Editing Roman Britain (section)

=== Fourth century government ===
{{Main|Britannia I|Britannia II|Flavia Caesariensis|Maxima Caesariensis|Valentia (Roman province)}}
[[File:Roman Britain 410.jpg|right|upright=0.9|thumb|One possible arrangement of the late Roman provinces, with [[Valentia (Roman Britain)|Valentia]] between the walls]]
[[File:Roman Britain - AD 400.png|right|upright=0.9|thumb|Another possible arrangement, with other possible placements of [[Valentia (Roman province)|Valentia]] noted]]

In a reform carried out by 312, the Diocese of Britain was divided into four provinces, ''Maxima Caesariensis'', ''Flavia Caesariensis'', ''Britannia Prima'' and ''Britannia Secunda''. The [[Roman diocese|diocese]] was governed by a ''[[vicarius]]'', and Britain was part of the Gallic region under the overall authority of a [[praetorian prefect]], based at [[Trier]].{{sfn|Mattingly|2006|p=227}}

The ''vicarius'' was based at Londinium as the principal city of the diocese.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stillwell |first1=Richard |last2=MacDonald |first2= William L. |last3=McAllister |first3=Marian Holland |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0006:entry=londinium |website=perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> Londinium and Eboracum continued as provincial capitals and the territory was divided up into smaller provinces for administrative efficiency.

Civilian and military authority of a province was no longer exercised by one official, and the governor was stripped of military command, which was handed over to the ''[[Dux Britanniarum]]'' by 314. The governor of a province assumed more financial duties (the procurators of the Treasury ministry were slowly phased out in the first three decades of the 4th century). The Dux was commander of the troops of the Northern Region, primarily along Hadrian's Wall, and his responsibilities included protection of the frontier. He had significant autonomy due in part to the distance from his superiors.<ref>Collins, Rob. Hadrian's Wall and the End of Empire, Routledge, 2012 ISBN 9780415884112</ref>

The tasks of the ''vicarius'' were to control and coordinate the activities of governors; monitor but not interfere with the daily functioning of the Treasury and Crown Estates, which had their own administrative infrastructure; and act as the regional quartermaster-general of the armed forces. In short, as the sole civilian official with superior authority, he had general oversight of the administration, as well as direct control, while not absolute, over governors who were part of the prefecture; the other two fiscal departments were not.

The early-4th-century [[Verona List]], the late-4th-century work of [[Sextus Rufus]], and the early-5th-century [[Notitia Dignitatum|List of Offices]] and work of [[Polemius Silvius]] all list four provinces by some variation of the names [[Britannia Prima|Britannia I]], [[Britannia Secunda|Britannia II]], [[Maxima Caesariensis]], and [[Flavia Caesariensis]]; all of these seem to have initially been directed by a [[governors of Roman Britain|governor]] (''[[praeses]]'') of [[equestrian (Roman)|equestrian]] rank. The 5th-century sources list a fifth province named [[Valentia (Roman Britain)|Valentia]] and give its governor and Maxima's a [[Roman consul|consular]] rank.{{Efn|The [[Verona List]] actually includes a note that the Diocese of the Britains had ''six'' provinces, but then lists four. [[Sextus Rufus]] listed six provinces, including the highly dubious "province of Orcades" ([[Orkney Islands]]). Some scholars{{Who|date=February 2015}} argue that the initial reforms established three provinces: Britannia&nbsp;I, Britannia&nbsp;II, and Britannia Caesariensis, which was subsequently divided into Flavia and Maxima.}} [[Ammianus Marcellinus|Ammianus]] mentions Valentia as well, describing its creation by [[Count Theodosius]] in 369 after the quelling of the [[Great Conspiracy]]. Ammianus considered it a re-creation of a formerly lost province,<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]]. ''Rerum gestarum Libri XXXI'' [''31 Books of Deeds'']. {{Abbr|a.|Before}}&nbsp;391&nbsp;AD. {{In lang|la}} Translated by [[Charles Duke Yonge|Charles Yonge]]. [[s:Roman History/Book XXVIII#III|''Roman History'', Vol.&nbsp;XXVIII, Ch.&nbsp;III]]. Bohn (London), 1862. Hosted at [[s:Main Page|Wikisource]].</ref> leading some to think there had been an earlier fifth province under another name (may be the enigmatic "Vespasiana"?<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2019 |title=A R O S: VESPASIANA: A PROVINCE OF ROMAN BRITANNIA? |url=https://adviceandresearch.blogspot.com/2019/12/vespasiana-province-of-roman-britannia.html}}</ref>), and leading others to place Valentia beyond [[Hadrian's Wall]], in the territory abandoned south of the [[Antonine Wall]].

