Anspert (died 7 December 881) was archbishop of Milan from 861 to 881.

Biography

Despite the tradition that he was a member of the Confalonieri family, this is not confirmed. When he was not a bishop yet, Anspert received by

emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

the asset of Ansprand, who had killed the monarch's brother. He was appointed archbishop of Milan on 26 June 868 and under Louis II he was ''

missus dominicus A ''missus dominicus'' (plural ''missi dominici''), Latin for "envoy of the lord uler or ''palace inspector'', also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf (German: ''Sendgraf''), meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Hol ...

''. An educated man, he asked Irish monks to found the archbishop's ''scriptorium'' in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, a center for production of

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

s. On 12 August 875, he moved to

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

, where the emperor had just died, and organized his sepulture in the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. In the January of the following year he participated to the coronation of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

, and received from the new king further territories at Cavenago,

Vimercate Vimercate (; lmo, label=Brianzöö, Vimercaa ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is from Milan and from Monza. Its name (whose first finding dates back to the year 745) derives from t ...

and

Ornago Ornago is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the s ...

. In July 877 he took part in a council at

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

in which he obtained several privileges for the Milanese archbishopric. After the Charles the Bald's death (877), Anspert entered in conflict with Pope John VIII, who favored

Boso of Vienne Boso (french: Boson; c. 841 – 11 January 887) was a Frankish nobleman of the Bosonid family who was related to the Carolingian dynasty and who rose to become King of Lower Burgundy and Provence. Origin Boso was the son of Bivin of Gorze, c ...

as King of Italy, while the Milanese proposed Carloman of Bavaria. On 1 June 879 he was excommunicated and, in the following October, deposed; however, Anspert remained in charge as the Milanese clergymen supported him. Anspert and John reconciled when they met at the coronation of Charles the Fat as King of Italy (6 January 880) at Ravenna. During his tenure as archbishop the church of Milan was named as ''Ambrosian'' Anspert died at Milan in December 881 and was buried in the church of Sant'Ambrogio.

Biography

Sources

Further reading