Sub-Roman Britain (Cavalry etc)

[Robert Vermaat]

It's good to know that someone else believes in the Notitia Dignitatum's viability. Been a lot of wrangling over it through the decades.

I don't see why we should doubt the text. Most of the wrangling was over the images, especially those of the shield decorations. Some said those were a Medieval fantasy. But as for the text itself, I have no problem whatsoever with that.

But do you think all six units made it into Britain? I always felt that three probably did-- the Equites Honoriani Seniores (aka Equites Taifali Seniors), the Taifali Juniors, and the Catafractarii in the north. And was this a trade-off, with Stilicho pulling out a legion. Still enough footsoldiers left there to raise Constantine to usurper. :?

If they were part of the command of the Comes Britanniarum, they served in Britain with certainty. The document describes that command, so we can be sure that they were present there at the time of writing (c. 495 AD) or in the years after that until c. 425 - although I have doubts about what we can say about Britain, based on the ND, after Constantine III.
As to their stations, they would have been part of the mobile field army for the diocese, so guessing that they would have been billeted around the Midlands might not be odd.