Gardolf of Hertbeke (died 21 August 1201) was the

bishop of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese (german: Bistum Halberstadt) from 804 until 1648.

from 1193 until his death. Gardolf was from a noble family of Hertbeke. In two charters, he describes himself as "a blood relative" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''consanguineus'') of

Conrad of Krosigk Conrad of Krosigk (c. 1162 – 21 June 1225) was a Germans, German prelate, crusader and monk. He served as the bishop of Halberstadt from 1201 until 1208 and took part in the Fourth Crusade in 1202–1204. He resigned his see to become a Cistercian ...

. The ''

Deeds of the Bishops of Halberstadt The ''Deeds of the Bishops of Halberstadt'' ( la, Gesta episcoporum Halberstadensium) is an anonymous Latin chronicle of the diocese of Halberstadt from its foundation in 780 down to 1209.Alfred J. Andrea (1996), "The Anonymous Chronicler of Halber ...

'' states that he was a blood relative of

Conrad of Querfurt Conrad of Querfurt (c. 1160 – 3 December 1202) was a prince of the church in the Kingdom of Germany. He was the bishop of Hildesheim (1194–1199) and the bishop of Würzburg (1198–1202), served two kings as chancellor (1194–1201) and went o ...

also. He was probably related to Conrad of Krosigk's mother, Adelheid of Hertbeke. By May 1184 both he and Conrad were subdeacons of

Halberstadt Cathedral The Halberstadt Cathedral or Church of St Stephen and St Sixtus (german: Dom zu Halberstadt) is a Gothic church in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the episcopal see of the Bishopric of Halberstadt, established by Emperor Charlemagne ...

. By 1193 Gardolf had become

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 * ...

and ''

vicedominus Vidame () was a feudal title in France, a term descended from mediaeval Latin . Like the ''avoué'' or ''advocatus'', the ''vidame'' was originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent of the count—to p ...

'' of the cathedral. According to the ''Deeds of the Bishops'', he served as a chaplain at the court of King Henry VI of Germany. When Bishop

Dietrich of Krosigk Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession. Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440) * Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietric ...

died on 10 August 1193, Gardolf was elected to succeed him. Henry VI immediately confirmed the election and was personally present for Gardolf's priestly ordination and episcopal consecration. Gardolf committed to Henry VI's

German Crusade 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 f ...

, which did not set out until after Henry's death on 28 September 1197. He was absent from his diocese for two years in the Holy Land (1197–1198). In 1198 there was a double election and civil war over the succession to Henry VI. Gardolf and his diocese remained loyal to the

Staufer dynasty 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 ...

and favoured Duke Philip of Swabia, while 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 J ...

favoured Count Otto of Poitou. In early 1202, Innocent sent Cardinal

Guy Paré Guy Paré (died 1206) was a French Cistercian, who became general of his order, Archbishop of Reims, and a Cardinal. He was a papal legate to Germany. In 1204 he was made Archbishop by Pope Innocent III; this position also made him a ''pair de Fr ...

to Germany as his legate to bring the German church over to Otto's side. The arrival of the legate greatly distressed Gardolf. According to the ''Deeds of the Bishops'', however, he was so esteemed in Germany than even bishops who favoured Otto sent him letters of support. Gardolf received permission from the legate to take his case to Rome in person, which would cause him to miss the cardinal's upcoming synod at

Corbie Corbie (; nl, Korbei) is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies in ...

. On 21 August 1201, he died of a fever at the house of

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canons in Kaltenborn shortly after setting out for Rome. Conrad of Krosigk, his kinsman, led the funeral cortege from Kaltenborn to the cathedral, where he was interred.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{refend 1201 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Halberstadt Christians of the Crusade of 1197