Gratian

Gratian
Gratian
Details on this Roman Emperor who was the son of Valentinian I. He was born at Sirmium, 359 and died at Lyons, 383

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Gratian
    Gratian
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Gratian
    Roman Emperor; son of Valentinian I; born at Sirmium, 359; died at Lyons, 383. Before he had attained his ninth year he received the purple robe and diadem, with the title of Augustus; and on the death of his father (375) he became Emperor of the West. His half-brother, Valentinian II, an infant, was associated with him in the title. He fixed his residence at Trier, and devoted himself to opposing the advance of the Alamanni, whom he routed in the great battle of Colmar (378). His colleague in the east, Valens, was, however, defeated and slain by the Goths in the same year at the battle of Adrianople. Gratian, feeling himself unequal to the task of governing the whole empire alone, assigned the eastern portion to Theodosius I. Up to this time he had shown himself to be a wise ruler and a brave and skilful general, but now he began to neglect his duties and to devote himself to hunting and other sports. A rebellion which arose in Britain under Maximus, one of his generals, spread into Gaul. Gratian, who was residing at Paris, fled to Lyons, and was there treacherously slain (25 Aug., 383). Gratian's reign marks a distinct epoch in the transition of the empire from paganism to Christianity. At the time of his accession (375) he refused the insignia of pontifex maximus, which even Constantine and the other Christian emperors had always accepted. At the instance of St. Ambrose, who became his chief adviser, he caused the statue of Victory to be removed from the senate house at Rome (382). In this same year he abolished all the privileges of the pagan pontiffs and the grants for the support of pagan worship. Deprived of the assistance of the State, paganism rapidly lost influence. Gratian did not go so far as to confer upon the Church the privileges and emoluments which he took from the pagans, but he gave proof of his zeal by undoing the effects of Valens's persecution, and by taking measures for the suppression of various forms of heresy. Though in general his policy was one of toleration, he made apostasy a crime punishable by the State (383). It was for Gratian that St. Ambrose wrote his great treatise "De Fide".
    ALLARD, Le Christianisme et l'Empire Romain (Paris, 1898); DE BROGLIE, Saint Ambroise (Paris, 1899); GIBBON, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1815), xxv-xxvii; RICHTER, Das weströmische Reich, besonders unter den Kaisern Gratian, Valentinian II. und Maximus (Berlin, 1865); TILLEMONT, Hist. des Empereurs (Paris, 1701), V, 136-88, 705-26; BEUGNOT, Hist. de la destruction du paganisme en Occident (Paris, 1835); BOISSIER, La fin du paganisme (Paris, 1891).
    T.B. SCANNELL
    Transcribed by Scott Anthony Hibbs

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Gratian — (* 359 in Sirmium; † 25. August 383 in Lugdunum), mit vollständigem Namen Flavius Gratianus, war von 375 bis 383 Kaiser im Westen des Römischen Reiches, wurde aber bereits 367 von seinem Vater Valentinian I. zum Mitkaiser ernannt. Zusammen mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Gratian — [grā′shən] (L. name Flavius Gratianus) A.D. 359 383; Rom. emperor (375 383) …   English World dictionary

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  • Gratian — /gray shee euhn, sheuhn/, n. (Flavius Gratianus) A.D. 359 383, Roman emperor 375 383. * * * Latin in full Flavius Gratianus Augustus born 359, Sirmium, Pannonia died Aug. 25, 383, Lugdunum, Lugdunensis Roman emperor (r. 367–83). He originally… …   Universalium

  • Gratian — I Gratian,   eigentlich Flavius Gratianus, römischer Kaiser (367 383), * Sirmium (heute Sremska Mitrovica) 18. 4. 359, ✝ Lugdunum (heute Lyon) 25. 8. 383. Mit acht Jahren zum Augustus ausgerufen, übernahm er nach dem Tod seines Vaters …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Gratian — (twelfth century)    Historian and Legalist.    Little is known of the life of Gratian. He was probably born in Chiusi, Italy, and was a professed Camaldolese monk. He is remembered for his Concordantia Discordantium Canonum, generally known as… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Gratian (jurist) — Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. He is sometimes wrongly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, or Johannes Gratianus, or Giovanni Graziano. His birth and death dates are unknown.Since the 11th century, Bologna had been the… …   Wikipedia

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