Sub-Roman Britain (Cavalry etc)

[Matthew Amt]

Think about it, why would a Gaul of a family we've never even heard of have attachments to an ancient senetorial family? And why, if that was indeed the family's repeated name, did his son and grandson have the exact same name?

But that's how Roman names worked. Gaius Julius Caesar was the son of Gaius Julius Caesar, and I believe *his* father was also Gaius Julius Caesar. The emperor Vespasian was Titus Flavius Vespasianus, and he had 2 sons: Titus Flavius Vespasianus (who became the next emperor, Titus), and Titus Flavius Domitianus, who succeeded Titus as Domitian.

Moreover, when a slave was freed (very common event!), he took the praenomen and nomen of his former owner, with his old personal name adapted to a new cognomen. This was also done by non-Romans who joined the Roman army. So a Thracian named Bassa joined while one of the Flavians was ruling, and became Titus Flavius Bassus. And there would be lots of people with the names of emperors or powerful people. You see lots of 3rd century soldiers named Marcus Aurelius Something, for instance. Oh, you also take someone's name when he adopts you (upper-class men often adopted other adult men, or had themselves adopted, for political purposes), so when Gaius Octavius Thurinus was adopted by Caesar he became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (the future Augustus).

So by the post-Roman era, Ambrosius Aurelianus is no surprise at all. Probably half the kids in his high school had the same name, ha!

Valete,

Matthew