THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 025
The New Organization of the Army
2-13. The New Organization of the Army
With the new organisation of the army, there sprang up new military offices of high importance, with new names. Constantine created two high officers as chief commanders of the mobile army, a magister equitum and a magister peditum. Their position resembled that of the Praefecti Praetorio of the early Empire in several respects. They were immediately dependent on the emperor, and also, from the nature of their commands, on one another. But circumstances in time changed their duties and their numbers. They had sometimes to take the field when the emperor was not present, and the division between the infantry command and the cavalry command thus broke down. Hence the titles magister equitum et peditum, and magister utriusque militiae, or magister militum simply. The jealousy which the emperors naturally entertained for all high officers caused considerable variations in the position and importance of these magistri.
After the middle of the fourth century the necessary connexion of the magistri with the emperor's person had ceased, and the command of a magister generally embraced the Dioecesis, within which war occurred or threatened. Where the emperor was, there would be two magistri called praesentales, either distinguished as commanders of infantry and cavalry, or bearing the title of magistri utriusque militiae praesentales. But in the fifth century the emperor was generally in practice a military nonentity, and was in the hands of one magister who was not unfrequently the real ruler of the Empire. As was the case with all high officials the magistri exercised jurisdiction over those under their dispositio, not only in matters purely military, but in cases of crime and even to some extent in connexion with civil proceedings. The lower commanders also possessed similar jurisdiction, but the details are not known. Appeal was to the emperor, who delegated the hearing as a rule to one or other of the highest civil functionaries.
No view of the great imperial hierarchy of officials would be complete which did not take account of the new title comes. Its application followed no regular rules. In the earlier Latin it was used somewhat loosely to designate men who accompanied a provincial governor, and were attached to his staff (cohors), especially such as held no definite office connected with administration, whether military or civil. Such unofficial members of the staff seem especially to have assisted the governor in legal matters, and in time they were paid, and were punishable under the laws against extortion in the provinces. In the early Empire the title comes begins to be applied in no very precise manner to persons attached to the service of the emperor or of members of the imperial family ; but only slowly did it acquire an official significance.
Inscriptions of the reign of Marcus Aurelius show a change; as many persons are assigned the title in this one reign as in all the preceding reigns put together. Probably at this time began the bestowal of the title on military as well as legal assistants of the emperor, and soon its possessors were chiefly military officers, who after serving with the emperor, took commands on the frontier. Then from the end of the reign of Severus Alexander to the early years of Constantine the description comes Augusti was abolished for human beings, but attached to divinities. Constantine restored it to its mundane employment, and used it as an honorific designation for officers of many kinds, who were not necessarily in the immediate neighbourhood of an Augustus or Caesar, but were servants of the Augustus or Augusti and Caesars generally, that is to say might occupy any position in the whole imperial administration. Constantine seems to have despatched comites, not all of the same rank or importance, to provinces or parts of the Empire concerning which he wished to have confidential information. Later they appear in most districts, and the ordinary rulers are in some degree subject to them, and they hear appeals and complaints which otherwise would have been laid before the Praefecti Praetorio. The comites provinciarum afford a striking illustration of the manner in which offices were piled up upon offices, in the vain attempt to check corruption and misgovernment.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the Court the name comes was attached to four high military officers; the magister equitum and magister peditum, and the commanders of the domestici equites and the domestici pedites. Also to four high civil officers, the High Treasurer (comes sacrarum largitionum) and the controller of the Privy Purse (comes rerum privatarum); also the quaestor sacri palatii and the magister officiorum. These high civil functionaries appear as comites consistoriani, being regular members of the Privy Council (consistorium). Before the end of Constantine's reign the words connecting the comes with the emperor and the Caesars drop out, possibly because the imperial rulers were deemed to be too exalted for any form of companionship. A man is now not comes Augusti but comes merely or with words added to identify his duties, as for instance when the district is stated within which a military or civil officer acts, on whom the appellation has been bestowed.
The former necessary connexion of the comes with the Court having ceased, the name was vulgarised and connected with offices of many kinds, sometimes of a somewhat lowly nature. In many cases it was not associated with duties at all, but was merely titular. As a natural result, comites were classified in three orders of dignity (primi, secundi, tertii ordinis) . Admission to the lowest rank was eagerly coveted and often purchased, because of the immunity from public burdens which the boon carried with it. Constantine also adapted the old phrase patricius to new uses. The earlier emperors, first by special authorisation, later merely as emperors, had raised families to patrician rank, but the result was merely a slight increase in social dignity. From Constantine's time onwards, the dignity was rarely bestowed and then the patricii became a high and exclusive order of nobility. They had precedence next to the emperor, with the exception of the consuls actually in office. Their titles did not descend to their sons. The best known of the patricii are some of the great generals of barbarian origin, who were the last hopes of the crumbling Empire. The title lasted long; it was bestowed on Charles Martel, and was known later in the Byzantine Empire.
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