Germanic names

[D B Campbell]

As a dyed-in-the-wool imperial Romanist, I confess that this late Roman thread is making my head spin. But there is one point that I cannot let pass.

One other source document is the Notitia Dignitatum, which mentioned veterans (or the descendents of retired veterans) operating in Britain long after the departure of the legions. ...
Written about 250 years after the reported presence of Sarmatian cavalry among the Roman forces in Britannia, the list of units reports a cuneus veteranorum Sarmatorum, commonly translated "troop of Sarmatian veterans", at Bremetennacum (now Ribchester in Lancashire).

(1) The Notitia Dignitatum mentions a lot of units which date back to Antonine and Hadrianic times. This is simply testimony to the longevity of Roman regiments and shouldn't be used to support a "special case".

(2) My copy of the Notitia text does not mention a "cuneus veteranorum Sarmatorum, commonly translated 'troop of Sarmatian veterans', at Bremetennacum". The version in front of me just now reads:
cuneus armatarum Bremetenraco
"commonly" ( :wink: ) emended to read cuneus Sarmatarum, Bremetenaco (i.e. cavalry unit of Sarmatians, at Ribchester).

The whole veteran thing rests on one of Sir Ian Richmond's more elaborate flights of fancy. We simply don't know why the Ravenna Cosmography records Ribchester as "Bresnetenaci Veteranorum" -- yes, the RC is the culprit, not the ND --, but it's worth noting that this is not the RC's only divergence from our other sources.