Reconstructions of the provinces and provincial capitals during this period partially rely on [[Celtic Christianity|ecclesiastical]] records. On the assumption that the early bishoprics mimicked the imperial hierarchy, scholars use the list of bishops for the [[Council of Arles (314)|314 Council of Arles]]. The list is patently corrupt: the British delegation is given as including a [[Eborius|Bishop "Eborius"]] of [[Eboracum]] and two bishops "from [[Londinium]]" (one ''{{Lang|la|de civitate Londinensi}}'' and the other ''{{Lang|la|de civitate colonia Londinensium}}'').{{Efn |"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 the ''Consilia''<ref>[[Labbé, Philippe]] & [[Gabriel Cossart]] (eds.) [https://download.digitale-sammlungen.de/BOOKS/pdf_download.pl?id=bsb10321964 ''Sacrosancta Concilia ad Regiam Editionem Exacta: quae Nunc Quarta Parte Prodit Actior'' &#91;''The Sancrosanct Councils Exacted for the Royal Edition: which the Editors Now Produce in Four Parts''&#93;, Vol.&nbsp;I: "Ab Initiis Æræ Christianæ ad Annum CCCXXIV" &#91;"From the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Year 324"&#93;, col.&nbsp;1429.] The Typographical Society for Ecclesiastical Books (Paris), 1671.</ref> in [[Francis Thackery|Thackery]]<ref name=thacky/> {{In lang|la}}}} The error is variously emended: [[Bishop Ussher]] proposed ''[[Colonia Victricensis|Colonia]]'',<ref>Usserius, Jacobus &#91;[[James Ussher]]&#93;. ''Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, Quibus Inserta Est Pestiferæ adversus Dei Gratiam a Pelagio Britanno in Ecclesiam Inductæ Hæreseos Historia'' [''Antiquities of the Britannic Churches, into Which Is Inserted a History of the Pestilent Heretics Introduced against the Grace of God by Pelagius the Briton into the Church''], Vol.&nbsp;I., Ch.&nbsp;VIII, (Dublin), 1639. Reprinted as [https://archive.org/stream/wholeworkswithli05usshuoft#page/236/mode/2up ''The Whole Works of the Most Rev.&nbsp;James Ussher, D.&nbsp;D. Lord Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of All Ireland'', Vol.&nbsp;V, Ch.&nbsp;VIII, p.&nbsp;236]. Hodges, Smith, &&nbsp;Co. (Dublin), 1864. {{In lang|la}}</ref> [[John Selden|Selden]] ''Col.'' or ''[[Colonia Camaloduni|Colon. Camalodun.]]'',<ref>Eutychius Ægyptius &#91;[[Eutychius the Egyptian]]&#93;. Edited, translated, & with commentary by Ioannes Seldenus &#91;[[John Selden]]&#93;. [https://books.google.com/books?id=u4xaAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA118 ''Ecclesiæ suæ Origines'' &#91;''Origins of His Church''&#93;, p.&nbsp;118.] R.&nbsp;& T.&nbsp;Whitaker for Richard Bishop (London), 1642. {{In lang|la}}</ref> and [[Henry Spelman|Spelman]] ''[[Colonia Cameloduni]]''<ref>Henricus Spelman &#91;[[Henry Spelman]]&#93; [https://books.google.com/books?id=SGlNAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA639 ''Concilia, Decreta, Leges, Constitutiones, in Re Ecclesiarum Orbis Britannici. ''Viz.'' Pambritannica, Pananglica, Scotica, Hibernica, Cambrica, Mannica, Provincialia, Dioecesana. Ab initio Christianæ ibidem Religionis, ad nostram usque ætatem'' &#91;''Councils, Decrees, Laws, Constitutions, Regarding the Churches of the Britannic Sphere. To wit, Great Britain, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Man, Provincial, Diocesan. From the start of the Christian Religion there to our very age''&#93;, Vol.&nbsp;I, Index, p.&nbsp;639.] Richard Badger (London), 1639. {{In lang|la}}</ref> (all various names of [[Colchester]]);{{Efn |Although Ussher refers the reader to his earlier discussion of the [[28 Cities of Britain]], which notes that "Cair Colun" may refer to either Colchester in Essex or to a settlement in [[Merionethshire]].<ref>Usserius, Vol.&nbsp;I, Ch. V, reprinted as Ussher, Vol.&nbsp;V, [https://archive.org/stream/wholeworkswithli05usshuoft#page/82/mode/2up p.&nbsp;82.] {{In lang|la}}</ref>}} [[Thomas Gale|Gale]]<ref name="giter">Gale, Thomæ &#91;[[Thomas Gale]]&#93;. [https://archive.org/stream/antoniniiterbri00galegoog#page/n124/mode/2up ''Antonini Iter Britanniarum'' &#91;''Antoninus's Route of the Britains''&#93;, "Iter V. A Londinio Lugvvallium Ad Vallum" &#91;Route 5: From Londinium to Luguvalium at the Wall&#93;, p.&nbsp;96.] Published posthumously & edited by [[Roger Gale (antiquary)|R.&nbsp;Gale]]. M.&nbsp;Atkins (London), 1709. {{In lang|la}}</ref> and [[Joseph Bingham|Bingham]]<ref>[[Bingham, Joseph]]. ''[https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_4rL7herLUK8C#page/n453/mode/2up Origines Ecclesiasticæ: The Antiquities of the Christian Church. With Two Sermons and Two Letters on the Nature and Necessity of Absolution. Reprinted from the Original Edition, MDCCVIII–MDCCXXII With an Enlarged Analytical Index.]'' Vol.&nbsp;I, Book&nbsp;IX, Ch.&nbsp;VI, §20: "Of the British church in England and Wales", p.&nbsp;396. Henry G. Bohn (London), 1856.</ref> offered ''{{Lang|la|[[colonia Lindi]]}}''<!--sic--> and [[Robert Henry (minister)|Henry]]<ref>Henry, Robert. [https://archive.org/stream/historyofgreat01henr#page/142/mode/2up ''The History of Great Britain, from the First Invasion of It by the Romans under Julius Cæsar. Written on a New Plan'', 2nd&nbsp;ed., Vol.&nbsp;I, Ch.&nbsp;2, s2, p.&nbsp;143.] 1st&nbsp;ed. published by T.&nbsp;Cadell (London), 1771. Reprinted by P.&nbsp;Byrne & J.&nbsp;Jones (Dublin), 1789.</ref> ''{{Lang|la|[[Colonia Lindum]]}}'' (both [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]); and [[Edward Stillingfleet|Bishop Stillingfleet]]<ref>[[Stillingfleet, Edward]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aRw1AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA77 ''Origines Britannicæ: or, the Antiquities of the British Churches with a Preface, concerning Some Pretended Antiquities Relating to Britain, in Vindication of the Bishop of St.&nbsp;Asaph'', New Ed., pp.&nbsp;77&nbsp;ff.] Wm.&nbsp;Straker (London), 1840.</ref> and [[Francis Thackeray]] read it as a [[scribal error]] of ''Civ. Col. Londin.'' for an original ''[[Colonia Legionis II|Civ. Col. Leg. II]]'' ([[Caerleon]]).<ref name="thacky">Thackery, Francis. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtgDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA272 ''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.&nbsp;272&nbsp;ff.] T.&nbsp;Cadell (London), 1843.</ref> On the basis of the Verona List, the priest and deacon who accompanied the bishops in some manuscripts are ascribed to the fourth province.

