| Magnus Maximus | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Roman emperor (in theWest) | |
| Reign | Spring 383 – 28 August 388 |
| Predecessor | Gratian |
| Successor | Valentinian II |
| Co-emperors |
|
| Born | Gallaecia,Hispania |
| Died | 28 August 388 Aquileia,Venetia et Histria,Italia |
| Spouse | Elen (traditional) |
| Issue Detail |
|
| Religion | Nicene Christianity |
Magnus Maximus[1] (Classical Latin:[ˈmaːgnusˈmaːksimus]; died 28 August 388) wasRoman emperor in theWest from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperorGratian.
Born inGallaecia, he served as an officer in Britain underTheodosius the Elder during theGreat Conspiracy. In 383, he was proclaimed emperor inBritannia, and inGaul the next year, while Gratian's brotherValentinian II retainedItaly,Pannonia,Hispania, andAfrica. In 387, Maximus's ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat byTheodosius I at theBattle of Poetovio in 388. In the view of some historians, his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in Northern Gaul and Britannia.[2]
Maximus was born inGallaecia, Hispania, on the estates ofCount Theodosius (the Elder) of theTheodosian dynasty, to whom he claimed to be related.[3][4][5] In their youth, Maximus and Theodosius I served together in Theodosius the Elder's army in Britannia.[6] Maximus would become a distinguished general in the following years; as he would gain the support of his fellow soldiers and the admiration of the Romano-Britons whom he defended, which would lead to his eventual immortalisation in Welsh legend in the centuries following.[7] He served under Count Theodosius in Africa in 373.[8] Assigned to Britain in 380, he defeated an incursion of thePicts andScots in 381.[3]
The Western emperorGratian had received a number ofAlans into his bodyguard, and was accused of showing favouritism towards theseIranian speaking foreigners at the expense of Roman citizens.[3] In 383 the discontented Roman army proclaimed Maximus emperor in Gratian's place.Orosius, who wrote that Maximus was "an energetic and able man and one worthy of the throne had he not risen to it by usurpation, contrary to his oath of allegiance," claimed that he was proclaimed emperor against his will,[9] butZosimus portrays him as inciting the troops to rebel against Gratian, as he was upset about Theodosius becoming emperor while he himself was not promoted.[10] Stephen Williams and Gerard Friell preferred the latter version, based on the rapid success of the revolt.[11]
Maximus went toGaul to pursue his imperial ambitions, taking a large portion of the British garrison with him.[3] After five days of skirmishing nearParis he defeated Gratian,[3] who fled the battlefield and was killed atLyon on 25 August 383. Continuing his campaign into Italy, Maximus was stopped from overthrowingValentinian II, who was only twelve, whenBauto came with a powerful force to forestall him. Negotiations followed in 384, including the intervention ofAmbrose, Bishop of Milan, leading to an accord with Valentinian II and Theodosius I in which Maximus was recognized asAugustus in the West.[12]
Maximus made his capital atAugusta Treverorum (Treves,Trier) in Gaul, and ruled Britain, Gaul, Spain and Africa. He issued coinage and a number of edicts reorganising Gaul's system of provinces. Some historians believe Maximus may have founded the office of theComes Britanniarum as well, although it was probably Stilicho who created the permanent office.[13]
Maximus was a stern persecutor ofheretics. It was on his orders thatPriscillian and six companions were executed forheresy, although the actual civil charges laid by Maximus were for the practice ofmagic. Prominent churchmen such asSt. Ambrose andSt. Martin of Tours protested against this involvement of the secular power in doctrinal matters, but the executions were carried out nonetheless.[14] Maximus thereby not only established his credentials as an upholder of orthodoxy, but also strengthened his financial resources in the ensuing confiscations.[15] TheGallic Chronicle of 452 describes the Priscillianists as "Manichaeans", a differentGnostic heresy already condemned in Roman law underDiocletian, and states that Magnus Maximus had them "caught and exterminated with the greatest zeal".[16]
In a threatening letter addressed to Valentinian II, most likely composed between the spring of 384 and the summer of 387, Maximus complains of Valentinian's actions towards Ambrose and adherents of the Nicean Creed, writing: "Can it be that Your Serenity, venerable to me, thinks that a religion which has once taken root in the minds of men, which God himself has established, can be uprooted?" in response to "the disturbance and convulsion of Catholic law."[17]
Conversely, Maximus's edict of 387/388, which censured Christians at Rome for burning down a Jewishsynagogue, was condemned by bishopAmbrose, who said people exclaimed, "the emperor has become a Jew".[18]
In 387, Maximus managed to force emperor Valentinian II out ofMilan. Valentinian fled to Theodosius I, and the two subsequently invaded from the east; their armies, led byRichomeres and other generals, campaigned against Maximus in July–August 388. Maximus was defeated in theBattle of Poetovio,[19][20] and retreated toAquileia. Meanwhile, theFranks underMarcomer had taken the opportunity to invade northern Gaul, further weakening Maximus's position.
