17 Carausius, Virgil and the Marks RSR and INPCDA

In : N. Crummy (ed.), Image, Craft and the Classical World. Essays in honour of Donald Bailey and Catherine Johns (Monogr. Instrumentum 29), Montagnac 2005, p. 187-195. 17 Carausius, Virgil and the marks RSR and INPCDA by Guy de la Bédoyère1 When the 4th-century Mildenhall treasure was brought noted before, but its extent unappreciated. Since the to public attention in 1946 there subsisted a belief in some paper’s appearance, the readings suggested here for the scholarly circles that such material, decorated with a Carausian coin legends have been widely accepted. The variety of pagan and mythological scenes, could not revelation that Carausius had made unequivocal use of conceivably have been owned and used in Roman Britain. classical literature in his propaganda campaign, and was One extreme view was that it might have been brought to able to rely on detailed familiarity of that literature England by members of the US Eighth Air Force, who had amongst his public, places late 3rd-century and 4th-century acquired it on a sojourn to North Africa. The last 60 years elite Romano-British culture in a new context. For Britain have put such views firmly to rest, with discoveries like to challenge the Roman world by declaring itself to be the the Thetford and Hoxne treasures. It has become plain that guardian of traditional Roman virtues in this way marked the elite of late Roman Britain had access to goods of the a turning point in native sensibilities and aspirations. highest quality and decorated with imagery drawn from a wide range of classical and mythological topics. The influence of classicism on Romano-British society, Carausius and the impact of Romano-British traits on classicism in Carausius, commander of the Roman fleet in the Roman Britain, have been well-established themes in the English Channel, usurped imperial power in Britain and published works of Catherine Johns. The Snettisham part of Gaul in the year AD 286 or 287. He was one of a jeweller’s hoard was described as a story that was a succession of opportunistic soldiers who usurped regional ‘telling one of the interaction of Celtic and Graeco- power in various parts of the Empire during the 3rd Roman traditions and of Romanisation in 2nd-century century. Carausius remained in control of Britain until c. Britannia’ (Johns 1997, 74). The revival of the god Faunus 293, when his associate Allectus murdered him. in the astonishing Thetford Treasure was a reminder that Allectus himself ruled only until late 295 or early 296 even in the last few years of Roman Britain there may when he was defeated and killed by the army of have been men and women whose religious affiliations Constantius Chlorus. Throughout his reign Carausius harked back to the world of Augustan Rome (Johns & posed relentlessly as a thoroughly conservative protago- Potter 1983, 70-1; Johns 1996, 217). It is also now widely nist of Roman virtues and traditions, most conspicuously recognized that classical and pagan imagery was part of on his coinage. He did this perhaps because he sincerely the everyday repertoire of symbol and allusion in the believed in these qualities, but he must also have identi- Christianized society of the 4th century, reflected in fied them as key aspirations amongst the Romano-British contemporary literature and mosaic iconography as well and exploited that to good effect. as plate. The reign of Carausius coincided with a time when the The present paper was originally published in the wealthiest families in Roman Britain started to invest Numismatic Chronicle (158, 1998, 79-88) but it seems heavily in their rural villas. Many of these were embelli- appropriate to present a revised version of it here to a shed with mosaic floors whose themes drew heavily from wider readership. It was given a very generous reception classical myth. The extant contemporary literary sources and marked a turning point in the study of a rebel emperor were almost exclusively written in support of the official in Britain whose mastery of classical allusion had been Empire. Only a single inscription bearing the name of 1 [email protected] — 187 — 17 - G. de la Bédoyère unusual. The purpose of the medallion design was a visual narrative depiction of events central to the ethos of Rome, and in this respect is quite unlike the subtler and more demanding Carausian use of phrases abstracted from the actual literature. The Expectate Veni legend usually appears on the silver coinage, associated with the exergue mark RSR Fig. 1 — Silver denarius of Carausius (BM 1900-11-5-10). Diameter approxi- which occurs on most of the silver, and some of the gold, mately 21 mm. Image courtesy of The British Museum. coins of Carausius (Shiel 1977, 97). A very small number of bronze radiates also carry the