Abbot Oliba
Abbot Oliba (Catalan Abat Oliba ) (* 971 Besalu, † 1046 in Saint -Michel -de- Cuxa ) was Count of Berga, abbot of various Benedictine monasteries and Bishop of Vic. He is regarded by many as ' spiritual father ' of Catalonia.
Biography
Oliba was the third son of the Count of Cerdanya and Oliba cabretas Besalu and his wife Ermengarda, and thus a direct descendant of Wilfried's hairy, the founder of the dynasty of the Counts of Barcelona.
From 998-1003 he was Count of Berga, then took off his title and entered the monastery founded by Wilfried Ripoll. In 1008 he was elected abbot of this monastery; One year later, the abbot of Saint -Martin- du- Canigou. In 1011 he undertook a journey to Rome, where he succeeded in obtaining from Pope Sergius IV in a bull the privilege that the Catalan monasteries were directly subordinate to the papal chair, which makes them a high degree of independence from secular influence exercised obtained. 1018 he was also appointed bishop of Vic. In the following years he founded more monasteries - so, for example, Santa Maria de Montserrat, Sant Miquel de Fluvia and Saint- Martin du Canigou.
Oliba died in 1046, in the monastery of Saint- Michel -de- Cuxa, which is today in the French Pyrenees ( Roussillon ), but at that time belonged to the County of Barcelona. On the altar there, You find his name.
Effect
When traveling to Rome he came into contact with the Popes Sergius IV and Benedict VIII In these travels he was deeply impressed by the style of the Roman and especially the Lombard churches, so he took the model for many new buildings in his own sphere of influence and thus, a new style of architecture in Catalonia launched. Founded between 1025 and 1035 and he renewed the monasteries of Montserrat and Saint -Martin- du- Canigou; Moreover, he is considered as the builder of 1032 consecrated basilica of Santa Maria in Ripoll, which is considered one of the most beautiful buildings of the Spanish Romanesque. Also, the finished or consecrated in 1038 construction of the Cathedral of Vic is probably due to his initiative.
In addition, he was one of the initiators of the socially significant Treuga dei movement ( Catalan: Pau i Treva de Deu ) in Catalonia and was involved in the reconstruction of the destroyed cities of Moorish troops Manresa and Cardona.
He was also a great patron of the art of writing. The scriptorium of the monastery in Ripoll is famous for its extensive library. Here was - in addition to Toledo - one of the centers of the translation of ancient Arabic manuscripts into Latin. Thanks to his initiative flourished cultural life in Catalonia scratch.
His initiatives had for a long time - so there up to the present day in Catalonia, a Fundación Abat Oliba. In Barcelona, the Abbot Oliba University is named after him.