Roman Britain part 3: The Opposition.

As explained previously the Roman Army of Britain in the 4th Century suffered repeated raids from tribes on the periphery of Britannia.

The Picts:

This group of people lived North of Hadrians Wall  The Picts lived in the Central and Eastern part of  what is now Scotland. The Romans called the area Caledonia. At one stage the Romans tried to bring this area under their  control.

To do this the Antonine Wall was built, North of Hadrians Wall. This wall was made of turf. It was not held for long as the Romans realised that holding the territory was not gaining any advantage. Eventually, Hadrians Wall marked the Northern  boundary of Roman Britain.

As the Roman garrisons on the Wall were reduced the Picts saw their chance to launch raids into Roman territory.

The warriors themselves went into battle semi-naked, their bodies being tattooed in a blue dye.
Only the Chiefs wore any sort of armour if at all. More usually just a helmet. All the warriors carried a shield either square or round.

Only the Chiefs carried swords. The warriors carried a mix of javelins with either spears or axes. Some also carried long spears thus when they assumed a basic close order formation, the long spears would extend out over the front rank.

Some of the men may have been armed with crossbows and short bows..
The Picts used horses or ponies probably ridden by the nobles and their hearth troops.

The raiding parties could range from maybe 50 or 60 men up to 4,000 warriors for a serious attack. As previously stated, the Picts were also capable of mounting seaborne raids as well, using small ships carrying 50/60 men.

The Scots-Irish or "Scotti".

These people lived on the East Coast of Ireland ( known to the Romans as Hibernia ) and the West Coast of Scotland ( Caledonia).
 The warriors raided the coast of Wales, Devon and Cornwall. Wales was called Britannica Secunda. Devon and Cornwall together were known as Dumnonia which became part of the Roman Province of Britannica Superior.

The Scots-Irish were very much like the Picts with the same mix of weapons. The Scots-Irish were also known as the Del Riatta, " the people of the Chariot ".  I don't know if they were actually using chariots in this era. However in recent times some metal parts of chariot harness have been found in the North-East of England. Therefore personally I've gone in favour of a bit of colour and added some to my collection!.

These would be light chariots which in my own rules have a chance to avoid combat.
The Scots-Irish also had ships capable of carrying 50/100 men.

Both the Picts and the Scots-Irish were not enemies who were easy to beat, especially when allied to the terrain they operated in, which was a tangle of hills, valleys and forests.

Like the Picts, pitched battles were a rarity with guerrilla tactics being the norm. Warbands could be 30 to 50 individuals up to about 3 or 4,000 strong for a serious attack.

By about the 8th century ( I think?) both nations had amalgamated in Caledonia to become the Scots.

The Saxons ,Angles and Jutes.

These people were the ones who exercised the most influence over Roman Britain and its future history especially in England.

During the time of the Roman Empire these three nations shared the territory of Denmark, which if I understand correctly was called Himlingoje at this time.

By the 4th century there were groups of these people already living in this country. They had been bought in by the Roman army and settled here as Federated troops.

Update 25th August 2010
As stated in a previous article, any Angles, Saxons or Jutes in Britannia prior to 450AD would have been living within the military posts
They may have bought their families in with them or married into the local British population.

Most of the warriors were armed with shields and a long knife with a single edge called a seax. Throwing weapons were javelin and spears. Those warriors who were really poor carried a bow.

The Chieftains, apart from having swords and shields could also have had body armour.
On the continent, the Saxons lived in close proximity to the Frank's, so, there is a chance that the Saxons had horse-handling skills. They could also have used the throwing axe ( the fransisca ) and the spiculum ( a metal javelin akin to a pilum ).

Those warriors recruited into the Army would be armed with Roman equipment.

Like the Picts and Scots-Irish, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes were also capable seafarers.

These Germanic people were capable and loyal troops until the money ran out. There is a history of embezzlement in this and subsequent eras of the Late Empire.
Some Roman officers were retaining money that was supposed to go to the men.
There was also "dead mans pay" where Officers drew money for more men than they actually had!.

