Comes Britanniarum was a military post in
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
, with command of the mobile field army from the mid 4th century onwards.
It is listed in the
Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
as being one of the three commands in Britain, along with the
Dux BritanniarumDux Britanniarum was a military post in Roman Britain, probably created by Diocletian or Constantine I during the late third or early fourth century....
and
Count of the Saxon ShoreThe Count of the Saxon Shore or comes litoris Saxonici was the head of the "Saxon Shore" military command of the later Roman Empire.The post was possibly created during the reign of Constantine I and was probably existent by AD 367 when Nectaridus is elliptically referred to as one by Ammianus...
. His troops were the main field army in Britain or
comitatensesComitatenses is the Latin plural of comitatensis, originally the adjective derived from comitatus , itself rooting in Comes .However, historically it became the accepted name for...
and not the
limitaneiThe limitanei, meaning "the soldiers on the frontlines" , were the frontier garrisons of the Late Roman army and subsequently the Byzantine Empire...
or frontier guard commanded by the other two.
Some historians formerly considered the post to have been introduced after 410 during a now-discounted re-occupation of Britain under Honorius.
The first
comesComes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."-In the...
in Britain was
Gratian the ElderGratianus Funarius, also known as Gratianus Major , also known as Gratian the Elder, was a soldier of the Roman Empire who flourished in the 4th century...
, the father of emperor
Valentinian IFlavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, was Roman Emperor from 364 until his death. Valentinian is often referred to as the "last great western emperor"...
, who commanded the British field army (
comitatusComitatus may refer to:* Comes, a Latin word with similar meaning* Comitatenses, the Roman late Imperial mobile army...
) holding this title.
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Comes Britanniarum was a military post in
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
, with command of the mobile field army from the mid 4th century onwards.
It is listed in the
Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
as being one of the three commands in Britain, along with the
Dux BritanniarumDux Britanniarum was a military post in Roman Britain, probably created by Diocletian or Constantine I during the late third or early fourth century....
and
Count of the Saxon ShoreThe Count of the Saxon Shore or comes litoris Saxonici was the head of the "Saxon Shore" military command of the later Roman Empire.The post was possibly created during the reign of Constantine I and was probably existent by AD 367 when Nectaridus is elliptically referred to as one by Ammianus...
. His troops were the main field army in Britain or
comitatensesComitatenses is the Latin plural of comitatensis, originally the adjective derived from comitatus , itself rooting in Comes .However, historically it became the accepted name for...
and not the
limitaneiThe limitanei, meaning "the soldiers on the frontlines" , were the frontier garrisons of the Late Roman army and subsequently the Byzantine Empire...
or frontier guard commanded by the other two.
Some historians formerly considered the post to have been introduced after 410 during a now-discounted re-occupation of Britain under Honorius.
The first
comesComes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."-In the...
in Britain was
Gratian the ElderGratianus Funarius, also known as Gratianus Major , also known as Gratian the Elder, was a soldier of the Roman Empire who flourished in the 4th century...
, the father of emperor
Valentinian IFlavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, was Roman Emperor from 364 until his death. Valentinian is often referred to as the "last great western emperor"...
, who commanded the British field army (
comitatusComitatus may refer to:* Comes, a Latin word with similar meaning* Comitatenses, the Roman late Imperial mobile army...
) holding this title. It seems to have been an appointment during some unrecorded crisis at the time.
A permanent office was created in the late fourth or early fifth century, perhaps by
StilichoFlavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of semi-barbarian birth.- Career :...
who withdrew troops from Britain to defend Italy in 402. Alternatively, it may have been instituted by
Magnus MaximusMagnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was a Hispano-Roman usurper of the Western Roman Empire from 383 until his death, in 388, by order of Emperor Theodosius I.-Life:...
or
Constantine IIIFlavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English as Constantine III was a Roman general who declared himself Western Roman Emperor in 407, abdicated in 411, and was captured and executed shortly afterwards.-Background:...
.
According to the Notitia Dignitatum the
comes commanded six cavalry and three infantry units, probably a force of no more than 6,000 troops. This tiny force was charged with supporting the frontier troops in fending off the increasing number of barbarian raids during the period. Some units seem to have been transferred from the Duke of Britain's or Count of the Saxon Shore's armies. The office was not in place for long as the last Roman troops are recorded in Britain no later than 409.