This page created 21 June 2014, and last modified: 21 June 2014

The Equites Cornuti iuniores is one of the vexillationes palatinae listed in the Magister Equitum's cavalry roster in the western half of the empire. Its shield pattern as shown in various manuscripts is as below:

The shield pattern, except in the Froben edition (B), features a yellow boss encircled by a number of band; working outwards, they are yellow (blue and then red in W), green (faded in M, white in W), yellow (white in W), blue (red in W), and then indigo (faded in M, blue in W). It thus does not particularly resemble the pattern of any of the other cavalry units, and especially not the the Equites Cornuti seniores - except that in the Froben edition (B), the patterns of both Equites Cornuti units are strangely somewhat similar (and divergent from those of the other manuscripts), as shown below:

The Equites Cornuti iuniores is not assigned to any command in the Notitia, while the Equites Cornuti seniores is assigned to both the Magister Peditum's Italian command and the Magister Equitum's Gallic command. Clearly one of the two disposition listings should say iuniores rather than seniores, but it is not clear which; the balance of probabilities lies with the more senior Italian command getting the senior unit, and thus the Gallic command getting the Equites Cornuti iuniores.

The name Cornuti is usually taken to mean "the horned ones" (though other etymologies have been advanced); the shield pattern here does not reveal any association with this derivation of unit name, unlike with the (infantry) Cornuti seniores.

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