Background - Magnus Maximus and the End of Roman Britain
The Emperor
Gratian, who had once ruled the Roman Empire with energy and vigor, had by
383 become deeply unpopular. A young man, it was clear Gratian had grown to enjoy the lifestyle his position entailed without caring about the responsibilities. He alienated his Roman subordinates with his indolence, and his Germanic subjects were alienated by his favoritism towards the Alans - an Iranic people from the steppes who would produce Gratian's close companions. As had happened so many times before, the conditions were ripe for a military uprising. And as had happened so many times before, this uprising occurred in Britain.
The commander in Britain at this time was a man named
Magnus Maximus. Little is known about his early life - he was born in Hispania Gallaecia, to the brother of
Comes Theodosius, whose own son,
Theodosius I, was now the Eastern Emperor. Maximus is recorded as having a brother, one
Marcellinus, and at least one son,
Flavius Victor. The troops of Britain proclaimed him Emperor in 383 (possibly with the encouragement of Gratian's Frankish
Magister Peditum[1],
Merobaudes), and he crossed the British Sea
[A] that year
. That autumn, Gratian was captured and executed at Lugdunu
m[В] by
Dux Andragathius, Maximus's
Magister Equitum[2]. Maximus then prepared to march into Italy and overthrow Gratian's brother,
Valentinian II, but a large army from Theodosius convinced him overwise, and in
384 an treaty overseen by
Saint Ambrose led to all three men recognizing each other as co-emperors.
A solidus
depicting Magnus Maximus
Macsen Wledig
Part of the difficulty in determining Maximus's life is that the British have adopted him as an almost messianic figure, Macsen Wledig
[3]. He is said to have been a grandson of no less a figure than
Constantine the Great himself (a story which can date back to Maximus's own propaganda). He is also said to have been the son-in-law of
Eudaf Hen, a semi-legendary nobleman associated with Caer Seiont
[C] in modern Gwynedd (and who may have actually lived a century earlier), via Eudaf's daughter. Maximus's wife is listed in one genealogy as "
Ceindrech", but all other sources, whether historical or fantastical, name her "
Elen" (It is, of course, not impossible for Maximus to have married twice in his life, or for Elen, the British form of Helen, to have been Ceindrech's baptismal name). Whatever her name, she was apparently a well-learned woman who corresponded with
Saint Martin. In addition to Victor, the British have associated Maximus with three more sons -
Owain Finddu,
Anwn Dynod, and
Custennin - although only Custennin lacks an alternate genealogy. He is also awarded at least two daughters -
Gratianna, who is held to have married into the Dumnonian royal family, and
Severa, who we will see later - and an unnamed third daughter has been theorized to have been the mother of
Petronius Maximus.
In any event, the British perception of a just warrior-king with a magic sword who will return in the island's hour of need is very much at odds with the real man who reigned in Augusta Treverorum
[D]. Maximus returned to Britain one more time, possibly to deal with a Pictish invasion, but otherwise seems to have allowed the various local magnates a greater deal of autonomy than what previous emperors had done, although he may have established the office of
Comes Britanniarum. He also continuously denuded Britain of trained warriors for his army, most of whom he settled in Armorica. Most infamously, he is the first recorded Christian head of state to have a man,
Priscillian of the Priscillianists, executed for heresy, over the protests of his wife and Saint Martin. Still, he proved to be an able administrator (
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus writes highly of his jurisprudence) and a benefactor of Jews in the Western Empire (over the protests of Saint Ambrose).
But Maximus was ambitious, and this proved to be his undoing. In
387 he again tried to depose Valentinian, and again Valentinian requested the aid of Theodosius. This time, there would be no mercy. Marcellinus was killed in battle, Andragathius was defeated and "threw himself into the sea", according to one chronicler. Merobaudes, who may have facilitated Maximus's rise, also disappears from history in this year, although he may have died five years earlier. Maximus himself was captured and executed despite pleas for clemency, the Senate passing an edict of
Damnatio memoriae on him. Theodosius negotiated the release of Maximus's mother and two daughters, but Flavius Victor was executed by Theodosius's Frankish general
Arbogast. No mention is made of Maximus's wife or any other potential children in this period. This was the end of Magnus Maximus, but not of Macsen Wledig.
