Lictor at the 6th century court of Justinian.

6TH CENTURY ROMAN LICTOR AT THE COURT OF JUSTINIAN.

Just as Roman empire didn't really ended in 5th century so were not several of its institutions which continued often for many more centuries despite some of them were so ancient that their origin was not clear even to classical ancient Romans and reached back to legenadary age of the Roman state.Lictors were probably borrowed from Etruscans(Romans themselves thought so),seen Roman kingdom,Republic and finally also reign of emperors during several periods.Lictors accompanied both selected magistrates and military commanders as well as highest magistrate and highest commander-the Emperor.Consuls were in company of 12 Lictors and same number was adopted even by Emperors though later enlarged.They carried a bundle of rods with an axe(depending on situation it was not always present) that symbolized the power to carry out capital punishment.

After fall of the Roman west Lictors continued to exist for short time more even in Italy under Ostrogothic rule(presumably western lictors ceased to exist with Justinianic invasion)but even longer at Roman east.

In 6th century continuing presence of lictors is well attested-they are mentioned several times in law code of Justinian which was intentionally designed to exclude any ancient Roman laws that are no longer usable or relevant to 6th century realities so it is unlikely that it would be mere anachronism that get there via error and that they were indeed not an anachronism is confirmed by Corippus poem on accession and assumption of Consulate of Emperor Justin II where they are mentioned next to known regiments of palace troops of that time,and even more explicitely Johannes Lydos who says that Lictors are still the case in his own time but adds interresting detail that most of his contemporaries no longer knew anything about what fasces are meant to symbolise,that they merely follow custom and that Roman commanders going to war are no longer preceded by group of lictors but just one man,selected bodyguard or attendant,holding ceremonial fasces alone.Lydos himself knew since he was core antiquarian historian with utmost love for ancient Roman history(just Like emperor Justinian who liked Lydos for exactly that reason and shared the same passion with him).

Book of ceremonies does not mention them,on the other hand they are not mentioned not even in 6th century passages incomporated to book of ceremonies despite we know they did still existed by that point.Greek writing authors(even in classical antiquity)normally didn't used Latin name for them but instead called them with more vague term of "Staff bearers".

There were very many groups among palace personel using various kinds of staffs by the time book of ceremonies was compiled.It might easily be that Lictors proper no longer existed by that point but honorific ad hoc bodies of selected men perhaps intentionally used in imitation of ancient lictors were occassionally present-or substituted by other standing guard and palace attendant groups.Later ceremonial book of Pseudo-Kodinos mention mention "Staff bearers" but links them to group called Vardariot

It might be that with time position of lictor turned to purely honorific title but brief mention of them made by Chonites not long prior 1454 sack of Constantinople suggest that they still performed the same role at least as far as 1204.He mentions them next to Varangian guard as other body of emperors personal security saying they wore scarlet dress(ancient lictors used to wear red when going to war)but it might also be that it was one of other palace guard groups in reality.Princess Anna Komnene also mentions them during mock triumph designed by masters of the ceremonies to dishonor captured conspirators against her father.

Was sack of 1204 their final end?Likely,but it might be they existed to the very end and conquest of Constantinople in 1204 at least in some form rougly remembering ancient Roman practice which is suggested by description of Manuel's II Palaeologos coronation in 1391 where presense of 12 attendants at both his sidese escoting emperor implies that at least a distand memory of lictors persisted for some time more though it might be that role of former lictors was by that point supplied by similarly axe wearing Varangian guards or even some other palace regiments who are known to use axes,which is also quite interresting too-several later Roman guard units are credited using axes just like ancient escort of Lictors-it was the case for soldiers of Schola Palatina,Excubitores,most famously Varangians,Hetaireia but perhaps most interrestingly Magglabitai.Manglabites are a mysterious small body among palace escort attendants of which little is known.they carried staves(fasces,or just fasces inspired?)preceded the emperor,and had the power to inflict summary punishment just like old lictors did.Romilly Jenkins called these attendants “closely akin to, if not directly descended, from the lictores".