This page created 9 August 2014, and last modified: 9 August 2014

The Equites armigeri seniores is listed as the first of the vexillationes comitatenses in the Magister Equitum's cavalry roster. Its shield pattern as shown in various manuscripts, under the label Armigeri, is as below:

The shield pattern is simple, showing a plain green main field (faded to yellow in M), and a white boss quartered with red (black in B, white in M, and divided into 6 in W rather than 4). As such, it shares its pattern, if not the colour scheme, with a number of other units in the Notitia, and amongst western cavalry units in particular, the Equites promoti seniores and the Equites sagittarii Parthi seniores.

There are apparently two units of Equites armigeri seniores in the western half of the empire: one is assigned to the Comes Africae, while the other is assigned to the Magister Equitum's Gallic command. However, in the Magister Equitum's cavalry roster there is but one unit called Equites armigeri seniores; there is however another unit called the plain Equites armigeri. It would appear that the plain Equites armigeri is the Gallic unit, as in the cavalry roster, the following troop order is recorded:

Equites stablesiani Africani
Equites Marcomanni
Equites armigeri seniores
Equites sagittarii clibanarii
Equites sagittarii Parthi seniores

Equites stablesiani seniores
Equites Marcomanni
Equites armigeri seniores
Equites clibanarii
Equites sagittarii Parthi seniores

The name Armigeri should probably imply 'armoured', and given most soldiers were armoured to some extent, likely 'heavily armoured'. Accordingly, some have taken the cavalry armigeri units to be the equivalent of horse catafracts. However, this is just one of many possible explanations of the title - see my discussion on Armigeri for more details. In the Notitia, in addition to the two Equites armigeri (seniores) units mentioned above, six other cavalry units carry the title.

Return to the Notitia alphabetical unit list page.
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