NOVA ROMA - Ludi Romani 2759 a.U.c

For these Ludi Romani, I have immediatly thought to the stones that we have found, with amici Laureatus, Amatus, and Astur. It was in ancient Vindolanda (now Chesterholm, Cumbria, England), in a quiet garden below the roman fort, during the european conventus in Britannia, one month ago.

I have felt that these stones deserved a place in our ludi, because they gave us an entertainment, that we enjoyed in a joined hispanico-brittanico-gaulish approach, and a pretty interesting brain exercise.

As life is always a matter of choice, let us choose Cornelius’s stone, registered by the scholars under the number RIB 01713.

 As shows the picture attached to this article, the text says :

DM                                                                CORN VICTOR SC                                                                MIL ANN XXVI CIV                                                               PANN FIL SATURNI                                                              NI PP VIX AN LV D XI                                                              CONIUX PROCURAVI

 DM is for « dis manibus », which were at the same time, in early ancient Rome, all the deads living in the underworld and the personal ones, not so kind with the alive, of the individual celebrated by the stone. Perhaps because this formula may be read on many funeral stones, we forget that it has appeared lately, in the second half of the 1^st century AD.

 Then, we identified quickly in « CORN VICTOR » a « Cornelius Victor ». In a first time, I translated the « SC » by « Scipio », but afterwards, some doubts arose in my mind. But let us go on.

« MIL ANN XXVI » told us that Cornelius Victor SC has been « miles » (MIL = soldier) during 26 years, that he was Hungrian (CIV = civis + PANN = Pannonius) and son of a Saturninus (FIL SATURNINI).

We had a new difficulty with the « PP ». I remembered that it could have around 20 meanings : from, for example, « papa » to « pater piissimus », by « pro patriae » « provincia pannonica », to « pro praetore ».

Let us cowardly keep « PP » aside, for the moment and carry on.

As the stone was an epitaph, dedicated to a dead (it begins by DM), we understood that « VIX » meant « vixit » (lived) and, necessarily, « AN LV D XI » « annos LV dies XI », which means « 55 years and 11 days ».

The end of the epitaph was easy to read, too : his wife (CONIUX) made the stela (PROCURAVI-T).

Looking to each other, we smiled : an easy translation ! So it was giving :

 « D(is) M(anibus) / Corn(elius) Victor SC/ mil(es) ann(os) XXVI civ(is) / Pann(onius) fil(ius) Saturni/ni PP vix(it) an(nos) LV d(ies) XI / coniux procuravi(t) », what is to say :

 « To the infernal gods. Cornelius Victor SC, citizen from Pannonia and son of Saturninus soldier 26 years long PP and lived 55 years and 11 days. His wife made the stela. »

 But, on the way back to Carlisle, I realised that we might have been too fast on some points.

 First, usually, the texts beginning by DM (dis manibus) are written at the dative. Was it the case here ? Not sure.

Apparently, Victor’s widow was not rich enough to afford a large stone. In fact, we may imagine two possible versions : a first with dative, a second one without.

The first one would give : « To the infernal gods of Cornelius Victor SC, citizen from Pannonia and son of Saturninus PP, soldier during 26 years. He lived 55 years and 11 days. His wife made the stela. ». We see that this version asks us to stop one first sentence after PP, because VIX is for « vixit », at the 3^rd person singular and thus does not suit our dative.

The second version, the nominative’s one, would be our first translation. But, in this case, the sentence may be correct, but seem unbalanced : we should wait the « vixit » to have a verb. So I told myself that we could replace the « miles » by a verb : « militavit » (served as soldier). It would then give :

« To the infernal gods. Cornelius Victor SC, citizen from Pannonia and son of Saturninus has been soldier 26 years long PP and lived 55 years and 11 days. His wife made the stela. ».

 Second, why did we infer that Victor’s wife has spoken at the 3^rd singular case (procuraviT) ? Why not at the first one (procuravI), as it is written ?

Naturally, this last argument is not a definitive one : if we had no abbreviation in epitaphs, we would not have « DM », « MIL » or « VIX » and so on. But could not the sculptor have found a tiny place for one little « T » ? Not necessarily, as show other roman inscriptions : the sculptor often realises that he has to insert a reduced letter or withdraw it.

Here, the direct and simple style could drive us to support the possibility of the loss of the « T ». In other stelas at the 1^st singular person, we usually find added words - first her/his name - emphasizing the intervention of the dedicant.

So let us stay on our « His wife made (the stela). »

 Third, I thought that our « vixit annos... dies » (accusative) could have been « vixit annIs... dieBUs » (dative).

In the early empire, such verbs were followed by the dative. The use of the accusative appeared in the 3-4 th centuries, specially in recent romanised parts of the empire. We have unfortunately no way to decide in favor of either of these hypothesis. Anyway, the meaning of the epitaph does not suffer of this uncertainty.

 Let us come back to our « SC » and « PP ». What do they mean ?

 The « PP » has been easy for us, for we have supposed, after some hesitations, that it could be « primipilus ».

That way, we more used our intuition than a strict logical reasoning. In the way back to Carlisle, I asked myself : « why may we put aside such meanings as « pro praetore », « provincia Pannonia » or « pater piissimus » ?

First, it would not be normal to find, after a first indication on the Pannonian citizenship of Cornelius Victor, a second reference on Pannonia, furthermore with the precision « provincia ». Second, an expression like « pater piissimus » asks some relation with children, who we are not told of in our epitaph. We do not know if Cornelius had any child. Third, the expression « pro praetore », even if it appeared sometimes under a « PP » abbreviation, was more often written « PR PR ». Furthermore, it would precise a « legatus » placed before. And, in our case, Cornelius seemed to be a simple soldier, and neither a legate of a legion nor a legate governing an imperial province.

