Dulcitius

Dulcitius was a Roman governor of Macedonia during the reign of the emperor Diocletian, at the turn of the fourth century AD. He is chiefly remembered for his role in a hagiographic tale of the persecution of several Christian women in Thessalonika, in 304 AD. He is the subject of Dulcitius, an eponymous 10th century drama written in Germany by the secular canoness, Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, the first known woman playwright.[1]

This article is about the ancient Roman governor. For the play about him, see Dulcitius (play).

The name is also associated with a mid fourth century AD Roman soldier who was appointed Dux Britanniarum (or troop commander in Roman Britain for the region around Hadrian's Wall) and praised for his military abilities by the soldier-historian Ammianus.[2]

Although it is not actually stated by Ammianus in his original text, it is often conjectured that he was elevated to the position of Dux Britanniarum. If this is the case, the later fourth-century Dulcitius is thought to have been brought to Britain in 369 AD by Count Theodosius in the aftermath of the Great Conspiracy, in which Roman rule on the island faced simultaneous challenge from internal rebellion and external invasion. His possible appointment as dux britanniarum could have replaced Fullofaudes who is likely to have been killed or lost somewhere in the north of Britain. The Roman rebel Valentinus and his associates were handed over to Dulcitius for execution.

References
  1. JSTOR online: Studies in Philology, Vol 57, No. 4, Oct 1960, Douglas Cole, "Hrosvitha's most Comic Play: Dulcitius", op cit.
  2. Ammian The History, Book XXVII University of Chicago online text in translation. See end of section 8, "p.57".


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