Glycerius

Glycerius (Latin: Flavius Glycerius Augustus) (c. 420 – after 480 AD) was a Western Roman Emperor from 473 to 474. Elevated by his Magister militum Gundobad, Glycerius was rejected by the court at Constantinople and ousted by Julius Nepos. He later served as the bishop of Salona in the early Chalcedonian Church.

Rise to power

Sources on Glycerius are scarce and scanty. It is known that at the time of his elevation to the throne he was the comes domesticorum, the commander of the Imperial guard of the court at Ravenna. Previous to this posting, he had been the military commander in Dalmatia.

In 472, the Western Roman Empire was plagued by a civil war between Emperor Anthemius and his Magister militum (commander-in-chief of the army), Ricimer. Ricimer killed the Emperor and put Olybrius on the throne, but in a short time both Ricimer and Olybrius were dead. The Eastern Roman Emperor, Leo I the Thracian, tarried in choosing his successor, so the Germanic elements of the army, represented by the new Magister militum and Patrician Gundobad (a nephew of Ricimer's), elected Glycerius Emperor on March 3 or 5, 473 in Ravenna.

Glycerius (disambiguation)

Glycerius (c. 420 – after 480), was a Western Roman Emperor reigning from 473 to 474.

Glycerius may also refer to:

Glycerius (bishop of Milan)

Glycerius (Italian: Glicerio) was Archbishop of Milan from 436 to 438. He is honoured as a Saint in the Catholic Church.

Life

Almost nothing is known about the life and the episcopate of Glycerius. He was a deacon of Milan before being elected as bishop of Milan in 436. He probably had been a tutor of the Western Roman Emperor, Valentinian III, a position that he possibly maintained while he was bishop of Milan. He passed most of his reign in Antioch in Syria.

Glycerius died on September 15, 438 AD, and was buried in the Church of Saint Nazarius and Celsus in Milan. In that church fragments of the funeral epigraph of him have been discovered. His feast day is on September 20.

Confusion with Emperor Glycerius

Saint Glycerius has been erroneously confused as the Glycerius (c. 420 - after 480), who was one of the last of the Western Roman Emperors (reigned 473-474), and who became bishop of Salona after his deposition. Accounts concerning the emperor's later life are mixed: