Conrad I
f Abenberg(german: Konrad von Abenberg, c. 1075 – 9 April 1147) was
Archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, in the first half of the 12th century.
Born into the
Abenberg
Abenberg () is a town in the Middle Franconian district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 9 km west of Roth bei Nürnberg and 25 km southwest of Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Fran ...
-
Frensdorf nobility, Conrad was raised for a clerical career at the court of
Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son o ...
, where he was a member of the court chapel. He became a canon in
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 ...
. After escorting Emperor
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
in July 1110, Conrad sided with the Pope in the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...
, which eventually led to his exile for several years. He returned to Salzburg in 1121 and played an important role in the major political events of the day, including the election of
Lothair of Supplinburg as King of Germany in 1125 and the
papal schism of 1130
The 1130 papal election (held February 14) was convoked after the death of Pope Honorius II and resulted in a double election. Part of the cardinals, led by Cardinal-Chancellor Aymeric de la Chatre, elected Gregorio Papareschi as Pope Innocent ...
in which he played a role in the recognition of
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the f ...
by the king.
During the absence of
Lothair of Supplinburg in Italy, Conrad was ordained as the archbishop of Salzburg on 4 June 1133. As a
prince-bishop, he was influential in German politics and was an extremely energetic reformer who is often called "the second founder of the Church of Salzburg." He presided over an assembly that supervised the affairs of the religious houses, maintained strong control over
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s, and was responsible for building
Salzburg Cathedral and the cemetery in 1140. Conrad also supervised the construction of numerous other monasteries and the castles of
Hohensalzburg,
Werfen, and
Friesach
Friesach ( sl, Breže) is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in an 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia.
Geography
Location
Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km2 an ...
.
Early life and work
Conrad of Abenberg came from the family of the Counts of
Abenberg
Abenberg () is a town in the Middle Franconian district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 9 km west of Roth bei Nürnberg and 25 km southwest of Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Fran ...
-
Frensdorf, and had many distinguished relatives in Germany. He was born around 1075, son of Count Wolfram I von Abenberg. His mother was probably the daughter of Heinrich I, viscount of Regensburg. Conrad had two older brothers, Otto and Wolfram. He was raised for a clerical career at the court of the
Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son o ...
, where he was a member of the court chapel. He became a canon in
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 ...
.
Archbishop of Salzburg
Military and political endeavors
Conrad seems to have been involved when
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
revolted against his father in 1105. This would explain his election as Archbishop of Salzburg at the Diet of Mainz on 7 January 1106. At that time the anti-Archbishop
Berthold von Moosburg was installed in Salzburg. Conrad came to Salzburg accompanied by his brothers, the counts Otto and Wolfram, with an escort of 1,000 soldiers. Some of these soldiers may well have been ''servitors'', servile rather than free vassals. With this display of force, he was able to force Berthold to abdicate.
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...
consecrated him as bishop on 21 October 1106 and gave him the pallium.
In July 1110, Conrad accompanied Emperor Henry V to Italy. Conrad brought a strong military escort on this visit. However, Conrad sided with the Pope in the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...
.
Due to further conflicts with imperial officials, Conrad had to flee in 1112 and was not able to return to Salzburg until 1121. While in exile, he lived in
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
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, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
,
Admont
Admont is a town in the Austrian state of Styria. It is historically most notable for Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074.
Gesäuse National Park, in which Admont lies, is an area of outstanding beauty. The town is situated in the middle o ...
in
Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
, and
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state o ...
.
Conrad played an important role in the major political events of the day, including the election of
Lothair of Supplinburg as King of Germany in 1125, whom he supported during the fight against the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
usurpation. During the
papal schism of 1130
The 1130 papal election (held February 14) was convoked after the death of Pope Honorius II and resulted in a double election. Part of the cardinals, led by Cardinal-Chancellor Aymeric de la Chatre, elected Gregorio Papareschi as Pope Innocent ...
he played a role in the recognition of
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the f ...
by the king.