Andragathius,magister equitum of Maximus and the killer of the Emperor Gratian, was defeated nearSiscia, while Maximus's brother, Marcellinus, fell in battle atPoetovio.[21] Maximus surrendered in Aquileia, and although he pleaded for mercy was executed. The Senate passed a decree ofDamnatio memoriae against him, but his mother and at least two daughters were spared.[22] Theodosius's trusted generalArbogast strangled Maximus's son,Victor, at Trier in the fall of the same year.[23]
It is not recorded what happened to Maximus's family after his downfall. He is known to have had a wife, who is recorded as having sought spiritual counsel fromSt. Martin of Tours during his time at Trier. Her ultimate fate, and even her name (but see the Welsh tradition below), have not been preserved in definitive historical records. The same is true of Maximus's mother and daughters, other than that they were spared by Theodosius I.
One of Maximus's daughters may have been married toEnnodius,[24] proconsul Africae (395). Ennodius's grandson wasPetronius Maximus, another ill-fated emperor, who ruled in Rome for only 77 days before he was stoned to death while fleeing from the Vandals on 24 May 455. Other descendants of Ennodius, and thus possibly of Maximus, includedAnicius Olybrius, emperor in 472, but also several consuls and bishops such asSt. Magnus Felix Ennodius (Bishop ofPaviac. 514 – 521). We also encounter an otherwise unrecorded daughter of Magnus Maximus,Sevira, on thePillar of Eliseg (9th century), an early medieval inscribed stone in Wales, which claims that she marriedVortigern,king of the Britons.[25]
Maximus's bid for imperial power in 383 coincides with the last date for evidence of a Roman military presence in the westernPennines and the fortress ofDeva. Coins dated later than 383 have been found in excavations alongHadrian's Wall, suggesting that troops were not entirely stripped from it, as was once thought.[26] In theDe Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae writtenc. 540,Gildas says that Maximus "deprived" Britain not only of its Roman troops, but also of its "armed bands...governors and of the flower of her youth", never to return.[27]
Having left with the troops and senior administrators, and planning to continue as the ruler of Britain in the future, his practical course was to transfer local authority to local rulers. Welsh legend supports that this happened, with stories such asBreuddwyd Macsen Wledig (English: The Dream of Emperor Maximus), where he not only marries a wondrous British woman (thus making British descendants probable), but also gives her father sovereignty over Britain (thus formally transferring authority from Rome back to the Britons themselves).
