Primary-source dossier
The excerpts below are reproduced from the Ictis Anthology — a working paper produced during research for the project. Some of the results were spun off into New Perspectives on the Ictis of Pytheas of Massalia.
Text from: ToposText, Herodian — History of the Empire
Book 3 Chapter 14
§ 3.14.1 IN THE midst of the emperor’s distress at the kind of life his sons were leading and their disgraceful obsession with shows, the governor of Britain informed Severus by dispatches that the barbarians there were in revolt and overrunning the country, looting and destroying virtually everything on the island.1 He told Severus that he needed either a stronger army for the defence of the province or the presence of the emperor himself. Severus was delighted with this news: glory-loving by nature, he wished to win victories over the Britons to add to the victories and titles of honour he had won in the East and the West. But he wished even more to take his sons away from Rome so that they might settle down in the soldier’s life under military discipline, far from the luxuries and pleasures in Rome. And so, although he was now well advanced in years and crippled with arthritis, Severus announced his expedition to Britain, and in his heart he was more enthusiastic than any youth. During the greater part of the journey he was carried in a litter, but he never remained very long in one place and never stopped to rest. He arrived with his sons at the coast sooner than anyone anticipated, outstripping the news of his approach. He crossed the channel and landed in Britain; levying soldiers from all these areas2, he raised a powerful army and made preparations for the campaign.
§ 3.14.4 Disconcerted by the emperor’s sudden arrival, and realizing that this huge army had been assembled to make war upon them, the Britons sent envoys to Severus to discuss terms of peace, anxious to make amends for their previous errors. Seeking to prolong the war so as to avoid a quick return to Rome, and still wishing to gain a victory over the Britons and the title of honour too, Severus dismissed the envoys, refusing their offers, and continued his preparations for the war. He especially saw to it that dikes were provided in the marshy regions so that the soldiers might advance safely by running on these earth causeways and fight on a firm, solid footing. Most of the regions of Britain are marshy, since they are flooded continually by the tides of the ocean3; the barbarians are accustomed to swimming or wading through these waist-deep marsh pools; since they go about naked, they are unconcerned about muddying their bodies. Strangers to clothing, the Britons wear ornaments of iron at their waists and throats; considering iron a symbol of wealth4, they value this metal as other barbarians value gold. They tattoo their bodies with coloured designs and drawings of all kinds of animals5; for this reason they do not wear clothes, which would conceal the decorations on their bodies. Extremely savage and warlike, they are armed only with a spear and a narrow shield, plus a sword that hangs suspended by a belt from their otherwise naked bodies. They do not use breastplates or helmets, considering them encumbrances in crossing the marshes. For all these reasons, Severus prepared whatever he thought would be of advantage to the Roman army and whatever would harass the barbarians and hamper their attacks.
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If Britannia was being being looted and having its infrastructure destroyed then this could explain why it would be difficult to maintain a metals trade.
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If Severus was able to muster soldiers from all areas of Britain, this would have presumably included Dumnonia/Cornwall.
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Another echo of Diodorus’s description of Ictis Type Sites.
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Iron considered a symbol of wealth, not tin or any other metal.
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See Solinus 22.12
Bibliography and editions
Critical editions and further reading
- Greek critical edition. L. Mendelssohn (ed.), Herodiani ab excessu divi Marci libri octo (1883). Internet Archive: Herodian, Teubner text.
- English public-domain translations. Herodian, History of the Roman Empire. Livius: Herodian source guide.
Rights boundary. Ancient texts and public-domain images are not relicensed by Kassiteros. Modern editions and translations retain their own rights. Only Kassiteros-authored commentary and original project metadata are intended to fall under the project’s CC BY 4.0 policy.
Why this source matters
Herodian’s account of Severus in Britain supplies a vivid late Roman topographical tradition of marshes, tides and difficult terrain. The anthology uses this to keep physical geography and travel conditions in view when assessing earlier maritime and trading narratives.