In the 12th century, [[Gerald of Wales]] described the supposedly [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan sees]] of the [[Celtic Christianity|early British church]] established by the legendary [[list of Welsh saints|SS]]&nbsp;[[Saint Fagan|Fagan]] and "[[Saint Duvian|Duvian]]". He placed [[Britannia Prima]] in [[Wales]] and western England with its capital at "[[Isca Augusta|Urbs Legionum]]" ([[Caerleon]]); [[Britannia Secunda]] in [[Kent]] and southern England with its capital at "[[Dorobernia]]" ([[Canterbury]]); [[Flavia Caesariensis|Flavia]] in [[Mercia]] and central England with its capital at "[[Londinium|Lundonia]]" ([[City of London|London]]); "[[Maxima Caesariensis|Maximia]]" in northern England with its capital at [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]); and [[Valentia (Roman Britain)|Valentia]] in "[[Alba]]nia which is now [[Scotland]]" with its capital at [[St Andrews|St&nbsp;Andrews]].<ref name="letter">Giraldus Cambriensis [Gerald of Wales]. {{Cite web |year=1877 |title=''De Inuectionibus'' [On Invectives], Vol.&nbsp;II, Ch.&nbsp;I, in ''Y Cymmrodor: The Magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion'', Vol.&nbsp;XXX, pp.&nbsp;130–1. |url=https://archive.org/stream/ycymmrodor30cymmuoft#page/130/mode/2up}} George Simpson &&nbsp;Co. (Devizes), 1920. {{In lang|la}}; [[Gerald of Wales]]. Translated by [[W.S. Davies]] as [https://archive.org/stream/ycymmrodor30cymmuoft#page/16/mode/2up ''The Book of Invectives of Giraldus Cambrensis'' in ''Y Cymmrodor: The Magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion'', Vol.&nbsp;XXX, p.&nbsp;16.] George Simpson &&nbsp;Co. (Devizes), 1920.</ref> Modern scholars generally dispute the last: some place Valentia at or beyond [[Hadrian's Wall]] but St&nbsp;Andrews is beyond even the [[Antonine Wall]] and Gerald seems to have simply been supporting the antiquity of its church for political reasons.

