It has been said or quoted in at least a few different places that Manuel II Palaiologos, now made famous to the entire world thanks to the Pope’s Regensburg address, was the “penultimate emperor” in Constantinople.  I am perplexed as to why people keep saying this, since he was the third to last emperor, not the penultimate emperor as people keep insisting.  Anyone with a copy of Ostrogorsky handy–or a quick Google search–could confirm this immediately.  I don’t know where this “penultimate” meme came from, but a whole lot of people need to improve their fact-checking. 

John VIII, Manuel’s son, ruled for quite a while after him (1425-1448), even effectively ruling during the waning years of Manuel II’s reign, and oversaw the unfortunate Union of Ferrara-Florence (1438-39).  John VIII was the penultimate emperor, if we must call someone this.  Constantine XI, who was famous for having gone down fighting on 29 May 1453 when the City fell, was the Last Emperor.