This was one of the reasons why, when someone like Maximus came along and looked after the troops they in turn would promote the General in his quest for Imperial power.


Frankish and Frisian Pirates.

As previously stated the "Saxon" raiders could have been Franks or Frisians. As they spoke a Germanic dialect the Britons could have just labelled them "Saxon" as the Romans did.

The Franks and Frisian when they came in as raiders sometimes allied themselves with the Picts. It would not be unusual to have Romano-Saxon troops fighting  these other tribesmen.

By the end of the 4th  century the situation in Britannia continued to get worse but luckily the Civil Administration continued to operate albeit in a ramshackle state!

There is a possibility that the Christian Decuriones ( the rich, land-owning Civil administrators ) paid some of the troops to protect their area and property, giving the rise to private armies. This was happening within other parts of the Empire.

The figures are mostly from Hat miniatures. The Scots-Irish chariots are Hat Miniatures Gaulish Chariots.  The chariot figures have different heads and shields. The Pictish Army is mix of Hat Saxons, Hat Gothic Cavalry, and Red Box Pict Infantry. The Saxons are a mix of Hat Goth Infantry and Miliart German Tribesmen.

 The Roman heavy cavalry are a mix of Roman, Sassanian and Parthian Heavy cavalry with changed heads. Some of the horses are Ceaser miniatures. The spears and lances are 28mm from North Star. All the Roman infantry are from Hat Late Roman Auxilliaries. The fortifications are scratchbuilt as are the boats. The stand are 40mm square picture framing cardboard. The round bases are 40mm mdf from Minibits.

Roman Britain ; Part 1, The 4th century. 301AD to 400AD.

This was a time of great change right across Europe. The Roman Empire was slowly collapsing from the inside as various claimants both Roman and non Roman fought for the Emperors throne both in the East and West.

Having two Emperors, one in each half of the Empire did not halt the Roman Empire,s enthusiasm for Civil War.

In order to make up the drain on manpower each Roman leader was forced by lack of financial resources to recruit tribesmen into the army.

During the Republic and the early years of the Empire, the state always recruited auxiliary troops from the races they either conquered,or cowed into cooperating with them. These non-Roman troops were kept apart from the Regular Army.

Now however times had changed and these former auxiliaries were now fully integrated into the system. Wether they liked it or not Roman Officers had no choice!.

The former tribal leaders of these Foederatii or federated troops were made Prefects and their Warbands became Cohorts. They were then posted to areas within the Empire away from their original homeland.

For example, in 370AD a Saxon chieftain by the name of Fruomarius was made a Tribune and he, along with a "Numerus "( Cohort) of his men were posted to Britain.

Britannia had been suffering tribal raids for some time. As Imperial contenders tussled for Power, the Army had to operate despite troop shortages. The situation had not improved during 365/ 371 AD, in the Great Barbarian Conspiracy.

 It seems the Roman Secret Service ( the Arcana) failed in collecting information on the preparations made by the various opposing Nations. The Western Frontier suddenly came under attack from the East, the North and South all at once.

The Germanic Allemani, Franks and Saxons, were plundering Gaul and Raetia.
The Sarmatians and Quadii were attacking Pannonia.

Picts,  Frankish pirates, Frisians, Scotti and Attacotti ( also known as the Del Riatta? ) were raiding South of Hadrians Wall. These tribesmen were coming over or through the Wall where it was thinly held. When not attacking the Wall they would sail down the East or West Coast and outflank the Wall completely.

The Asturianii of Tripolis and Berbers were raiding colonies on the North African coast. At one stage the Romans could not retaliate because of the lack of pack camels.

The Goths were raiding Pannonia, and the Persians Armenia.

Roman troops in Britannia had not been paid, therefore they deserted and formed bands of looters sometimes even joining with the tribesmen.

In 368AD Theodosius came to Britannia to correct the situation.Marching from London he sent out companies of soldiers lightly armed to break up the mobs of mutineers and bandits along with marauding tribesmen.

After about a year of campaigning Theodosius managed to restore order. Mutineers were executed and tribal raiders were killed or driven off. Hadrians Wall was regarrisoned.

The 6th Legion upgraded their fort at Eboricum. ( modern day York ).

In 383AD the acting Commander of the British Army, Magnus Maximus was proclaimed Emperor by the troops. Maximus took a fair number of troops from the North of England and headed to Gaul for a showdown with the current Western Emperor Gratian.

In the subsequent battles Maximus was killed. Many of his soldiers did not want to return to Britain and so they settled on the West coast of Gaul. The area was called Brettania which was also known as Amorica (modern day Brittany ).

In 398AD the Western Roman Magister Militum ( Army Commander in Chief ) Stilicho, came with an army to Britain. He waged a campaign against the Picts and the Scotti setting out from the fortification of Hadrians Wall.

His force was said to be nine Units of Commitatenses ( these were regular field army troops maybe 18,000 men ). By about 350 AD, the old Legions  had been split in half ,each part being known as a " Junior" or " Senior" formation.

 In the Eastern part of the Empire some of the old Legions may have still retained their original formation. The new formations were about 2000 men strong, and were all one type of Infantry. Cavalry formations were also of 2000 men and again were all the same troop type.

This was ok for the bigger battles, but increasingly  warfare was being fought by smaller formations within the Empire itself:  A) because of the lack of resources, and B) Roman troops could not be everywhere to counter the tribal incursions. It was not unusual for regular troops to face " barbarian" troops dressed and armed in the same fashion!.

Most military formations were either Infantry Cohorts ( Numerus) or Cavalry Ala ( Banda ), led by a Tribune or a Prefect. These formations were about 300 to 500 men in total.It seems that as time went on , if you had 300 men in your formation you were doing well,.

Larger battle groups were made up of a number of cohorts or Ala or a mix of both. Usually it was a case of making do with what was available.

On the rivers , Naval units known as " Riparenses" patrolled the major waterways in an effort to break up raiding Warbands, either before they crossed the border or as they made their way back encumbered with loot and slaves. The Roman vessels were painted blue/grey and held about 50 men.

The Rhine and the Danube marked the border of the Western Empire. In 367 AD and for two years after, the Rhine flooded making it difficult to campaign in the area.

Events on the Continent continued to slowly disintegrate as Germanic tribes pushed Westward. Senior Germanic Chieftains obtained Praetorian status in the Army as Roman Emperors and Generals were forced to negotiate. Lack of troop numbers meant that sometimes matters could not be settled by main force.

 These Tribal recruits were given training but stilled retained some of their own customs. The Roman Army was becoming less " Italian" and more " Germanic". Even the Eagle Standards were being replaced with the Draco, a metal dragons head on a staff with material attached shaped like a Windsock. Such was the situation as Britain headed into the 5th century and more problems on the horizon.


Addendum added 8th July 2020:

Having read more about the 3rd and 4th  century I am more inclined to believe that the " Saxon" raiders mentioned in the histories are Frankish or Frisian pirates. The reason for this is that there were already Saxon Federated troops  within the Roman army, some being posted to Britannia. The Franks and Saxons detested each other and, at this time the Saxons had not yet migrated to the West coast of Europe. The word "Saxon" may have been used by the Romans to describe all Germans.


The figures in the illustrations are Hat Industries with some Newline Designs. The ship's crew are Emhar Viking crew. The spears and javelins are from North Star. Some of the shields are from Magister Militum.

 The boats are scratch built, along with the fort and the ballista. I think the buildings are Hovels and Peter Pig. The tree area bases and road sections are S and A Scenics. The trees are various manufacturers.

The wagons, mules and civilians, are from Ceaser Miniatures Roman Supply Train boxes.