Notitia Dignitatum
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The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "The List of Offices") is a document of the
late Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
that details the administrative organization of the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of Roman government, and describes several thousand offices from the imperial court to provincial governments,
diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
s, and army units. It is usually considered to be accurate for the Western Roman Empire in the AD 420s and for the Eastern or Byzantine Empire in the AD 390s. However, the text itself is not dated (nor is its author named), and omissions complicate ascertaining its date from its content.


Copies of the manuscript

There are several extant 15th- and 16th-century copies of the document, plus a colour-illuminated iteration of 1542. All the known, extant copies are derived, either directly or indirectly, from ''Codex Spirensis'', a codex known to have existed in the library of the Chapter of
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
in 1542, but which was lost before 1672 and has not been rediscovered. The ''Codex Spirensis'' was a collection of documents, of which the ''Notitia'' was the final and largest document, occupying 164 pages, that brought together several previous documents of which one was of the 9th century. The
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
in illuminated manuscript copies of the ''Notitia'' is thought to copy or imitate only that illustrated in the lost ''Codex Spirensis''. The iteration of 1542 made for
Otto Henry, Elector Palatine Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1559 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559 ...
, was revised with "illustrations more faithful to the originals added at a later date", and is preserved by the
Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...
. The most important copy of the ''Codex'' is that made for
Pietro Donato Pietro Donato (1380–1447) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian Renaissance humanist and the Bishop of Padua (from 1428). He was a noted bibliophile, epigraphist, collector, and patron of art. Born to a Patricianship, patrician family, Pietr ...
in 1436 and illuminated by Peronet Lamy, now in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, Oxford.


Contents

For each half of the Empire, the ''Notitia'' enumerates all the major "dignities", i. e. offices, that it could bestow, often with the location and specific '' officium'' ("staff") enumerated, except for the most junior members, for each. The dignities are ordered by: *Court officials, including the most senior dignitaries such as
praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...
s; *
Vicars A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
and provincial governors, arranged by praetorian prefecture and
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
; and * Martial commanders, ''
Comites Rei Militaris ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
'', and '' Duces'', providing the full titles and stations of their regiments.


Interpretation

The ''Notitia'' presents four primary problems as a source for the Empire's army: # The ''Notitia'' depicts the
Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
at the end of the AD 4th century. Therefore, its development from the structure of the
Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
is largely conjectural because of the lack of other evidence. # It was compiled at two different times. The section for the Eastern Empire apparently dates from circa AD 395 and that for the Western Empire from circa AD 420. Further, each section is probably not a contemporaneous "snapshot", but relies on data pre-dating it by as many as 20 years. The Eastern section may contain data from as early as AD 379, the beginning of the reign of Emperor
Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
. The Western section contains data from as early as circa AD 400: for example, it shows units deployed in
Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
, which must date from before 410, when the Empire lost the island. In consequence, there is substantial duplication, with the same unit often listed under different commands. It is impossible to ascertain whether these were detachments of the same unit in different places simultaneously, or the same whole unit at different times. Also, it is likely that some units were merely nominal or minimally staffed. According to
Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Bro ...
, the ''Notitia Dignitatum'' was an archaising text written circa AD 425, whose unreliability is demonstrated by "the supposed existence of traditional (Roman military) units in Britain and Spain at a time when other evidence shows they were not there." # The ''Notitia'' has many sections missing and ''lacunae'' within sections. This is doubtless due to accumulated textual losses and copying errors, because it was repeatedly copied over the centuries: the earliest manuscript possessed today dates from the 15th century. The ''Notitia'' cannot therefore provide a comprehensive list of all units that existed. # The ''Notitia'' does not record the number of personnel. Given that and the paucity of other evidence of unit sizes at that time, the size of individual units and the various commands cannot be ascertained. In turn, this makes it impossible to assess accurately the total size of the army. Depending on the strength of units, the late AD 4th century army may, at one extreme, have equalled the size of the AD 2nd century force, i. e., over 400,000 men; and at the other extreme, it may have been far smaller. For example, the forces deployed in Britain circa AD 400 may have been merely 18,000 against circa 55,000 in the AD 2nd century.D. Mattingly, ''An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire'' (2006), p. 239.


