Roman Catholic Diocese of Glandèves

Glanate was a Gallo-Roman town on the right bank of the Var, which became the episcopal see of Glandève.

Ancient history

The site was first occupied by Ligurians, probably the Oxybii, in the 6th century BCE; they traded with Massallia (ancient Marseilles) and cultivated vines and olives (coll.)

By the 3rd century BCE, the Celto-Ligurian town had taken shape. Its name, in Gaulish, means "a habitation on the riverbank". In 125 BCE, the Romans under Octavian annexed Provence and the undefended site of Glanate surrendered. In time, Glanate acquired the status of a Roman town. (coll., Le Monti)

In 406, the Burgundians pillaged the town.

Feudal and ecclesiastical history

Glanate, known by late Antiquity as Glandèves became a bishopric; the first known bishop was Fraternus in 451 (Le Monti), or Claudius, who ascended the episcopal throne in 541, but Glandèves was probably a see as early as 439.

Over the next two centuries, raids by the Burgundians, Francs and Lombards gradually destroyed the town, which was also sacked by the Saracens from 700 until they were driven from Provence by William of Arles in 973.

Despite this destruction, Glandèves continued to be a bishopric until the 17th century. However, the population moved to the nearby and much more defensible site of Entrevaux from the start of the 11th century.