ABSTRACT
The previous chapter examined the structure of the late Roman state to an extent as an idealised construct: this was how the state should run. In this chapter we move to examining a particular area of the empire in the west, principally Gaul and Germany. We shall see how the imperial structures and institutions were put in place here and discuss how the area reacted to them. This is necessary in order to provide an immediate context for late Roman Britain, since events in these areas were the most likely to have directly-related repercussions on the island. Geographically, they are of course the areas of the empire closest to Britain. Historically, they had been linked by common ethnic and cultural ties since well before Britain became a part of the empire. The advent of Rome had imposed an administrative, cultural and economic unity which could transcend local and regional boundaries. In the late empire all these areas depended on a common hierarchy of administration, lived under the same laws, endured the same taxation, were protected by the same armies and shared common cultural values and religious beliefs. Yet the general view has been that the lands to either side of the Channel differed profoundly in the later Roman period. Comparisons of late Roman Gaul with Britain have been essays in contrasts: both have towns but they are unlike; both have villas but they differ; both are subject to the same fiscal and economic imperatives and pressures but these are responded to in different forms. Overall, the fourth century is seen as a time of prosperity for Britain, partly profiting from the misfortunes which had blighted her continental neighbours from the middle of the third century.