After this, tensions rose between Conrad and Lothair due to diverging views on church politics. Lothair visited Italy in 1132-33, and was crowned emperor by Innocent II on 4 June 1133. In his absence, Conrad was ordained an archbishop. This directly infringed on the emperor's right, recently confirmed by the Pope, to invest a bishop with his regalia before he was ordained. It earned a stern rebuke from Lothair.
When Lothair died, Conrad initially resisted the election of the Hohenstaufen
Conrad III and supported
Henry X, Duke of Bavaria
Henry the Proud (german: Heinrich der Stolze) (20 October 1139), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria (as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and Duke of Saxony (as Henry II) as well as Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto fro ...
instead. Conrad later came round to support the king.
Reform and administration
On his return from exile in 1121 or 1122, Conrad found his diocese "very poor and greatly devastated." Conrad worked with notables such as Hartmann von Brixen and Gerhoh von Reichersberg to reform the clergy in his archdiocese.
In particular, he undertook a major reform of the cathedral clergy.
Conrad presided over an assembly that supervised the affairs of the religious houses, including the cathedral, and used the canons to help administer his possessions.
He maintained strong control over
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s, allocating them between the monasteries and parish priests to avoid disputes over their distribution. During his administration, clerics of servile origin steadily gained in status, now called ''ministerialis'' rather than ''servitor''.
Between 1125 and 1130, he began minting coins at Friesach, which helped fund his projects. This served to revolutionise finance. In turn, he inspired the King of Hungary, Andrew II, to begin his own minting centres.
[Dimnik 2008, pp. 19]
Conrad rebuilt and expanded
Salzburg Cathedral and built the cathedral
chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
, and in 1140 he created the cathedral cemetery. He built hospitals for the poor of the city, and commenced construction of St. Peter's monastery where his former residence stood, moving to a new archbishop's residence nearer the cathedral. Conrad founded several monasteries and reformed others, a total of 17 in which the rule of the Augustinian
Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
prevailed. These included
St. Zeno, Gurk,
Reichersberg,
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; t ...
,
Baumburg,
Gars am Inn,
Au am Inn,
Ranshofen,
Höglwörth,
Herrenchiemsee
Herrenchiemsee is a complex of royal buildings on Herreninsel, the largest island in the Chiemsee lake, in southern Bavaria, Germany. Together with the neighbouring isle of Frauenchiemsee and the uninhabited Krautinsel, it forms the municipalit ...
,
Seckau and Suben. The archbishop supported the Benedictines.
During his exile, Duke Henry III of Eppenstein, brother of
Ulrich I,
patriarch of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
(r. 1086–1121), had seized property belonging to the Salzburg diocese in
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...
and
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
. Conrad excommunicated him and sent a force of 1,000 soldiers to Carinthia, forcing the duke to return the properties.
Later, Conrad reached an agreement of "peace and friendship" (''pax et amicitia'') with the Patriarch
Pellegrino I of Aquileia (r. 1130–1161) whereby he agreed to pay tithes to
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
for those properties which the archdiocese held in the patriarchate. Conrad's example was followed by pledges to pay their tithes from the others present when the agreement was reached.
Conrad completed construction of the castles of
Hohensalzburg,
Werfen, and
Friesach
Friesach ( sl, Breže) is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in an 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia.
Geography
Location
Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km2 an ...
, which Archbishop
Gebhard had started to build in 1077. In Styria, he reformed the military organization and administration of church properties, and built strong fortresses. For defense against Hungary, he built strongholds at Leibnitz (
Seggau) and Pettau (
Ptuj), and
Brestanica castle. He also expanded the
Burg Deutschlandsberg castle at the center of the Salzburg possessions in western Styria. In 1131, he made peace with King
Béla II of Hungary
Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, K ...
, which was followed by a long period of stability in the border region.
Conrad died on 9 April 1147 in
Lungau, Salzburg. An anonymous biography, known as the ''Vita Chuonradi archiepiscopi Salisburgensis'', was composed in the 1170s. It portrays Conrad as a man of peace. His role in the royal elections of 1125 and 1138 place him among the leading German
Prince-bishops in the High Middle Ages. He earned the title of "second founder of the Salzburg church."
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad 01 of Salzburg
1070s births
1147 deaths
11th-century German nobility
12th-century German Roman Catholic bishops
Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg