08-05-2012, 07:13 PM
Quote:I was under the impression he had served as a tribune in Britain.He might have done, but not till the 70s or 80s. His father-in-law Agricola was a tribune under Paulinus though, and that's probably where T got his info (he may also have known Paulinus personally, of course). But it's true we don't know what T did or didn't know... all we have is what he wrote. So his description of the battle site could be spot on (maybe he visited it, if he was in Britain?), but could be something he got second-hand from Agricola, or could even be invention. I prefer to believe it's accurate myself, but that also means believing in the essential accuracy of the rest of his account...
Nathan Ross