03-12-2017, 11:32 AM
The navis agrariensis is an intriguing class of ship. As Souter lists 'agraria' directly prior to this word and defines it as 'a 'kind' of military watch' while prior to 'agraria' he lists 'agralis': ' . . . with regard to fields', I suspect the ship-type is less to do with transport than it is to do with surveillance or inshore patrol. I am not familiar with the agraria listing. What sort of military watch is Souter referring to here, I wonder?
D'Amato speculates on the judiciariae vessels and sees one of the Mainz vessels as a possible example. Vessel 3 is beamier and was fitted with a cabin - cubiculum. Souter lists several late Latin words derived from judicator/iudicator and all are to do with judgement, governor, magistrate, or belonging to the governor. The vessel then would seem to be one tasked to transport official civilian dignitaries upriver - superioris - and downriver - inferioris instead of using the road transport. It is amusing that the Theodosian Code specifically states that such vessels should be designated from the refurbished lusoriae and not the newly-built ones in Moesia but that in Scythia, iudiciariae must be brand-new.
I do wonder if these are not specific ship-types though but rather ship designations? The lusoriae class could easily be re-fitted or re-tasked into different roles such as close inshore patrol and also fast dispatch of official dignitaries up and down the Danube.
D'Amato speculates on the judiciariae vessels and sees one of the Mainz vessels as a possible example. Vessel 3 is beamier and was fitted with a cabin - cubiculum. Souter lists several late Latin words derived from judicator/iudicator and all are to do with judgement, governor, magistrate, or belonging to the governor. The vessel then would seem to be one tasked to transport official civilian dignitaries upriver - superioris - and downriver - inferioris instead of using the road transport. It is amusing that the Theodosian Code specifically states that such vessels should be designated from the refurbished lusoriae and not the newly-built ones in Moesia but that in Scythia, iudiciariae must be brand-new.
I do wonder if these are not specific ship-types though but rather ship designations? The lusoriae class could easily be re-fitted or re-tasked into different roles such as close inshore patrol and also fast dispatch of official dignitaries up and down the Danube.
Francis Hagan
The Barcarii
The Barcarii