RSR mark. The exergue at this date was usually reserved for a statement of value Carausius survives, on a milestone found near Carlisle and its use to carry information about the mint was still (RIB I, 2291). Consequently, some of the most important something of a novelty. Some of the Carausian radiates evidence for the rule of Carausius and Allectus is their carry the most innovatory exergue-marks. In their most extensive coinage. It has long been recognized that complex form these include a statement of value, the city Carausius used coins to promote his ideals. He issued of origin, and details of the workshop (Carson 1971). silver coins at a standard of purity unknown for centuries The Carausian exergue variants with L have been long and which bore legends evoking traditional ‘Roman’ identified as the marks of London, while those with C (or virtues. Two exergue ‘mint-marks’, RSR, and INPCDA, G) have been variously attributed to Camulodunum (Col- have never been satisfactorily resolved. Expansions for chester), Cataractonium (Catterick), Clausentum (Bitter- both can now be suggested which offer a compelling ne), Corinium (Cirencester), or Glevum (Gloucester). The insight into the awareness of classical literature in Roman L mark remained in use until the closing of the London Britain, with dramatic implications for how we interpret mint in c. AD 326 (Askew 1980, 66). Although the C mint the nature of 4th-century elite culture in Roman Britain. has not been firmly identified, its distinctive style suggests it was a separate location. Another series of coins, distinguished by style and distribution has been The RSR ‘mint’ and Virgil attributed to Rotomagus (Rouen). They usually bear the One of the better-known Carausian coin legends is mint-marks R or OPR. All these conventional mint-marks Expectate Veni, ‘Come, long-awaited one’ (Fig. 1). This is occur predominantly on Carausius’ radiates. normally assumed to be an allusion to the line from the The enigmatic RSR exergue-mark has not been identi- Aeneid: quibus Hector ab oris exspectate venis? ‘From fiable with any town in Britain or Gaul under Carausius’ what shores do you come Hector, the long-awaited one?’2 control. It was traditionally interpreted as Rationalis There are several minor variations in the spelling on the Summae Rei, ‘financial minister’, and was first suggested various coins, and there is a problem with the Virgilian by Webb (1906). This is an attested office and accords context which will be discussed below. No other such with the description by Aurelius Victor of Allectus as a apparent verbal reference to Virgil’s texts has hitherto high official under Carausius: Allectus... Qui cum eius been known on Roman coinage anywhere in the Empire. permissu summae rei praeesset, ‘Allectus... who by his A very few visual references to Virgilian material have [Carausius’] leave had been placed in charge of the been identified. Under Hadrian a medallion depicting “financial department”’ (Casey 1994, 76)3. In his recent three scenes from the Aeneid was struck (Jenkins 1988). work on the Carausian and Allectan episode Casey The medallion was copied under Antoninus Pius and one describes this as an ‘elegant solution... which is accepted of the scenes, depicting Aeneas carrying Anchises, was by all workers today’. Nevertheless, there are two used for a scarce issue of circulating sestertii (RIC 627). problems with this expansion of RSR. Firstly, the normal The Anchises scene may also have been used on a abbreviated epigraphic form of Rationalis Summae Rei Republican denarius of 42 BC though this has now been office is RAT.S.R4. Secondly, and more importantly, it called into question (Zarrow 2003). The accompanying does not appear on any other Roman coins at any other legend on the coins of Pius is a simple statement of impe- time. Thirdly, the phrase has a number of possible rial titles but in general, even such visual references to meanings. ‘Finance officer’ is just one of them5. mythological characters and events are extremely Casey notes that ‘the types of the high-value silver 2 The silver denarius illustrated is BM 1900-11-5-10; see also RIC nos 554-8, and 439-40, and Aeneid ii, 283 (exspectate is also at viii, 38). It should, however, be emphasised that the pairing of exspectatus and venio is not unusual in Latin, for example Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares xvi, 7. See N. Shiel, ‘A “Quotation” from the Aeneid on the coinage of Carausius’, Proceedings of the Vergil Society xii (1972-3), 51-3, where Shiel concludes nevertheless that the Aeneid passage ‘must have had some influence on this choice of words.’ 3 De Caesaribus xxxix.41 - summa res here is believed to be the financial office. 4 Pers. comm. R.S.O. Tomlin: CIL VI, 1132 (cf. 1133), VI, 1145, and VI, 1701.

Load more