The Prima Flavia Gallicana Constantia



This page created 23 March 2014, and last modified: 10 June 2014 (commentary added to, Froben image added)

Spear

The Prima Flavia Gallicana Constantia is listed as one of the pseudocomitatenses units under the Magister Peditum and assigned to the Magister Equitum's Gallic command under the label Prima Flavia Gallicana. Its shield pattern is shown in various manuscripts under the label Constantia as below:

Prima Flavia Gallicana Constantia shield patterns



Disclaimer: remember, I'm not an expert in the field of Notitia studies, so take my comments with a grain of salt...


The shield pattern is relatively simple, showing a green boss (faded in M), an indigo main field (faded in M, W), and a red rim; some sort of brown mammal (white in B) leaps above the boss; the leaping animal motif is not a particularly rare one in the Notitia.

It is clear that the men of the Prima Flavia Gallicana Constantia are the same as formerly commanded by the Praefectus militum primae Flaviae, stationed at Constantia (modern Coutances, in France), under the Dux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani; see under his entry for details. The units is thus apparently not related to the similarly-named Prima Flavia Constantia found under the command of the Magister Militum per Orientem (presumably raised by Constantine Chlorus).

Other units with similar names are the Prima Flavia Pacis, a legiones comitatenses under the command of the Comes Africae; the Prima Flavia Theodosiana, another legiones comitatenses under the command of the Magister Militum per Orientem; the Prima Flavia Metis, another pseudocomitatenses unit under the Magister Equitum's Gallic command; the Prima Flavia gemina, a legiones comitatenses under the Magister Militum per Thracias; the Prima Flavia Augustae, a fleet under the Dux Pannoniae secundae; the Prima Flavia Raetorum, an ala under the Dux Raetiae; the Prima Flavia Sapaudica, a cohort stationed in Gaul, but not part of the Magister Equitum's Gallic command; and the Prima Flavia, a cohort under the Dux Palaestinae. As can be seen, "the First Flavian..." was a very common title to be given to a unit in the 4th century!

Spear

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