Depictions

The ''Notitia'' contains symbols similar to the diagram which later came to be known as
yin and yang symbol In Chinese philosophy, a ''taijitu'' () is a symbol or diagram () representing Taiji () in both its monist ('' wuji'') and its dualist (yin and yang) aspects. Such a diagram was first introduced by Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi (; 1017 ...
.Giovanni Monastra:
The "Yin-Yang" among the Insignia of the Roman Empire?
', ''Sophia'', Bd. 6, Nr. 2 (2000)
Isabelle Robinet: "Taiji tu. Diagram of the Great Ultimate", in: Fabrizio Pregadio (ed.): ''The Encyclopedia of Taoism A−Z'', Routledge, Abingdon (Oxfordshire) 2008, , pp. 934−936 (934)Helmut Nickel: "The Dragon and the Pearl", ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'', Bd. 26 (1991), S. 146, Fn. 5 The infantry units ''armigeri defensores seniores'' ("shield-bearers") and ''Mauri Osismiaci'' had a shield design which corresponds to the dynamic, clockwise version of the symbol, albeit with red dots, instead of dots of the opposite colour. The emblem of the ''Thebaei'', another Western Roman infantry regiment, featured a pattern of concentric circles comparable to its static version. The Roman patterns predate the earliest
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
versions by almost seven hundred years, and there is no evidence for a relation between the two.


See also

*
Laeti Laeti , the plural form of laetus , was a term used in the late Roman Empire to denote communities of ''barbari'' (" barbarians"), i.e. foreigners, or people from outside the Empire, permitted to settle on, and granted land in, imperial territory ...
* * *
List of Late Roman provinces This article presents a list of Roman provinces in the Late Roman Empire, as found in the '' Notitia Dignitatum''. Praetorian prefecture of Gauls In Latin, ''Gallia'' was also sometimes used as a general term for all Celtic peoples and their ter ...
*''
Notitia Galliarum The ''Notitia Galliarum'' (or ''Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Galliae'') is a Roman register of cities dating to the 4th–6th centuries AD., contains the text of the ''Notitia'' with a map. The Latin register is divided into two headings. Te ...
'' *
Roll of arms A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centu ...
*''
Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...
'' *
Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...


Citations


Sources and references

*''Notitia Dignitatum'', edited by Robert Ireland, in ''British Archaeological Reports'', International Series 63.2. * ''Westermann Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' contains many precise maps * Klaus-Peter Johne, 'Notitia dignitatum', in: ''
Der Neue Pauly Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...
'' 8 (2000), 1011-1013 * A. H. M. Jones, ''The Later Roman Empire, 284–602. A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey'', The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986,


External links


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extensive links and resources
Placenames from ''Notitia Dignitatum''
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from Pelagios/Pleiades. 1505 toponyms. 1164 matches.


Manuscripts

*
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

full scan of 1436 edition
*
Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...

Notitia Dignitatum Clm 10291
− full online scan of the 1542 manuscript with its modernised illustrations


Latin, web versions

*
Notitia Dignitatum
at
IntraText IntraText is a digital library that offers an interface while meeting formal requirements. Texts are displayed in a hypertextual way, based on a Tablet PC interface. By linking words in the text, it provides Concordances, word lists, statistic ...

''Notitia Dignitatum''
with pictures, from bibliotheca Augustana


Editions

*'' otitia dignitatum; accedunt Notitia urbis Constantinopolitanae et laterculi prouinciarum', Latin with notes by
Otto Seeck Otto Karl Seeck (2 February 1850 – 29 June 1921) was a German classical historian who is perhaps best known for his work on the decline of the ancient world. He was born in Riga. He first began studying chemistry at the University of Dorpat but ...
(1876)
Internet Archive

Medieval Sourcebook
Partial English translation by William Fairley, 1899 {{Authority control Military history of ancient Rome Government of the Roman Empire Latin prose texts Coats of arms of the Roman Empire Comitatenses Late Roman military Late antiquity Illuminated manuscripts Maps of Palestine (region)