But overall I remembered that the two letters « P » of our « PP » was sticked, not separated by a space like in « pro praetore », « pater patriae », and so on. Then, the focus was changing : such « PP » in roman inscriptions translates just six, and not twenty, expressions : « papa », « pedes », « perpetuus », « posuerunt », « praepositus » and « primipilus » or « primipilaris ».

Without entering in details, the correct translation could only be « primipilus ». And this precision was not of little importance.

 Because if Corn. Victor was primipilus, he was a centurion, and more, a centurion who belonged to the 1^st cohort of his legion. This cohort was the only one to provide such position. Our Cornelius was a confirmed soldier, a veteran, one of the few who belonged, with the civil top officers, to legion headquarters meetings.

Now, remembering that Cornelius has served 26 years, and not 20 as legionaries did, we may say that he belonged to an auxiliary corps.

Then, the tentation is to place him in one of the Pannonian corps which were garrisoned in Britain at this time.

For example, soldier Gemellus, which diploma is now in the British museum, has been discharged on 17 july 122 from his ala I Pannoniorum Tampiana. But it existed another Pannonian ala (« wing » : auxiliary cavalry unit) at this time : the ala I Pannoniorum Sabiniana.

Could Cornelius Victor has commanded to Gemellus ? Has he lived at this time ? Perhaps, but we have no certitude.

At this step of our reasoning, we immediatly see a question and an indication.

The question is, if we suppose that Cornelius Victor belonged to an ala, what a centurion primipile did in an ala, which are theorically separated from normal cohorts and reserved to cavalry. We will let this question open here. We may observe that another inscription from Vindolanda (AE 1975, 00572) speaks of a « Co(hors) II P(annoniorum) », which seems to have been in other Britain places too. But a primipile in a 2^nd cohors ? No.

Perhaps an epitaph in Cawfields (RIB 01667), a two kilometers near Vindolanda/Chesterholm milecastle that we visited two days later, would give a solution : we are told of a « cohor(tis) I Pannoniorum ». Here would be our 1^st cohors... 

The observation, then, is on the service time : 26 years, and not 25. For the auxiliaries had to serve 25 years (stipendiae). When they were to serve one more year, it was because the discharges were made on odd years. But which year ?

 So ! Our text can be now read as follows :

 « To the infernal gods. Cornelius Victor SC, citizen from Pannonia and son of Saturninus has been soldier 26 years long, (centurion) primipile, and lived 55 years and 11 days. His wife made the stela. ».

 Before looking to our last hardship - the « SC » - we can tell ourselves than, as we do not know how old was Cornelius Victor when he entered in the roman army, we do not know how long he lived after having retired. Generally, a young man entered the army around 20, but could do between 16 to 26.

 Then comes the « SC » !

 I had a doubt on « Scipio ». Yes, the cognomen could have been abbreviated... On the other side, names of soldiers and centurions do not often show a cognomen.

But if it was not « Scipio », what else could it be ? The only « SC » use that I remembered was for « sanctus ». Here, no place for such a « sanctus » after the name, and no sign of christian references in the epitaph.

The others « SC » that I had in mind were in fact « S C », with a space between the two letters, as for « Senatus Consultum » or « Sub Cura ». On one hand, there was no space spliting the S from the C and, on a second, no such expression would have suit here.

Then ?

 Laureatus gave us the solution, finding the translation of the inscription, a few yards of us : SC was for « governor’s guard » ! But we did not get the words in latin. The fight was not over...

 Back in France, I finally found the last key : S was for « singularis » and C for « consularis ».

 The word of « singularis » has arisen in the Flavian period to design the emperor bodyguards. These men, who were first knights (equites) were elite troops, not common, thus called « singulares ». In the following decades, this term has definitively designed all the guards who had to protect one high rank central or provincial officer. At Hadrian’s period (from 117 to 138 AD) specially, the governor of Britain, but, also, the legate of each legion, were protected by such groups (numeri) of bodyguards (singulares), tough or veteran soldiers who had been choosen in the various units that were garrisoned in provincia Britannia.

 Our Cornelius Victor thus belonged to elite Britain troops at this time. The fact that he was a primipile centurion let me think that he had, in this « numerus singularium » a important rank. He may have commanded it.

 But whose group has he belonged ? The governor’s one or the legion legate’s one ?

 The last word gives us the solution : « consularis ».

 This adjective is one of those who designed the office of the governor of Britain, because, as a imperial province where troops were in garrison, Britannia was commanded by a imperial legate (« legatus Augusti pro praetore ») who also belonged to the group of « consulares ».

 In the republican times, this last word designed previous consuls. During the empire, the consulares were mostly « consules suffecti », designated for two to four months. They had no power as suffect consuls. Some legates might, too, receive the consulate during their provincial office, and this distinction did not change anything in their provincial task.

 So, our Cornelius was in fact one of the closest bodyguard of the governor of Britain, perhaps around 130, when the Pannonian troops were garrisoned in Britain.

 Our inscription gives thus the following translation :

 « To the infernal gods. Cornelius Victor, (centurion) primipile (and) governor’s guard, citizen from Pannonia and son of Saturninus, has been soldier 26 years long and lived 55 years and 11 days. His wife made the stela. ».

 A last word : the precision of the « 11 days » that lived Cornelius after his last birthday, back home in Vindolanda. I find it touching...