Baldrick I was
bishop of Liège and
abbot of Lobbes
Lobbes Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Wallonia in the municipality of Lobbes, Hainaut, Belgium. The abbey played an important role in the religious, political and religious life of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, especially around the year 1 ...
from 955 until his death on 29 July 959.
Balderic appears in a 943 charter made in his favour by his paternal uncle
Balderic, which was studied by Joseph Daris in 1896 and Léon Vanderkindere in 1900, leading to the following conclusions:
*His mother who is not named in the charter was a sister of
Reginar III, Count of Hainaut.
*His mother's father was also named Reginar, and, we know from this document, was already dead in 943.
*His father was
Count Nevelung, who was also already dead in 943.
*His father's brother, also named Balderic, was bishop of Utrecht from 918 to 975. He was able to grant the use of lands near
Sint-Odiliënberg to the support of Nevelung's family.
*He had a younger brother named
Rudolf, who was to receive benefit from the grant after his mother and elder brother died.
Against royal wishes he was made a bishop whilst still a child in place of his predecessor
Rathier
Ratherius (887–890 AD – 974 AD) or Rathier or Rather of Verona was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His difficult personality and political activities led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer.
Early life and career
He was born sometime betw ...
(bishop from 953 to 955). According to Rathier's own published complaints, Balderic gained the position thanks to the support of his father's brother Bishop Balderic, and two other uncles, Count Reginar and Ruduolt, who is normally equated to
Rudolf the brother of Reginar who was named by
Flodoard
Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are m ...
as a rebel in 944.
Sources
* Bijsterveld, Arnoud-Jan (2015) 'Machts- en territoriumvorming: van Karolingische kernregio tot territoriale lappendeken, 900-1200' in: ''Limburg. Een geschiedenis, tot 1500'' (Limburgs Geschied- en Oudheidkundig Genootschap (LGOG) Maastricht)
*Daris, Joseph (1896) ‘Notes sur l’origine des deux Balderic, evêques de Liège’, ''Notices historiques sur les églises du diocèse de Liège'' 16 105-112.
*Vanderkindere, Léon (1900) ‘A propos d´une charte de Baldéric d’Utrecht’, Académie royale de Belgique Bulletin de la Classe des Lettres et des Sciences Morales et Politiques (Bruxelles)
{{S-end
category:Bishops of Liège
category:Abbots of Lobbes
category:959 deaths