One of the most important historical documents surviving from Late Antiquity is known as the Notitia Dignitatum. The full title explains its purpose: “Notitia dignitatum et administrationum omnium tam civilium quam militarium.”
Translation: “The list of all dignities (or ‘titles’) and administrative posts, both civil and military.”
Most scholars believe it was likely created as a private initiative, not originally as an official document of the Roman imperial government. However, the degree to which it depends on official sources is still debated. The Notitia Dignitatum includes several thousand titles, ranging from the members of the imperial court to the offices of provincial governments. It also contains hundreds of colored shield designs representing military units, although no information is provided on the size of these units when the document was made.
The Origins of the Organizational Structure
The Notitia Dignitatum reflects reforms enacted by various emperors following the crisis that wracked the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. These reforms were introduced by Diocletian, who saved the empire from collapse, Constantine, who consolidated Diocletian’s changes, and finally Theodosius, the last effective reforming emperor before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
The document is divided into two parts—one for the Eastern and one for the Western halves of the empire. It lists the dignitates (official titles) for civil and military administration, organized by territory. However, notable differences in the two parts of the Notitia are not harmonized, and this discrepancy leads many scholars to believe they were produced at different times.
Dating the Document’s Sections
The Eastern section of the document dates to 395, when Diocletian’s division of the empire into Eastern and Western halves became permanent. This division was often undone and redone by Constantine and his successors. The Western section exhibits signs of disorganization in the military hierarchy, reflecting the Western Empire’s instability due to defeats at the hands of various barbarian tribes.
Different parts of the Western half were completed at different times. For example, the section on Britain must have been completed before the Romans left the island in 410, while other sections date closer to the beginning of Valentinian III’s reign in 425.
Surviving Manuscripts
All surviving copies of the Notitia Dignitatum derive from a single Carolingian manuscript, which was once housed in the library of the Cathedral of Speyer, Germany, but was lost before 1672. The copy held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) was made directly from the Speyer manuscript in 1436, when it was brought to Basel, Switzerland during an ecumenical council for one of the participating bishops. The manuscript includes various illustrations, such as shield designs, Roman soldiers, and personifications of provinces.
Illustrations from the Notitia Dignitatum
Below are a few examples of the types of images found within the Notitia Dignitatum:
- Frontispiece: A depiction of the Roman imperial eagle dominating the world, alongside the ancient motto SPQR.
- Soldiers and Chariots: Soldiers driving a currus dripanus, or a scythed chariot.
- Personifications: The provinces of Macedonia and Dacia are personified. The inclusion of Dacia indicates that the document reproduces older information, as the Romans evacuated Dacia in 275.
- Shields of Military Units: A page displaying the shields of 16 military units—the most common type of illustration in the Notitia.
5. Symbols of Office: The signs of a noble quaestor, who is responsible for dictating “wholesome laws.”