The earliest Welsh genealogies give Maximus (referred to asMacsen/Maxen Wledig, orEmperor Maximus) the role of founding father of the dynasties of several medieval Welsh kingdoms, including those ofPowys,Gwynedd andGwent.[28][29] He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on thePillar of Eliseg, erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of theFifteen Tribes of Wales.[30]
After he became emperor of the West, Maximus returned to Britain to campaign against thePicts and Scots (i.e., Irish), probably in support of Rome's long-standing allies theDamnonii,Votadini, andNovantae (all located in modernScotland). While there he likely made similar arrangements for a formal transfer of authority to local chiefs—the later rulers ofGalloway, home to the Novantae, claimed Maximus as the founder of their line, the same as did the Welsh kings.[26]
The ninth centuryHistoria Brittonum gives another account of Maximus and assigns him an important role:
The seventh emperor was Maximianus, He withdrew from Britain with all its military force, slew Gratianus the king of the Romans, and obtained the sovereignty of all Europe. Unwilling to send back his warlike companions to their wives, families, and possessions in Britain, he conferred upon them numerous districts from the lake on the summit of Mons Iovis, to the city called Cant Guic, and to the western Tumulus, that is Cruc Occident. These are the Armoric Britons, and they remain there to the present day. In consequence of their absence, Britain being overcome by foreign nations, the lawful heirs were cast out, till God interposed with his assistance.
Modern historians believe that this idea of mass British troop settlement inBrittany by Maximus may very well reflect some reality, as it accords with archaeological and other historical evidence and later Breton traditions.
Armorica declared independence from the Roman Empire in 407, but contributed archers forAetius's defence againstAttila the Hun, andRiothamus, who may have ruled there as king, was subsequently mentioned in contemporary documents as an ally of Rome's against theGoths. Despite its continued usage of two distinct languages,Breton andGallo, and extensive invasions and conquests by Franks and Vikings, Armorica retained considerable cultural cohesion into the 13th century.
Maximus also established a military base in his nativeGallaecia, which persisted as a cultural entity despite occupation by theSuebi in 409, seeKingdom of Galicia.
Aetius sent large numbers ofAlans to both Armorica and Galicia following the defeat of Attila at theBattle of the Catalunian Plains. The Alans evidently assimilated quickly into the local Celtic cultures, contributing their own legends, e.g., to the Arthurian Cycle of romances.
Legendary versions of Maximus's career in which he marries the Welsh princessElen may have circulated in popular tradition in Welsh-speaking areas from an early date. Although the story of Helen and Maximus's meeting is almost certainly fictional, there is some evidence for the basic claims. He is certainly given a prominent place in the earliest version of theWelsh Triads which are believed to date fromc. 1100 and which reflect older traditions in some cases. Welsh poetry also frequently refers to Macsen as a figure of comparison with later Welsh leaders. These legends come down to us in two separate versions.[30]
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According toGeoffrey of Monmouth's fictionalHistoria Regum Britanniae (c. 1136), the basis for many English and Welsh legends, Maximianus, as he calls him, was a Roman senator, a nephew ofCoel Hen through Coel's brother Ioelinus, and king of theBritons following the death of Octavius (Eudaf Hen). Geoffrey writes this came about because Octavius wanted to wed his daughter to just such a powerful half-Roman-half-Briton and to give the kingship of Britain, as a dowry, to that husband, so he sent a message to Rome offering his daughter to Maximian.[31]
Caradocus, theDuke of Cornwall, had suggested and supported the marriage between Octavius's daughter and Maximian. Maximian accepted the offer and left Rome for Britain. Geoffrey claims further that Maximian gathered an army as he sackedFrankish towns along the way. He invaded Clausentum (modernSouthampton) unintentionally and nearly fought the army of the Britons underConan Meriadoc before agreeing to a truce. Following further negotiations, Maximian was given the kingship of Britain and Octavius retired. Five years into his kingship, Magnus Maximus assembled a vast fleet and invadedGaul, leaving Britain in the control of Caradocus.[31]
Upon reaching the kingdom ofArmorica (historically, the region between the Loire and Seine rivers, later comprising Brittany, Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine), he defeated the king and killed thousands of inhabitants. Before departing to Rome, he summonedConanus, the rebellious nephew of Octavius, and asked him to rule as king of the land, which was renamedBrittany. Conan's men married native women after cutting out their tongues to preserve the purity of their language.Geoffrey of Monmouth presents this legend to explain the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw, as originating fromlled-taw or "half-silent". Given that Conan was well established in genealogies as the founder of Brittany, this account is certainly connected to an older tradition than Geoffrey.
