Libius Severus
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Libius Severus was a Western Roman Emperor, 461–5.
Ricimer elevated Libius Severus, of Lucanian origin, to the rank of emperor after the death of Majorian in November 461; the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I refused to acknowledge him.
Historians of an earlier age were content to label Severus a puppet of Ricimer, and thus swiftly move on to his more interesting contemporaries such as Clovis, Odoacer, and Euric. But if one is called a puppet, this presumes that one actually does something: there is no record of any act of Libius Severus, scarcely a line of his personality. He is as empty as the interregnum of 18 months that followed his death until Anthemius became emperor in the West. It is however true that some of the coins he minted, had on the reverse Ricimer monogram.
Libius Severus died on August 15, 465; contemporary historians believed Ricimer had him poisoned, but death for natural causes is also possible.
| Preceded by Majorian | Western Roman Emperor | Succeeded by Anthemius |