How to address a superior officer

[Manius Acilius Italicus]

I've searched around and can't find any historical record of how say a General would address a Legatus Augusti pro praetore. Is it General, Senator, Governor or some imperial reference? Would it depend on whether he was in the field or in a HQ setting?
If this hasn't been covered previously, it would be nice if someone with the knowledge would share.

[Alanus]

I don't think you would have said, "Hey, you!"

Maybe "Sir" would have sufficed.

[Epictetus]

I think it likely that it depended upon the culture of the time and especially upon the relationship between the two.

This doesn't answer your precise question, but we had some similar questions about addressing those of higher rank in the past. Here is what I found in Fronto, by looking at the addresses he uses in his letters:

Interesting question. I imagine that it could vary quite a bit, depending upon how familiar the person was with the Emperor, the Emperor’s personal tastes and the formality and context of the conversation (are they talking in the bath or in the Senate, for instance).

Anyway, I glanced through Fronto to see how he addressed various members of the Imperial family. Of course, this is in writing. Would they speak differently? I don’t know.

When Fronto first became the tutor of Marcus Aurelius, who was at that time Caesar, he says “my Lord.” This is the most popular address through the years, and lasts even after Marcus is Emperor.

Years later, when they become more intimate friends, he calls him simply “Caesar,” “my own Caesar,” “my Lord Caesar,” or “my Lord Marcus Caesar.”

To Domitia Lucilla, Marcus’ mother, Fronto calls her “mother of Caesar.”

Augusta is used for the wife of an Emperor.

To the Emperor he uses “Antoninus Pius Augustus.”

When Marcus first takes the purple, Fronto addresses him as “Lord Antoninus Augustus.” However, he also rarely uses the personal name “Marcus Aurelius” with no titles. Once, in the context of a treatise on love he says “My Dear Boy.” By this time, of course, they were very close friends.

Lucius Verus as Emperor gets “Lord Verus Augustus.”

Now the time frame that you are writing in, I would imagine that the address would be more formal. Under the Dominate titles and address seemed to become more fawning. Fronto uses dominus almost as a term of endearment, but after Diocletian it seems to have been more "Master" than "Lord."

http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat.html?fu...525#263525

I think it fascinating that the address depends a great deal upon the context of the communication and the personal relationship (calling the Emperor "My Dear Boy"! hock: ). Although a military relationship would likely be more formal, I think it possible that similar customs of address could apply.

Edit: I wonder if Pliny's letters could be more helpful in this context? I'll give them a check when I get a chance.

[Vindex]

The Vindolanda letters show a varying degree of formality in the military contexts and of course they cover civilian letters too.

http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/

The excellent commentaries on this site explain a lot about the author and their addressee. Here for example

[Nathan Ross]

I've searched around and can't find any historical record of how say a General would address a Legatus Augusti pro praetore.

It depends what you mean by 'general' too - under the principiate, general officers were senators, and would address each other by name, as equals.

There's also another discussion of how Romans would address their superiors here...