Legio II Brittannica
The only source for the name of this legion is the text known as Notitia Dignitatum, which is a catalogue of Roman magistracies and military units in the last decade of the fourth century. Other sources have other names (e.g. Secundani Brittones).
It has been assumed that II Brittannica originated as a mobile unit
of II Augusta, which later became an independent
legion, used in the coastal defense against the Saxons. It is not known
when this happened, but perhaps the proud name of the legion (cf. the more
modest names "First legion of the Noricans") suggests that it was created
in the years 286-297, when Britain was briefly independent under the usurpers
Carausius and Allectus.
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