HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Christian I (''c''. 1130 – 23 August 1183), sometimes Christian von Buch, was a German prelate and nobleman. He was
Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
and
Archchancellor An archchancellor ( la, archicancellarius, german: Erzkanzler) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the wo ...
of Germany from 1165 until his death in 1183. He was originally elected archbishop in 1160 in a disputed election. He served the Emperor Frederick I as a diplomat in Italy on two occasions.


Biography

Christian was of the family of and ruled the small county of Bucha. He entered the church under the patronage of
Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia Ludwig II, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed ''Louis the Iron'' (1128 – 14 October 1172 at Neuenburg Castle in Freyburg). Life He was born in 1128, the son of Louis I, who in 1131 became the first landgrave of Thuringia, and his wife, ...
, who helped him to the position of cathedral provost of Merseburg. In 1160, with the murder of the Archbishop
Arnold of Mainz Arnold of Selenhofen (c. 1095/1100 – 24 June 1160) was the archbishop of Mainz from 1153 to his assassination in the Benedictine abbey St. Jakob, where he took shelter from the raging crowd. He was born to a wealthy Mainz family. He studied a ...
, Mainz was placed under an interdict. Some of the cathedral's canons fled to Frankfurt and there elected Christian archbishop. Others, however, elected
Rudolf of Zähringen Rudolf of Zähringen (also ''Rudolph'', ''Ralph'' or ''Raoul'') (c. 1135 – 5 August 1191) was the archbishop of Mainz from 1160 to 1161 and prince-bishop of Liège. He was the son of Conrad I of Zähringen and Clemence of Luxembourg-Namur. ...
. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, however, convened the Synod of Lodi and had Pope Victor IV depose both candidates and raise
Conrad of Wittelsbach Conrad of Wittelsbach (c. 1120/1125 – 25 October 1200) was the Archbishop of Mainz (as Conrad I) and Archchancellor of Germany from 20 June 1161 to 1165 and again from 1183 to his death. He was also a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Th ...
to the episcopal seat on 20 June 1161.


First trip into Italy

Christian became provost of
Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...
in 1162, as well as in
Basilica of Saint Servatius The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, ...
in Maastricht, and accompanied the emperor on his Italian expedition of 1163. In 1165, Conrad of Wittelsbach refused to recognise the imperial antipope, Paschal III. Frederick and Paschal immediately appointed Christian to the bishopric and he was recognised throughout the empire, but not by Pope Alexander III. The
Diet of Würzburg Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
was held, proclaiming Frederick's intentions. Christian marched into Latium, harassed the Romans, procured a treaty whereby they would recognise Paschal, and sacked Anagni. In 1167, Frederick set out to impose Paschal in the
Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine ...
by force, and Christian accompanied him. On 4 March, he was consecrated priest and the next day, bishop. Christian then set out on the warpath. He ferociously repressed
Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and '' comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Tern ...
for opposing the emperor and Paschal. Then, in May, the Romans amassed a large army of 40,000 and besieged Tusculum, where the imperialist Count Raino called in the forces of
Rainald of Dassel Rainald of Dassel (c. 1120 – 14 August 1167) was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial po ...
, the
archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Pala ...
and archchancellor of Italy. Help was then requested from Christian, then in
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
. With 1,300 Germans and Brabantines, and the men of Robert II of Bassunvilla, Christian encamped beside Monte Porzio outside the city. The Romans spurned all attempts by Christian at diplomatic resolution and attacked. The momentous
Battle of Monte Porzio The Battle of Monte Porzio (also called the Battle of Tusculum) was fought on 29 May 1167 between the Holy Roman Empire and the Commune of Rome. The communal Roman army, which one historian has called the "greatest army which Rome had sent int ...
took place on May 29. The Roman and Papal troops were defeated, Tusculum preserved, and the road opened to Rome. The emperor and his antipope entered Rome, but the onset of malarial weather cut down 2,000 men, including Rainald of Dassel. Christian was appointed archchancellor of Italy in his place. The next year, he assisted the Romans in razing Albano.


