Gotebald (or Gotebold) was the

Patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...

during the middle of the eleventh century (1049–1063). He was originally a provost from

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

(''prepositus Nemetensis''). During his reign, the century-old conflict between

Old-Aquileia The Patriarchate of Old Aquileia existed between 607 and 698 because of the Tricapitoline Schism in the Patriarchate of Aquileia. It was allied with the Arian Lombards, while the rival Patriarchate of Grado was allied with the Byzantine Empire. Ba ...

and

Grado Grado may refer to: People * Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress * Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer * Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver * Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso * Gra ...

reached a climax. Between 1050 and 1051, he supported the

bishop of Treviso The Diocese of Treviso ( la, Dioecesis Tarvisina) is Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Veneto, Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Patriarchate of Venice ...

in a conflict, going so far as to falsify an imperial diploma. In 1053,

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

declared Grado to be the true patriarchate, a ''Nova Aquileia'' and ''caput et metropolis'' of the Province of ''Venetia et Histria''. Gotebald was relegated to being mere ''Forojuliensis episcopus''."Bishop of

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 Giulia ...

." In response to this, Gotebald took up arms to defend the territorial integrity of his patriarchal

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. He refused to aid the papal reformers against simoniacs. He did, however, have the friendship of

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

, who even confirmed the false diploma. Gotebald and the emperor put pressure on

Pope Victor II Pope Victor II (c. 1018 – 28 July 1057), born Gebhard of Dollnstein-Hirschberg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 April 1055 until his death in 1057. Victor II was one of a series of German-born popes w ...

to reverse the decision of Leo, but to no avail. Henry continued to treat Gotebald with prestige nevertheless. On his deathbed (1056), the emperor called on Gotebald, Gebhard III of Regensburg, and the pope to determine the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for his young son Henry IV. Gotebald traveled to Germany in the years that followed and was confirmed as patriarch with supremacy over Grado by Henry IV. Despite his lifelong conflict with the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Grado and the popes, he was not a poor clergyman. He enlarged the monasteries of his domain considerably before his death in 1063.

Notes

Sources

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''. Rome.
{{authority control 1063 deaths 11th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Patriarchs of Aquileia Year of birth unknown