Lineage
Ricimer was the son of Rechila, the Suevic King of Galicia. His mother was the daughter of Wallia, king of the Visigoths. It has been surmised that such an alliance between the Suevi and the Visigoths would have been made before Wallia's death in 418, after which Wallia's successors may have become hostile toward the family members of the deceased king. As entry into the Western Empire's military was a frequently-used option for "losers of struggles for leadership among the barbarians", and Ricimer's family would have thus entered the service of Rome.
Ricimer himself later married the sister of Gondioc, the king of the Burgundians.
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Famous quotes containing the word lineage:
“I declare
Two lineages electrify the air,
That will like pennons from a mast
Fly over sleep and life and death
Till sun is powerless to decoy
A single seed above the earth:
Lineage of sorrow: lineage of joy....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)