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Britannia Secunda

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Roman BritainaroundAD 410,without speculative provincial borders.

Britannia SecundaorBritannia II(Latinfor "SecondBritain") was one of theprovincesof theDioceseof "theBritains"created during theDiocletian Reformsat the end of the 3rd century.[1]It was probably created after the defeat of the usurperAllectusbyConstantius Chlorusin AD 296 and was mentioned in thec. 312Verona Listof the Roman provinces. Its position and capital remain uncertain, although it probably lay further from Rome thanBritannia I.At present, most scholars place Britannia II inYorkshireand northernEngland.If so, its capital would have beenEboracum(York).

The traditional arrangement of the late Roman provinces afterCamden,[2]placing Secunda in Wales. On the basis of modern archaeology, Prima at least reached as far north asCorinium.
Another possible arrangement of the late Roman provinces, with Secunda in northern England

History[edit]

Following theRoman conquest of Britain,it was administered as asingle provincefromCamulodunum(Colchester) and thenLondinium(London) until theSeveran Reformsfollowing the revolt of itsgovernorClodius Albinus.These divided the territory intoBritannia SuperiorandBritannia Inferior,whose respective capitals were at Londinium and Eboracum. During the first phases of theDiocletian Reforms,Britain was under the control of theAllectus'sBritannic Empireas part of theCarausian Revolt.At some point after the territory was retaken byConstantius Chlorusin AD 296, theDiocese of the Britains(with itsvicarat Londinium) was formed and made a part ofPrefectureofGaul.The Britains were divided among three, four, or five provinces,[a]which seem to have borne the namesPrima,Secunda,Maxima Caesariensis,and (possibly) Flavia Caesariensis andValentia.[b][4][5]

The placement and capitals of these late British provinces are uncertain, although theNotitia Dignitatumlists thegovernor(praeses) of Britannia II as beingequestrianrank, making it unlikely to have been based inLondinium.[why?]The list of bishops who attended the314 Council of Arlesis patently corrupt[c]but generally assumed to have mimicked the Roman administration: it seems certain one of the bishops was from Eboracum, even if his name ( "Eborius") was ascribal error.[7]

Camden[edit]

William Camdenargued for a placement of Secunda inWales[2]andCharles Bertram's highly-influentialforgeryOn the State of Britainplaced Secunda gave it borders on theDeeandSevern;[8]this was generally accepted from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century before being revealed as a fraud. It has been generally discounted since the discovery of inscriptions showing western England was part ofPrima,with a possible capital atCorinium.

Valentia[edit]

Main:Valentia

Ammianusrecords that in the year 369Count Theodosiusestablished or refounded the province ofValentia(further attested in theList of Offices) from lands recaptured from "the enemy".[9]Its location is a matter of scholarly debate, but some place it atHadrian's Wallin the area aroundLuguvalium(Carlisle). If so, it would have been formed at some point in the 4th century out of territory formerly administered from Eboracum. Others place it betweenHadrian's Walland theAntonine Wallor inWalesin the area aroundDeva(Chester); in both cases, some of the territory also may have been formerly administered from Eboracum prior to the reörganization.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Polemius Silvius's 5th-centuryNomina Omnium Provinciarumgives six provinces, but Roman administration over theOrcades(Orkney) is generally discounted. Some modern scholars such asBirley,however, believeMaximaandFlaviawere originally a single province Caesariensis which was later divided. This comports withCamden[2]and some texts ofSextus Rufus,although they make the original province Britannia Maxima.
  2. ^Valentia is generally treated as a later formation and placed variously beyondthe Wall,around the Wall, and in Wales. It may, however, have simply been another name for the British diocese as a whole.[3]
  3. ^"Nomina Episcoporum, cum Clericis Suis, Quinam, et ex Quibus Provinciis, ad Arelatensem Synodum Convenerint" [ "The Names of the Bishops with Their Clerics who Came Together at the Synod of Arles and from which Province They Came" ] from theConsilia[6]inThackery[7](in Latin)

References[edit]

  1. ^Frere, Sheppard(1967).Britannia: a history of Roman Britain.Cambridge:Harvard University Press. pp. 198–199.
  2. ^abcCamden, William(1610) [Original text published 1586],"The Division of Britaine",Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland,translated byPhilemon Holland
  3. ^Dornier, Ann (1982). "The Province of Valentia".Britannia.13:253–260.doi:10.2307/526498.JSTOR526498.S2CID162652243.
  4. ^Notitia Dignitatum.
  5. ^Verona List.
  6. ^Labbé, Philippe&Gabriel Cossart(eds.)Sacrosancta Concilia ad Regiam Editionem Exacta: quae Nunc Quarta Parte Prodit Actior[The Sancrosanct Councils Exacted for the Royal Edition: which the Editors Now Produce in Four Parts], Vol. I: "Ab Initiis Æræ Christianæ ad Annum CCCXXIV" [ "From the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Year 324" ], col. 1429.The Typographical Society for Ecclesiastical Books (Paris), 1671.
  7. ^abThackery, Francis.Researches into the Ecclesiastical and Political State of Ancient Britain under the Roman Emperors: with Observations upon the Principal Events and Characters Connected with the Christian Religion, during the First Five Centuries,pp. 272 ff.T. Cadell (London), 1843.
  8. ^Hughes, William.The Geography of British History: A Geographical Description of the British Islands at Successive Periods from the Earliest Times to the Present Day: With a Sketch of the Commencement of Colonisation on the Part of the English Nation,p. 87.Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green (London), 1863.
  9. ^Ammianus,XXVIII, iii.
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