Bertold of Landsberg (before 1464 – 4 May 1502 at the castle in

Rotenburg an der Wümme Rotenburg an der Wümme (also known as ''Rotenburg (Wümme)''; ''Rotenburg in Hannover'' until May 1969; Northern Low Saxon: ''Rodenborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg. Geography Rotenburg ...

) was bishop of Verden. He was also Bishop of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

as Berthold II.

Life

Ascent to bishop of Verden

Berthold descended from the Lower Saxon Landsberg family (not to be confused with the Westphalian family of the same name). His father was Ulrich of Landsberg. He studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and obtained his JD degree. He became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

in Verden and became a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

in 1464. From 1468, he administered the bishopric on behalf of Bishop John III of Asel, who suffered from ill health. In 1470, the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

urged John III to abdicate and elected Berthold as his successor. His election was confirmed by

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

Bishop of Hildesheim

In 1472, Berthold and the city of Hildesheim support the candidacy of his cousin Henning of Hus as the next bishop of Hildesheim, against several other candidates. A

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

ensued. Henning was unable to prevail against the provost and the local nobility. After another was with Brunswick and Hesse, he withdrew his candidacy in favour if Berthold. Berthold's appointment was confirmed by the pope and the pope also gave Berthold permission to continue to administer Verden.

Great feud

He tried to the financial problems of his bishopric with new taxes. In 1484, this led to a serious conflict with the city of

, known as the "Great Feud". The citizens of Hildesheim even went so far as to take some of their bishop's vassals prisoner. Berthold countered with ecclesiastical punishments, such as

anathema Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...

and

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

. Nevertheless, the city prevailed. As a result, the citizens began to strengthen the city's fortifications. Berthold ordered the city to revert the city wall to their previous size, but the city refused. War broke out again, with both sides plundering and looting the enemy's territory. In 1486, their differences were settled and a peace treaty was agreed. Nevertheless, tensions remained.

Foreign and domestic policies

Berthold concluded a treaty of alliance for a twenty-year period with Duke

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who had been his predecessor's greatest enemy. However, it soon became clear that William would not support him in his conflicts with the local nobility. Several North German cities concluded an alliance against their princes; Hildesheim was among them. In 1483, the cities of Brunswick and Hildesheim defeated Duke Henry VII of Brunswick-Lüneburg at Bleckenstedt in 1483. In 1488, Berthold travelled to Rome to object to an unjustified papal ban against the bishoprics of Verden and Hildesheim. He never managed to get the local nobility under control. In 1500, a nobleman from the Schwichelt family convinced the pope to pronounce a ban against the church in Hildesheim again. In 1493, he concluded an alliance for a twenty-year period with archbishop Henry II of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. However, Henry's successor John III cancelled this alliance.

Promoting religion and culture

Because of the unsettled conditions in Hildesheim, Berthold resided mostly in the castle of

in the Bishopric of Verden. He supported church activities. He patronized the cult of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and the worship of

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

and the patron saint of the diocese. During his reign, the monasteries of Isenhagen,

Ringelheim Ringelheim with 1,994 inhabitants is the sixth biggest quarter of Salzgitter in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Innerste River at the very far south-western end of the urban area. The Salzgitter-Ringelheim train station is the most important ...

and Grauhof were reformed. The construction of the nave of

Verden Cathedral Verden can refer to: * Verden an der Aller, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany * Verden, Oklahoma, a small town in the USA * Verden (district), a district in Lower Saxony, Germany * Diocese of Verden (768–1648), a former diocese of the Catholic Chu ...

began during his reign. Berthold died on 4 May 1502 and was buried in Verden Cathedral. A cast bronze grave stone has been preserved to this day.

References

* * * Friedrich W. Ebeling: ''Die deutschen Bischöfe bis zum Ende des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts'', vol.1, Leipzig, 1858, p 2527 ff {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthold 02 Landsberg 15th-century German Roman Catholic bishops Prince-Bishops of Hildesheim Roman Catholic Prince-Bishops of Verden Year of birth unknown 15th-century births 1502 deaths Lower Saxon nobility