Der Dichter, begleitet vom Kanzler Konrad von Querfurt, überreicht dem Kaiser Heinrich VI

Conrad of Querfurt (c. 1160 – 3 December 1202) was a prince of the church in the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

. He was the

bishop of Hildesheim This list records the incumbents of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim (german: link=no, Bistum Hildesheim). Between 1235 and 1803 the bishops simultaneously officiating as rulers of princely rank (prince-bishop) in the Prince-Bishopric of ...

(1194–1199) and the

bishop of Würzburg A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(1198–1202), served two kings as chancellor (1194–1201) and went on the

Crusade of 1197 The Crusade of 1197, also known as the Crusade of Henry VI (german: Kreuzzug Heinrichs VI.) or the German Crusade (''Deutscher Kreuzzug''), was a crusade launched by the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI in response to the aborted attempt of his fa ...

Rise and origin

Conrad was a son of the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

Burggrave Burchard II of Querfurt and

Matilda of Gleichen Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

, a daughter of Count Lambert I zu Tonna. Conrad attended the

Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

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 L ...

and later studied with Lothar of Segni in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, who later became

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

. In 1182, he received a Canon position in

. In 1188, he became a member of the royal chapel and a Provost in

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

. In 1190, he became Provost in Magdeburg and then in 1194 in St Mary's Cathedral in Aachen.

Chancellor of Henry VI

On the Sicilian expedition of Henry VI in 1194, the Chancellor Sigelo had died and Conrad, once one of the educators of the Emperor, was appointed as his successor. The following year, Conrad was elected as Bishop of Hildesheim. In 1196, the Emperor appointed him General Legate for Apulia, Italy and Sicily. In the enforcement of Hohenstaufen rule in Southern Italy and Sicily, he played a key role. At Conrad's instigation, Peter of Eboli wrote his '' Liber ad honorem Augusti'', that illustrated verse epic in which represented the events and appropriately recognized the merits of Conrad. A letter Conrad wrote describing the wonders of southern Italy, including classical ruins and volcanoes, survives because it was copied into the ''Chronicle'' of

Arnold of Lübeck Arnold of Lübeck (died 1211–1214) was a Benedictine abbot, a chronicler, the author of the '' Chronica Slavorum'' and advocate of the papal cause in the Hohenstaufen conflict. He was a monk at St. Ägidien monastery in Braunschweig, then from 1 ...

Crusade

In 1197, Conrad was with Emperor Henry's Imperial Marshal,

Henry of Kalden Henry of Kalden (german: Heinrich von Kalden; – after 1214) was a ''ministerialis'' in the service of the German kings Henry VI, Philip, Otto IV, and Frederick II. Life Henry probably was a son of the Franconian noble Henry III ''Testa'' of ...

, one of the leaders of the German

. He influenced King Amalrich of Cyprus to marry

Isabella I of Jerusalem Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, eng ...

and take the crown of Jerusalem.Juritsch 1894, pp. 354 Then during the siege of

Toron Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus. The castle was the centre of the Lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem ...

, Conrad received news of the Emperor's and Pope Celestine III's deaths. He broke the siege, fearing the throne was disputed because of the young age of Henry's son,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

. Before leaving, Conrad was involved in the transformation of the hospital cooperative in the camp of Acre on 5 March 1198, into the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. Pope Innocent III gave this transformation of the Hospital cooperative his consent in 1198.

Bishop of Würzburg

Conrad was elected bishop of Würzburg while he was in the Holy Land. Ordered to renounce it by the pope, he refused and was excommunicated. He then relented, renounced both dioceses and visited Rome, whereupon

confirmed him as bishop of Würzburg. In the

German throne dispute The German throne dispute or German throne controversy (german: Deutscher Thronstreit) was a political conflict in the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 to 1215. This dispute between the House of Hohenstaufen and House of Welf was over the successor to E ...

, he thereafter took the side of the pope's candidate, Otto of Brunswick, although he soon withdrew from politics. Conrad was assassinated in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

by Bodo von Ravensburg and Heinrich von Falkenberg on 3 December 1202. He had previously punished the for murder.

References

External links

*
Kurzbiografie
(genealogie-mittelalter.de) * https://web.archive.org/web/20150208071045/http://www.gebrochene-schwingen.de/chronik.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad of Querfurt Roman Catholic bishops of Hildesheim Roman Catholic bishops of Würzburg 12th-century German Roman Catholic bishops Christians of the Crusade of 1197 1160 births 1202 deaths Year of birth uncertain