Following the death of Caradocus, rule of Britain as regent passed toDionotus, who – facing a foreign invasion – appealed to Maximus, who finally sent a man namedGracianus Municeps with two legions to stop the attack. He killed many thousands before the invaders fled toIreland. Maximus died inRome soon after and Dionotus became the official king of the Britons. Unfortunately, before he could begin his reign, Gracianus took hold of the crown and made himself king over Dionotus.
While a broadly positive account of Maximian, theHistory concludes with the success of the barbarian invaders, and laments, "Alas for the absence of so many warlike soldiers through the madness of Maximianus!".[31]
Although theMabinogion taleThe Dream of Macsen Wledig is written in later manuscripts than Geoffrey's version, the two accounts are so different that scholars agree the Dream cannot be based purely on Geoffrey's version. The Dream's account also seems to accord better with details in the Triads, so it perhaps reflects an earlier tradition.
Macsen Wledig, the Emperor of Rome, dreams one night of a lovely maiden in a wonderful, far-off land. Awakening, he sends his men all over the earth in search of her. With much difficulty they find her in a rich castle in Wales, daughter of a chieftain based atSegontium (Caernarfon), and lead the Emperor to her. Everything he finds is exactly as in his dream. The maiden, whose name isHelen or Elen, accepts and loves him. Because Elen is found a virgin, Macsen gives her father sovereignty over the island of Britain and orders three castles built for his bride.[32]
In Macsen's absence, a new emperor seizes power and warns him not to return. With the help of men from Britain led by Elen's brotherConanus (Welsh: Cynan Meriadoc,Breton: Conan Meriadeg), Macsen marches across Gaul and Italy and recaptures Rome. In gratitude to his British allies, Macsen rewards them with a portion of Gaul that becomes known as Brittany.
According to another legend, Maximus appointedCoel Hen, perhaps the legendary "Old King Cole", as governor of northern Britain, ruling fromEburacum (York). Following Maximus's departure for the continent, Coel became high king of northern Britain.[33]
Magnus Maximus and Elen are traditionally given as the parents of Saint Peblig (or Publicus, named in the Calendar of theChurch in Wales), to whom a church dedicated stands in Caernarfon. The church is built on an important early Christian site, itself built on a RomanMithraeum or temple ofMithras, close to the Segontium Roman Fort. A Roman altar was found in one of the walls during 19th century restoration work. The present church dates mainly from the 14th century.[34]
The medieval English kingEdward I was influenced by the legendary dream of Macsen Wledig/Magnus Maximus. In the dream Maximus had seen a fort, "the fairest that man ever saw", within a city at the mouth of a river in a mountainous country and opposite an island. Edward interpreted this to mean Segontium was the city of Maximus's dream and drew on the imperial link when buildingCaernarfon Castle in 1283.[35] It was apparently believed that Maximus died in Wales. According to theFlores Historiarum, during the construction of the Castle and the nearby planned town, the body believed to be of Magnus Maximus was discovered entombed; King Edward ordered its reburial in a local church.[36]
The prominent place of Macsen in history, Welsh legend and in theMatter of Britain means he is often a character or referred to in historical and Arthurian fiction. Such stories includeStephen R. Lawhead'sPendragon Cycle,Mary Stewart'sThe Hollow Hills,Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles,M J Trow's Britannia series,Nancy McKenzie'sQueen of Camelot andRudyard Kipling'sPuck of Pook's Hill. The popular Welshfolk songYma o Hyd, recorded byDafydd Iwan in 1981, recalls Macsen Wledig and celebrates the continued survival of theWelsh people since his days.
He is mentioned in a number of ancient and medieval sources:
[Chronicle ofSulpicius Severus] 2.48.5: 'iam tum rumor incesserat clemens maximum'... The reading 'Clementem' led to the mistaken view that the emperor was calledMagnus Clemens Maximus.
Magnus Maximus Died: 28 August 388 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Roman emperor 383–388 With:Valentinian II,Theodosius I andVictor | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Roman consul 388 withTheodosius I andMaternus Cynegius | Succeeded by |
| Legendary titles | ||
| Preceded by | King of Britain 383–388 withDionotus (regent) | Succeeded by |
