rodez was a Gallo-Roman senator from Narbonne, then Narbo, who later lived in Rodez where his family had also held Trevidos, a villa estate near Segodunum, since the mid fifth century at least. He was the son of Tonantius Ferreolus of Nimes and his wife Industria of Narbo. He was evidently the senator and relative, Ferreolus, who was reported by Apollinaris of Valence in a letter to Avitus of Vienne to have visited him in around 520.

Ferreolus experienced the change in rule from the Visigoths to the Ostrogoths after the Battle of Vouille and from the Ostrogoths to the Franks after the cession of Provence to Theodoric of Austrasia after 534. He was a relative of Parthenius who had served the Ostrogoths and was to become one of Theodoric of Austrasia's key civil officials. The estates of the Ferreoli in the valley of the Gard were near the new borderline between the Franks and Visigoths after the Ostrogoths had ceased to administer Visigothic lands in southern Gaul and Ferreolus and his family ended up with the Franks as masters since the better part of their properties fell within the lands of the new Austrasian kingdom.