Ambrosius Aurelianus

Ambrosius Aurelianus was a late Roman-British leader in the 5th century . Perhaps he was the Romano-British commander in the battle of Mons Badonicus , in which they are said to have won against the Anglo-Saxons .

Life

Little is known about the life of Ambrosius Aurelianus. It is only mentioned in a few sources, although the later tradition is considered unreliable anyway and the sources for Britain in the period between 400 and 600 are very poor. In the 6th century there were apparently descendants of Ambrosius, who is considered a historical person in research.

Ambrosius Aurelianus is one of the few people whom the clergyman Gildas mentions by name in the sixth century in his Latin work De excidio et conquestu Brittaniae . The Roman administrative order in Britain had largely collapsed in the early 5th century, after the crossing of the Rhine in 406 and the usurpation of Constantine (III) , most of the regular Roman troops had left the country. A little later, the Romano-British are said to have been ruled by a "haughty usurper " ( superbus tyrannus ) who persuaded the civitates to call Saxony into the country as mercenaries. This "tyrant" or "usurper" is called Vortigern in the later tradition (probably more of a title than a personal name). Vortigern is not mentioned by name by Gildas, but only by Beda Venerabilis ; he uses Gildas as a template and reports how Vortigern called Saxony to Britain as mercenaries. However, the Saxon foederati rebelled (around 440, as the contemporary Gallic Chronicle reports) and seized control of parts of the island. Some time later, the Romanized inhabitants of the island are said to have gathered under the leadership of Ambrose to offer resistance. Gildas writes that Ambrose “was perhaps the only Roman to survive the shock of this remarkable storm. His parents, who must have worn the purple, had been killed in it. His offspring in our day are much lower compared to the extraordinaryness of their grandfather. "

According to Gildas, it was Ambrose who organized the resistance against the Saxon invaders, but his success was not decisive because then sometimes the Romano-British and sometimes the Saxons gained the upper hand militarily. From the further report of the Gildas it is not clear whether Ambrose was also the leader of the British in their victory in the battle of Mons Badonicus. Gildas does not mention where this battle took place; but he complains that afterwards no leader equal to Ambrosius appeared. The victory at Mons Badonicus was obviously significant in that the Saxons were then forced to pause for a while before they became militarily active again in the later 6th century.

This is the end of the relatively certain reports regarding Ambrosius Aurelianus. Several points are problematic in Gilda's description; In fact, no precise dates are given and events are often only touched upon. In connection with the report on Ambrosius, the question arises, among other things, of what the statement means that Ambrosius' parents wore purple . Perhaps this should mean the descent from a Roman emperor or a usurper like Constantine III. († 411) are indicated. However, the wording should only refer to a senatorial origin. Whether this is true or not, for Gildas Ambrosius Aurelianus was in any case an important Romano-British military leader.

Ambrosius Aurelianus is also mentioned in later accounts (see below), but none of these have any relevant historical value. Ultimately, the only reliably usable information is the few statements made by Gildas.

Later stories and legends

The Historia Brittonum , which was created much later, also retains some details of the tradition on Ambrosius, but these are legendary and therefore not historically reliable. The most important of these is the story of Ambrose, Vortigern and the two dragons of Dinas Emrys (Welsh for "fortress of Ambrose") in chapters 40 to 42. This story was later retold by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , where the person Ambrose is linked to the Welsh legend of the magician Merlin , who was known for alleged prophecies of future victories of the Celtic-Roman inhabitants of Britain over the Saxons and Normans . Some researchers consider Ambrosius to be a possible role model for Arthur .

There are also a few short sections in the Historia Brittonum that deal with Ambrosius: Chapter 31 reports that Vortigern ruled through fear of Ambrosius; later, in chapter 66, various events are associated with the battle of Guoloph between Ambrose and Vitolinus; lastly (in chapter 48) it is said that Pascent, son of Vortigern, was granted rule over the kingdoms of Buellt and Gwrtheyrion . It is not clear how these different parts belong together, but it should not be ignored that they could all come from the same source.

In addition, there are several other legendary stories and modern-popular adaptations of the legendary material.

literature

• Leslie Alcock: Arthur's Britain. History and archeology, AD 367-634. Allen Lane, London 1971, ISBN 0-7139-0245-0 (several reprints).
• Evangelos Chrysos: The Roman rule in Britain and its end. In: Bonner Jahrbücher 191, 1991, pp. 247–276.
• Nicholas J. Higham: The English Conquest. Gildas and Britain in the Fifth Century. Manchester University Press, Manchester et al. 1994, ISBN 0-7190-4079-5 , pp. 45ff.
• Michael E. Jones: The End of Roman Britain. Cornell University Press, Ithaca et al. NY 1996, ISBN 0-8014-2789-4 , pp. 43ff.
• John Robert Martindale, John Morris : The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire . Volume 2: AD 395-527. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1980, pp. 200f.

Remarks

1. ↑ General overview in James Campbell (ed.): The Anglo-Saxons. Phaidon, Oxford et al. 1982, ISBN 0-7148-2149-7 , reprint London 1991, ISBN 0-14-014395-5 , pp. 16ff.
2. ↑ See among others Nicholas J. Higham: The English Conquest. Gildas and Britain in the Fifth Century. Manchester University Press, Manchester et al. 1994, ISBN 0-7190-4079-5 , p. 45.
3. ^ Gildas, De excidio et conquestu Brittaniae 1.23.
4. ^ Beda, Church History , 1, 14f.
5. ↑ Cf. on the possible (inaccurate) dates, for example, Alexander Demandt : Die Spätantike. Roman history from Diocletian to Justinian 284-565 AD (= Handbook of Classical Studies. Dept. 3, Vol. 6). 2nd, fully revised and expanded edition. Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-55993-8 , p. 187.
6. ^ Gildas, De excidio et conquestu Brittaniae 1.25.
7. ^ Gildas, De excidio et conquestu Brittaniae 1.26.