Roman memory as a claim to royal authority

Roman history remained accessible in medieval Britain through institutional memory maintained by the Catholic Church. Claims of a connection with Roman emperors could therefore give kings a prestigious precedent for their own authority. Edward I's association with the supposed burial of Magnus Maximus is considered in that political setting. The possibility that a high-status Roman burial was found leaves room for a real discovery beneath the imperial story. Turning that discovery into an emperor's burial would add a claim to legitimacy that the remains themselves could not establish.