The ''Cornuti'' ("horned") was an ''

auxilia palatina ''Auxilia palatina'' (sing. ''auxilium palatinum'') were infantry units of the Late Roman army, first raised by Constantine I as part of the new field army he created in about 325 AD. Some of the senior and probably oldest of these units had speci ...

'' unit of the

Late Roman army In modern scholarship, the "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During the period 395–476, ...

, active in the 4th and 5th century. It was probably related to the ''Cornuti seniores'' and the ''Cornuti iuniores''.

History

According to some scholars, they are depicted on the

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine ( it, Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvi ...

, as the soldiers who are shown wearing horned

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

s. On the relief representing the

Battle of Verona (312) The Battle of Verona was fought in 312 between the forces of the Roman emperors Constantine I and Maxentius. Maxentius' forces were defeated, and Ruricius Pompeianus, the most senior Maxentian commander, was killed in the fighting. Background ...

they are in the first lines, and they are depicted fighting with the bowmen in the relief of the

Battle of the Milvian Bridge The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October 312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the battle and started on the pa ...

. The ''Cornuti'' belonged to the ''

comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lor ...

'' of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, and is attested on the northern border since 355. In 357 it was led by the ''

tribunus Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

Bainobaudes Bainobaudes (c. 320 - 357 AD) was a Roman soldier of Frank ancestry who served under emperors Constantius II and Julian.Burns, T.S., ''Rome and the Barbarians: 100 BC-AD 400''. p332 Bainobaudes was tribune of the ''scola Scutatiorum'' under the '' ...

in an attack against the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

who had attacked the Roman territory and had later retired on a small island. In that same year, the ''Cornuti'' fought the Alemanni in the

Battle of Argentoratum The Battle of Strasbourg, also known as the Battle of Argentoratum, was fought in 357 between the Western Roman army under the ''Caesar'' (deputy emperor) Julian and the Alamanni tribal confederation led by the joint paramount King Chnodomar. ...

, under the command of the emperor Julian. When the Alamannic cavalry caused the Roman ''equites'' to flee, the ''Cornuti'' and its twin unit, the '' Brachiati'', held the enemy horsemen until Julian rallied the Roman cavalry and brought them back in battle. Despite the Romans being victorious,

, the tribune of the ''Cornuti'' was killed. The ''Cornuti'' and the ''Brachiati'' were famous for their '' barritus'', a combination of shout and dance step. The ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

'', a document describing civil and military offices in the Western Roman Empire around 420 and in the Eastern Roman Empire in 395 circa, records the existence of the ''Cornuti seniores'' under the command of the ''magister peditum praesentalis'' of the West. The same source records the existence of the ''Cornuti iuniores'', who fought in the

Battle of Adrianople (378) The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Ala ...

and later part the army of the ''

magister militum praesentalis (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' of the East. Later the ''Cornuti iuniores'' were sent to guard the ''

Porta Aurea The Walls of Constantinople ( el, Τείχη της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the ...

'' of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

together with the '' Leones iuniores'', as testified by an inscription date to 413.Simon MacDowall, ''Late Roman Infantryman'', pag. 50.

Notes

Auxilia palatina