Woods, D.

2012

August

Latomus

On the Alleged Letters of Honorius to the Cities of Britain in 410

Published

()

71

3

818

826

The end of Roman Britain has been traditionally dated to 410 on the basis of a passage in Zosimus which claims that the emperor Honorius sent letters to the cities in Britain in that year telling them to defend themselves, but it has long been argued that the context shows that the reading of the name of Britain in this passage is corrupt. Bruttium has been the preferred correction, but it better suits the political context to correct the name to refer to Raetia instead.

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