A fanciful 14th Century depiction of Macsen Wledig.
The House of Macsen
The history of Britain becomes confused after Theodosius's victory. The last recorded military campaign in Britain was ordered by
Stilicho sometime around
397 to deal with a resurgent Pictish threat. It has been suggested that two
comitanses of the Legio II Adiutrix were sent to Britain in
401, but there is no hard evidence for this, and seems to exist because the II Adiutrix had history in Britain, having participated in the campaigns of both
Julius Agricola and
Lucius Artorius Castus. If the II Adiutrix did serve in Britain, it was a very temporary measure - in
402 Stilicho stripped Britain of all professional troops to deal with the growing threat of
Alaric, leaving only a skeletal garrison. This proved an opening for the Picts, Irish, and Germanics, and the stress proved too much for the British. Once again, British troops would raise a pretender to the throne, and they choose an officer named
Marcus in
405. Marcus did not live up to expectations, and was soon killed and replaced with a new figure named, ironically,
Gratian, all the while Stilicho allowed the Alans, Vandals, and Suebi to march into Gaul, using threat of a barbarian invasion as a Sword of Damocles against the British. Finally, Gratian (who is sometimes called "Gratian Municeps" to differentiate him from the official emperor) was himself killed, and replaced with a man who declared himself
Constantine III in
407.
It is Constantine who has managed to capture the imagination. Some have suggested that he was the same man as Maximus's presumed son Custennin, but this is considered unlikely even if Custennin did exist - Constantine III never made such a claim himself, and since Custennin was apparently never involved in his father's rule the way Victor was, he would have likely been a young boy, an infant, or even in his mother's womb at the time of Maximus's death, and thus too young to be a believable pretender. Roman pretenders, after all, tended to be aged military men, not young, dispossessed princes.
This does beg the question of what happened to Maximus's other sons, if they indeed existed or were his sons, and British folklore and genealogies offer an answer. Owain Finddu is recorded as a king over the Silurian region, Anwn Dynod as a king of the Demetae (or, confusingly, over the Novantae beyond Hadrian's Wall), and Custennin himself as a leader in Ordovices territory. Of course, none of these men would have been old enough to be leaders in 407 if they were Maximus's sons, let alone adopt an anachronistic title like "king", but the future rulers of these lands would trace their descent to these men and ultimately to Macsen Wledig.
Coin of Constantine III.
In any event, shortly after his acclimation Constantine III led his forces into Europe - and this killed Roman rule in Britain. He spread his forces too thin, too quickly, and his domain collapsed in the face of barbarian and loyalist attacks. In
410, the British expelled the Roman officials Constantine III had left in charge, and apparently wrote to Emperor
Honorius requesting relief. Honorius, however, had his hands full in Ravenna, dealing with Alaric and Constantine III alike. According to the Greek historian
Zosimus, Honorius told the British to look to their own defenses
[4]. Constantine III's cause was spent after this. In 411 his son Constans was murdered by his British right-hand, Gerontius, and he himself was soon killed. But there would be no attempt by the Romans to return to Britain - the island would now have to chart its own destiny.[E]
Footnotes (In-Universe)
[1] "Master of the Foot(men)." A Roman military title that would soon be replaced by the more expansive Magister Militum.
[2] "Master of the Horses." Another military title that would be replaced by Magister Militum, although "Master of the Horse" would survive as a ceremonial title in some courts.
[3] "Macsen" is a British attempt at transliterating "Maximus." "Wledig" officially translates to "of a country", but more often than not seems to have been used as an epithet denoting a man with significant military command, a British counterpart to Imperator in other words.
[4] Because this statement appears out of nowhere in a discussion on central Italy, some historians think Zosimus may have confused Britain with the Italian city Bruttium - the Greek names for both are very similar.
Footnotes (Out-of-Universe)
[A] The English Channel
[В] Lyons (for various reasons I'm using Latin or Celtic names for cities).
[C] Caernarvon
[D] Trier
[E] Keep in mind that all of this is just backstory. Everything written so far is either OTL history or OTL folklore, but I felt the stories of Magnus Maximus and Constantine III needed to be established to give a frame of reference. The next entry will hopefully get us through to when Arthur himself shows up. And also, sorry for the wait.
