Palaeolagus

[whitetd49]

This is a cry for help.  I know that the later Byzantine emporors used the title "Palaeolagus".  See Sejanus's personal want list thread.  I'm admitting complete ignorance, palaeolagus means nothing more to me than "ancient rabbit".  I find that a very unlikely title for a Byz emporor.  Anybody help me out?

[Tacitvs]

Though i don't know what the title means (I had thought it was more of a family name), the correct spelling is Palaeologus rather than Palaeolagus.  Maybe this will help you on your search.

[whitetd49]

Doh!  No wonder I couldn't find it in any reference.

[yafet_rasnal]

The Paleologhi were a noble family of Byzantium. So Paleologus was a surname and not an attribute

[whitetd49]

Yes, once i figured out how to spell it, I found it was quite easy to find information. In any case, the dynasty ended with Byzantium overrun and Constantine XI dead.  The family was dispersed over Europe and still exists today.  Interesting story.  Paleolagus is the generic name of the oldest fossil rabbit.

[vercingetorix]

Durin the late byzantine period two families struggled for power- Paleologi and Cantacuzini, and these are merely family names as said above like other dinasty families Ducas, Anghelos etc.The imperial title was Augustus and later Basileus.

[LordBest]

Well, sometimes the emperors were referred to as "The Great Palaeologus" so it could be a sort of Imperial title as well.
Also, the family may still be in existance today, but the heir supposed to be a direct descendant was found to be a fraud some years ago so it remains to be seen if the family does exist or if the blood has been so diluted it does not.
                                   LordBest.    

[Simon]

The last Czar of Russia was related to the family( Ivan III married Princess Sophia of the Palaeologus house). The Czsars family flag has two headed eagle that was taken from the Palaeogus house. Other aspects were also taken from Byzantine to Russia such as the Coronation ceremony nd autocrat rule. As one book put it , the political heritage of the Palaeogus house ended in 1918 when the Czsar and his family were executed.

[corvus]

I'm sorry Simon but your information is not correct Last Czar Nikolai II had nothing to do with Palaeologus family...  
They were from Romanov's house - a minor family who was offered throne after sc. "Smuta" ("jumble") period when direct heir to throne missed and aristocrats made their selection offering throne in 1613 to Mikhail I Fedorovich Romanov (his father was very respected religious man). And only reason why he got throne was that leading Moscow aristocrats thought they have now puppet to take advantage but instead they got strong and clever leader
Romanovs originally game from Lithuania (if I'm correct must check)

Risto

[Simon]

Thank You for setting the record straight Corvus. I got the information from the Time Life book on the Byzantine Empire, they use it in the concluding paragraphs of the book.

[g1234]

Palaeologos is the right spelling of the Byzantine emperor family. That name is very common in Greece, you can see the name at the yellow pages, and it mean: old speech (word).
Palaeo = old, long-standing
Logos = speech, word

[antistius]

I'm sorry Simon but your information is not correct Last Czar Nikolai II had nothing to do with Palaeologus family...  
They were from Romanov's house - a minor family who was offered throne after sc. "Smuta" ("jumble") period when direct heir to throne missed and aristocrats made their selection offering throne in 1613 to Mikhail I Fedorovich Romanov (his father was very respected religious man). And only reason why he got throne was that leading Moscow aristocrats thought they have now puppet to take advantage but instead they got strong and clever leader
Romanovs originally game from Lithuania (if I'm correct must check)

Risto

Risto, I think you are correct about the Lithuanian origin of the Romanovs.  Michael Romanov actually had another connection to the throne besides his father's position as Patriach, which is that the first and most (only) beloved wife of Ivan IV (the Terrible) was Anastasia Romanov, and the time of their marriage was something of a golden age of the period (it was after her death that Ivan began behaving 'Terribly').  And to move even further beyond the scope of this topic, I think that the Romanov dynasty really ended in 1762, with the muder of Peter III by Grigori Orlov, boyfriend of Peter's non-Romanov wife, Catherine: she took the throne upon Peter's death, and upon her death it passed to her son, Paul, who most likely had no Romanov DNA at all, but was more likely a Saltykov (another of Catherine's many boyfriends).