The Book of Emperors: A Translation of the Middle High German Kaiserchronik

VIII. Nero

135 Saint Peter preached God’s word, which angered the emperor greatly. Saint Peter instructed many people so that they turned to God. He would bid the dead arise and lepers be cleansed. His power would let those who lay stricken with gout get up. People learned about Saint Peter and how, if people came where he cast his shadow, they would all be cured of their afflictions immediately. Simon, that enemy of God, nursed a deep grudge against Saint Peter . He would often lie to the nobles and just as often deceive the king. He would fly up to the sky and transform his image while the king was looking on. The people began to affirm that they had never seen any deity so marvelous or who pleased them so well, but God was to change that in a hurry. When Lord Faustinian passed away, Simon the Magician advised Emperor Claudius to ban the Holy Apostle from the city of Rome. It angered the Romans that the emperor was following the magician so far. He also abused their women, and so they plotted against his life. He definitely held the Empire for thirteen years and eight months before the Romans poisoned him. VIII Nero Nero (r. 54–68) has served from his own century to our own as the embodiment of evil in a ruler. Claudius, who adopted Nero as a son, had died in 54, poisoned on the orders of Agrippina, his wife of five years and Nero’s mother. She had helped arrange her son’s acclamation as emperor by soldiers, to which the Senate gave its approval. Several years later, Nero saw to it that his mother boarded a boat that had been constructed so that it would fall apart. She saved herself by swimming, but was later killed by soldiers loyal to Nero. 136 Chapter Eight As emperor, Nero persecuted Christians, subjecting them to inhuman tortures, although he did not organize a campaign to eliminate them altogether as Diocletian later attempted to do. Both Saint Peter and Saint Paul are thought to have been executed in Rome during Nero’s reign, which was more than enough to make Nero the symbol of evil for the Christian world. An aspect of Nero’s evil personality that loomed large in late-ancient Christian writings was his boundless curiosity, which led him to reveal forbidden secrets of nature and defy divine sovereignty by toying with God’s handiwork. The story of Nero’s having burned Rome to satisfy his morbid curiosity—one ancient version has him seeking inspiration to write a new epic about it—was widespread following the great fire, but, according to the usually reliable Tacitus, there was no solid evidence to back up the rumors. Nero’s suspicions led him to have many prominent Romans, including the philosopher, Seneca, seized and executed. He was also generally inept in military affairs. When Galba was hailed as emperor, Nero’s shaky support dwindled. On hearing that the senate had recognized Galba and sentenced Nero to death, he committed suicide to avoid a public execution. the Book goes on to tell us that Nero held the Empire. That was absolutely the worst man that a mother ever bore into this world. Once he had Rome set ablaze by having fires started at twelve places at once; that seemed a fine amusement to him. He ordered knights to take up weapons and ride into the middle of the fire; they were all supposed to kill each other. They suffered greatly from the fire and the sword blows, but the king said he wanted to see the marvel of how things went for the brave Trojans when the Greeks inflicted misery on them with fire and sword. If any man escaped the fire Nero ordered him to be killed and fed to the dogs. King Nero busied himself with thinking up more and more evil things to do, so that he would be talked about forever. One day it happened—there were many of the higher nobility sitting before him—he called for his mother to be brought in speedily and ordered Nero 137 her stomach to be slit open. He explained that he wanted to see where he had lain in her womb. Those were really strange things to tell of, but now listen to more about the evil King Nero. He called for wise and knowing...