Editing Notitia Dignitatum (section)

== Interpretation ==
The ''Notitia'' presents four primary problems as a source for the Empire's army:

# The ''Notitia'' depicts the [[Roman army]] at the end of the 4th century AD. Therefore, its development from the structure of the [[Principate]] is largely conjectural because of the lack of other evidence.
# It was compiled at two different times. The section for the Eastern Empire apparently dates from {{circa|395}} AD and that for the Western Empire from circa 420 AD. Further, each section is probably not a contemporaneous "snapshot", but relies on data pre-dating it by as many as 20 years. The Eastern section may contain data from as early as 379 AD, the beginning of the reign of Emperor [[Theodosius I]]. The Western section contains data from as early as {{circa|400}} AD: for example, it shows units deployed in [[Roman Britain|Britannia]], which must date from before 410 AD, when the Empire lost the island. In consequence, there is substantial duplication, with the same unit often listed under different commands. It is impossible to ascertain whether these were detachments of the same unit in different places simultaneously, or the same whole unit at different times. Also, it is likely that some units were merely nominal or minimally staffed.<ref>A. Goldsworthy, ''Roman Warfare'' (2000), p. 198.</ref> According to [[Roger Collins]], "the {{Lang|la|Notitia Dignitatum}} was an archaising text written {{circa|425}} AD, whose unreliability is demonstrated by "the supposed existence of traditional (Roman military) units in Britain and Spain at a time when other evidence shows they were not there."<ref>Roger Collins, ''Early Medieval Europe: 300–1000'' (London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991), pp. 89–90.</ref>
# The ''Notitia'' has many sections missing and ''lacunae'' within sections. This is doubtless due to accumulated textual losses and copying errors, because it was repeatedly copied over the centuries: the earliest manuscript possessed today dates from the 15th century. The ''Notitia'' cannot therefore provide a comprehensive list of all units that existed.
# The ''Notitia'' does not record the number of personnel. Given that and the paucity of other evidence of unit sizes at that time, the size of individual units and the various commands cannot be ascertained. In turn, this makes it impossible to assess accurately the total size of the army. Depending on the strength of units, the late 4th century AD army may, at one extreme, have equalled the size of the 2nd century AD force, i. e., over 400,000 men;<ref>P. Heather, ''Fall of the Roman Empire'' (2005), p. 63.</ref> and at the other extreme, it may have been far smaller. For example, the forces deployed in Britain circa 400 AD may have been merely 18,000 against circa 55,000 in the 2nd century AD.<ref>D. Mattingly, ''An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire'' (2006), p. 239.</ref>
[[File:Notitia Dignitatum - Magister Peditum 4.jpg|thumb|Shield pattern of the ''armigeri defensores seniores'' (4th row, third from left).<ref name="Giovanni Monastra (2000)"/><ref name="Isabelle Robinet (2008), 934"/><ref name="Helmut Nickel (1991), 146, 5"/><br> [[Bodleian Library]], Oxford.]]