Diplomat

After returning to Germany, where he made one of only two visits of his career to Mainz, he mediated between Frederick and the Saxon duke Henry the Lion. In 1168, he was in Rouen, mediating between Henry II of England and Louis VII of France. It was Christian's idea to crown Frederick's son Henry as King of the Romans at
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
in June 1169. He also tried to end the Great Schism between Eastern and Western churches, which brought him to Greece in 1170 as an ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1177, he was one of the chief negotiators of the
Treaty of Venice The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was a peace treaty between the papacy and its allies, the north Italian city-states of the Lombard League, and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily also took part in negotiations and ...
between Emperor and Pope, in which the Emperor formally acknowledged Alexander as pope and abandoned his own antipope, Callistus III. He thus received the recognition of Alexander III and received the '' pallium''.


Second trip into Italy

Not only a diplomat, in 1171, Christian had accompanied Frederick into Italy again. He attacked all cities aligned with Alexander. Allied with Venice, he besieged Ancona in 1173, but was forced to retreat; the widow
Stamira Stamira (sometimes spelled Stamura) (date of birth unknown – Ancona, 1 September 1173) was, according to a long-standing tradition, a heroic self-sacrificing woman who saved the city of Ancona during the 1173 siege by Holy Roman Emperor Freder ...
, later accounted an Italian national heroine, had an important role in the city's resistance. In 1174, he sacked
Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It i ...
and in 1176,
Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and '' comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest ...
. On 12 March 1178, Christian escorted the pope into Rome. He then besieged
Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early histor ...
, where the Antipope Callistus III was staying. He forced his surrender to Alexander and the subjection of the city, which had begged the assistance of
Conrad of Montferrat Conrad of Montferrat (Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (died 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the ''de facto'' King of Jerusalem (as Conrad I) by vi ...
. In March 1179, he took part in the Third Lateran Council, which reversed all the acts of Paschal III. He then turned to defend Viterbo from Conrad, whom he captured and who then captured him at
Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...
in September and held him prisoner for fifteen months in the castle of San Flaviano, then in Rocca Venere, and finally in Acquapendente. According to the Byzantine historian
Niketas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...
, Conrad benefited from the financial support of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and was prepared to send his captive to Constantinople as a hostage, but Manuel finally refused the suggestion.
Niketas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...
, ''Histories'' p. 201 van Dieten.
After Christian's liberation he continued in Viterbo, even taking in the pope, who had left Rome. In 1181, when
Pope Lucius III Pope Lucius III (c. 1097 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born of an aristocratic family of Lucca, prior to being elected pope, he had a long career as a papal diplomat. His p ...
likewise fled the city, Christian came to his assistance at Tusculum, which the Romans were besieging. He defeated the Romans twice and saved the pope and the city once again. He caught the same malarial fever which had killed 2,000 after Monte Porzio, though Roger of Hoveden suggests he drank from a poisoned fountain. He died at Tusculum and was buried there. Conrad of Wittelsbach was again made archbishop of Mainz. Christian was a diplomat and a soldier, never a prelate, throughout his life. His legacy and character are summed up by
Gregorovius Ferdinand Gregorovius (19 January 1821, Neidenburg, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia – 1 May 1891, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria) was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. Biography Gregorovius was the son of Neid ...
: .


Notes


Sources

* *
Boncompagno da Signa Boncompagno da Signa (also ''Boncompagnus'' or ''Boncompagni''; c. 1165/1175 – after 1240) was an Italian scholar, grammarian, historian, and philosopher. Born in Signa, near Florence, between 1165 and 1175, he was a professor of rhetoric (' ...

''The History of the Siege of Ancona''.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian 01 Archbishops of Mainz 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire German diplomats 1130s births 1183 deaths