Bertulf (archbishop of Trier)

Bertolf, or Berthold ( other spellings: Bertulf, Bertholf, † February 10 883 ) was 869-883 Archbishop of Trier.

Family

He was a son of Count Gebhard in Lahngau and thus a member of the House of Conradines. His mother was a sister of the mighty name unknown, but 861 remote Margrave Ernst in the Bavarian and Bohemian Nordgau Mark. His brothers were Udo ( Count in Lahngau ), Waldo ( Abbot of Schwarzach the Upper Rhine and of St. Maximin in Trier ) and Berengar ( 876-879 Count of the Saxon Hessengau ).

Bertolf is also referred to as the nephew of the bishop of Metz Adventius which would be thus been a brother of Bertolfs mother. Adventius 869 Charles the Bald was crowned in the cathedral of Metz King of Lorraine and was one of Charles's advisors relevant.

Choice

After the Archbishop of Trier Theutgaud been excommunicated and deposed by Pope Nicholas I in October 863 in Rome and 868 had died in Rome, succeeded Charles the Bald 869, select its candidate for Bertolf successor in office and must be confirmed by the Pope. Bertolf had previously been abbot of the Benedictine monastery Mettlach. The Trier Cathedral Chapter was the choice probably right, because so many long years the see is vacant, have been completed. Karl sweetened the choice by he gave the new Archbishop Krongut Merzig.

The choice Bertolfs was a provocation to Louis the German, since there the West Frankish king Charles intervened in the affairs of the East Frankish Empire. He then brought its own candidate into play. Ironically, this was Bertolfs brother Waldo, who, like them, was sentenced eight years earlier at the Reichstag in Regensburg with his brothers and Udo Berengar and her uncle Ernst for embezzlement and gone his offices and honors forfeited. However, this attempt failed because of the resistance of the other archbishops, who obviously wanted to finally see a colleague back in Trier.

Tenure

On 26 and 27 September 870 Bertolf presided, along with the archbishops of Mainz and Liutbert Willibert of Cologne at a synod in Cologne, where the Carolingian building of the Cologne Cathedral, the so-called Hildebold Cathedral, was inaugurated.

In the year 878 the bishop of Metz Wala was elevated by Pope John VIII at the Council of Troyes archbishop. Thus he came into conflict with Bertolf, which forbade his suffragan to the archiepiscopal pallium wear. After mediation by Archbishop Hincmar of Reims Wala 'conflict finally gave in this Palliumstreit after the year 880.

879 consecrated Bertolf that of his father Gebhard 845 donated in chain Bach and 879 transferred from him to Gemünden monastery of St. Severus in the presence of Gebhard, King Ludwig III. and his brother, Waldo of St. Maximin.

However, the most outstanding event in Bertolfs tenure was the Norman invasion in April 882 The archbishop had fled in time to Metz and thus was out of danger. Coming from Koblenz, the Normans took on Holy Thursday, April 5, a, Trier. After a few days of rest plundered, ravaged and pillaged them the city on Easter Sunday. Then pulled out a part with the loot down the Moselle in Koblenz, while the rest moved in the direction of Metz. In the battle of Remich on the Moselle River, in today's Luxembourg, it turned them on April 11, 882 a small squad, led by Bishop Wala of Metz, Count Adalhard II of Metz and Bertolf of Trier. The Normans were victorious, but then turned off to Bingen and Mainz. Wala fell in battle, and Adalhard Bertolf escaped.

Bertolf died on February 10, 883 He was buried in the monastery of St. Paulin near Trier, which had been spared in the Norman invasion.