Werner of Magdeburg

Last updated

Werner of Steusslingen (died 7 August 1078) was the archbishop of Magdeburg from 1063 until his death. His episcopate was dominated by the Investiture Contest. He was an ally of King Henry IV of Germany until 1073, when he joined the first Saxon revolt. Imprisoned in 1075 and released the following year, he joined the second Saxon revolt in 1077. He was killed at the battle of Mellrichstadt.

Contents

Rise

Werner belonged to the Steusslingen family, part of the lesser nobility of the Duchy of Swabia. [1] His father was Walter and his mother Eggela (Engela). She was buried in Magdeburg Cathedral. [2] His brother was Archbishop Anno II of Cologne and his sister's son was Bishop Burchard II of Halberstadt. He and Burchard owed their episcopal appointments in the Duchy of Saxony to the influence of Anno on King Henry IV. [1]

Prior to his appointment as archbishop, Werner was the provost of Maria ad Gradus, which Anno had founded in Cologne. When the see of Magdeburg became vacant, Anno had Henry overturn the cathedral chapter's election and appoint Werner. Adam of Bremen in his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum cites the case of Werner as exemplary of Anno's baleful nepotism. The anonymous author of the Gesta archiepiscoporum Magdeburgensium  [ de ] considered Werner to lack qualification for high office, being "a mild man and not sharp-witted". [3]

Werner was an ally of Henry IV until 1072–1073. He frequently attended Henry's court and Henry twice visited Magdeburg during this period. Werner's last appearance at court was in March 1072 at Goslar. Henry celebrated Pentecost in Magdeburg on 27 May 1072. [1] By July 1073, however, Werner was, alongside his nephew, one of the leaders of the eastern Saxon revolt. [4] [5] According to Bruno of Merseburg, his reasons were the same as those of the princes and boiled down to opposition to Henry IV's policy of recovering demesne lands in eastern Saxony that had been usurped during his minority. [1]

Revolts

A letter addressed by Werner to Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz in 1074 or 1075 is an important source on the early phase of the revolt and the rebels' thinking. According to Werner, Henry IV seized the Saxon princes' lands arbitrarily and "not because of any fault on our part", but in order to reward the less wealthy members of his household ( familiares ), and then "fortified the more inaccessible places in our region with very strong castles." Henry's "personal garrisons" he even accused of "kill[ing] those who wished to defend their liberty." [6] Werner blamed the desecration of graves in the Harzburg on "peasants with [their] characteristic ignorance." He was not only interested in defending the rebels' actions, however, but in averting the coming royal expedition. He asked Siegfried to intercede for the Saxons with the king. [7]

In the spring of 1075, according to Bruno, Henry IV was willing to reconcile with Werner and the other Saxon rebels on the condition that they hand over Burchard of Halberstadt and the other major conspirators. Since he would not guarantee a trial before their peers, his offer was rebuffed. [7] The rebels were crushed at the battle of Homburg on 9 June and the main rebels surrendered to the king in late October. [8] Werner was imprisoned in Goslar. [2]

In the summer of 1076, Henry released Werner as a show of goodwill, perhaps at the insistence of Pope Gregory VII. This move failed to calm the Saxons or to convert Werner, who immediately joined a new revolt. [2] [9] In March 1077, he was one of the electors of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as anti-king. [10] [11] He was one of those clergymen who fled at the start of the battle of Mellrichstadt on 7 August 1078, causing Rudolf's army to panic. In the defeat, Werner was killed. [12] He was buried in the Abbey of Our Lady  [ de ] in Magdeburg, to which he had shown favour. [2]

Assessments of Werner's pontificate have generally been negative. The author of the Gesta archiepiscoporum Magdeburgensium referred to "the harm inflicted on [the] church" by Werner. [3] He has been compared unfavourably to Burchard, who had skills commensurate with his office. [13] Werner is described as "a shadowy figure" compared to his "astute and energetic" nephew, although he had brought some benefit to his church from royal generosity during the first decade of his episcopate. [14] Overall, his pontificate was "not a blessing" for the church. [2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Robinson 2004, pp. 88–89.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hertel 1897.
  3. 1 2 Robinson 2004, p. 47.
  4. ↑ Robinson 2004, p. 74.
  5. ↑ Blumenthal 1988, p. 111.
  6. ↑ Robinson 2004, p. 84.
  7. 1 2 Robinson 2004, pp. 99–100.
  8. ↑ Robinson 2004, pp. 100–102.
  9. ↑ Robinson 2004, p. 152.
  10. ↑ Robinson 2004, p. 367.
  11. ↑ Blumenthal 1988, p. 124.
  12. ↑ Robinson 2004, pp. 181–182.
  13. ↑ Blumenthal 1988, p. 107.
  14. ↑ Robinson 2004, p. 88.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1075</span> Calendar year