A common modern reconstruction places the consular province of Maxima at Londinium, on the basis of its status as the seat of the diocesan ''vicarius''; places Prima in the west according to Gerald's traditional account but moves its capital to [[Corinium Dobunnorum|Corinium]] of the [[Dobunni]] ([[Cirencester]]) on the basis of an artifact recovered there referring to Lucius Septimius, a provincial [[rector (politics)|rector]]; places Flavia north of Maxima, with its capital placed at [[Lindum Colonia]] ([[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]) to match one emendation of the bishops list from Arles;{{Efn |[[Bede]] also references a ''{{Lang|la|Provincia Lindisi}}'' or ''{{Lang|la|prouinciae Lindissi}}'', which was a later Saxon territory at the time of the [[Gregorian mission]].<ref>[[Beda Venerabilis]] [The Venerable Bede]. [[s:la:Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum - Liber Secundus#16|''Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum'' &#91;The Ecclesiastical History of the English People&#93;, Vol.&nbsp;II, Ch.&nbsp;XVI]]. 731. Hosted at [[:s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]]. {{In lang|la}}; Bede. Translated by [[Lionel Cecil Jane]] as [[s:Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 2#16|''The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation'', Vol.&nbsp;2, Ch.&nbsp;16]]. J.M.&nbsp;Dent &&nbsp;Co. (London), 1903. Hosted at [[s:Main Page|Wikisource]].</ref>}} and places Secunda in the north with its capital at Eboracum (York). Valentia is placed variously in northern Wales around [[Deva Victrix|Deva]] ([[Chester]]); beside [[Hadrian's Wall]] around [[Luguvalium]] ([[Carlisle, England|Carlisle]]); and between the walls along [[Dere Street]].