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Epiphanius of Salamis and the Scotti: New Evidence for Late Roman-Irish Relations*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Philip Rance
Philip Rance*
Affiliation:
Institut für Byzantinistik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Münchenprr@fastnet.co.uk
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Abstract

A survey of the written evidence for attacks by Scotti on fourth-century Roman Britain provides a historical context for the introduction of two hitherto overlooked references to Scotti in the works of Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis on Cyprus (c.a.d. 315–403). Examination of Epiphanius' Ancoratus and Panarion confirms that he inserted the ethnonym Σκόττοι into patristic source-material in the early 370s. These passages claim attention as unique testimony to the Scotti in Greek literature and the second earliest witness to this term in Roman sources. Their date prompts the conjecture that the barbarica conspiratio that beset Britain in a.d. 367–68/9 was a widely reported event even before its significance was magnified by Theodosian dynastic propaganda.

Keywords

Late RomanScottiIrishEpiphaniusTheodosiusBarbarian Conspiracy
Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 43 , November 2012 , pp. 227 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2012. Published by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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Footnotes

*

The research for this paper was undertaken during the course of a Humboldt-Forschungsstipendium für erfahrene Wissenschaftler, hosted by Albrecht Berger at the Institut für Byzantinistik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, 2009–11. I am indebted to Hans Teitler, who generously shared his great expertise in Ammianus Marcellinus.

References

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