Year 1075 (MLXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anno II</span> Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 to 1075

Anno II was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adalbert von Hamburg-Bremen</span> German archbishop

Adalbert was Archbishop of Bremen from 1043 until his death. Called Vikar des Nordens, he was an important political figure of the Holy Roman Empire, papal legate, and one of the regents for Emperor Henry IV.

The First Battle of Langensalza was fought on 9 June 1075 between forces of King Henry IV of Germany and several rebellious Saxon noblemen on the River Unstrut near Langensalza in Thuringia. The battle was a complete success for Henry, resulting in the subjugation of the Saxons shortly before the Investiture Controversy commenced. In Germany the battle is known as the Schlacht bei Homburg an der Unstrut, after a nearby Kaiserpfalz and monastery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf of Rheinfelden</span> Elected anti-king in 1077 in opposition to the Salian emperor Henry IV

Rudolf of Rheinfelden was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt and the first phase of open conflict in the Investiture Controversy between Emperor and Papacy. After a series of armed conflicts, Rudolf succumbed to his injuries after his forces defeated Henry's in the Battle on the Elster.

Lambert of Hersfeld was a medieval chronicler. His work represents a major source for the history of the German kingdom of Henry IV and the incipient Investiture Controversy in the eleventh century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnus, Duke of Saxony</span> Duke of Saxony

Magnus was the duke of Saxony from 1072 to 1106. Eldest son and successor of Ordulf and Wulfhild of Norway, he was the last member of the House of Billung.

Otto of Nordheim was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt of 1073–1075 and the Saxon revolt of 1077–1088 against King Henry IV of Germany.

Bruno the Saxon, also known as Bruno of Merseburg or Bruno of Magdeburg, was a German chronicler of the eleventh century and author of the Historia de Bello Saxonico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Halberstadt</span>

The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese from 804 until 1648. From 1180, the bishops or administrators of Halberstadt ruled a state within the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-bishopric of Halberstadt. The diocesan seat and secular capital was Halberstadt in present-day Saxony-Anhalt.

Egbert II was Count of Brunswick and Margrave of Meissen. He was the eldest son of the Margrave Egbert I of the Brunonen family.

Siegfried I was the Abbot of Fulda from 25 December 1058 until 6 January 1060, and from January 1060 until his death in February 1084, he was Archbishop of Mainz.

Burchard of Veltheim was a German cleric and Bishop of Halberstadt from 1059 until his death.

Liemar was archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen from 1072 to 1101, and an important figure of the early Investiture Contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benno II of Osnabrück</span>

Benno II was Bishop of Osnabrück from 1068 until his death. He served as a close advisor and architect of Emperor Henry IV. In 1080 he founded the Benedictine abbey of Iburg Castle.

Battle of Mellrichstadt was fought between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia on 7 August 1078 near Mellrichstadt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor</span> Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1084–1105) of the Salian dynasty

Henry IV was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor—the second monarch of the Salian dynasty—and Agnes of Poitou. After his father's death on 5 October 1056, Henry was placed under his mother's guardianship. She made grants to German aristocrats to secure their support. Unlike her late husband, she could not control the election of the popes, thus the idea of the "liberty of the Church" strengthened during her rule. Taking advantage of her weakness, Archbishop Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. He administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxon revolt of 1073–1075</span> Civil War in the Holy Roman Empire

The Saxon revolt refers to the struggle between the Salian dynasty ruling the Holy Roman Empire and the rebel Saxons during the reign of Henry IV. The conflict reached its climax in the period from summer 1073 until the end of 1075, in a rebellion that involved several clashes of arms.

Tedald was archbishop of Milan from 1075 to 1085.

Herrand was a German prelate who served as abbot of Ilsenburg and bishop of Halberstadt (1090–1102).

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.