Gebbard, Archbishop of Salzburg
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Gebhard von Salzburg ( 101015 June 1088), also occasionally known as Gebhard of Sussex, was Archbishop of Salzburg from 1060 until his death. He was one of the fiercest opponents of King Henry IV of Germany during 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 monast ...
.


Life

Of Gebhard's origins, all that is known for certain is that he was born in the German
stem duchy A stem duchy (german: Stammesherzogtum, from '' Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Bavarians and Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the German Empire at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dynasty (death o ...
of
Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
. Although he appeared in a 17th-century genealogy by
Gabriel Bucelin Gabriel Bucelin (also ''Gabriel Buzlin'', ''Gabriel Bincelint'', or ''Gabriel Bucelinus'') (29 December 1599, Diessenhofen, Thurgau – 9 June 1681, Weingarten) was a Benedictine polymath, Humanist, historical writer and cartographer. Life A ...
as a scion of the comital
House of Helfenstein The House of Helfenstein was a German noble family during the High and Late Middle Ages. The family was named after the family castle, Castle Helfenstein, located above Geislingen an der Steige in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, ...
, this lineage is entirely speculative. Gebhard presumably studied in
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, was ordained a priest at Salzburg in 1055 and became court
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
to Emperor Henry III. Then a loyal supporter of the
Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the la ...
, he also travelled as an ambassador to the
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court at
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and held the office of an Imperial
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between 1057 and 1059. On 30 July 1060 he was consecrated bishop of the Archdiocese of Salzburg. He reorganized the
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 paid by the Carantanian peasants and the parish system in
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, where he in 1072 dissolved the double monastery of Gurk Abbey, founded by Saint Hemma in 1043, and replaced it by the suffragan
Diocese of Gurk The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt (german: Diözese Gurk-Klagenfurt, sl, Krška škofija) is a Catholic diocese covering the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. Though named after Gurk ...
. Gebhard also established Admont Abbey in 1074, vested with Hemma's estates in the Carinthian March of Styria. Besides this, he had the fortresses
Hohensalzburg Hohensalzburg Fortress (german: Festung Hohensalzburg, lit=High Salzburg Fortress) is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg, Austria. It sits atop the Festungsberg at an altitude of 506 m. It was erected at the behest of the Prince-Ar ...
, Hohenwerfen 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 a ...
built. Yet in 1075, Gebhard had backed the German king Henry IV struggling with the Great Saxon Revolt. In the following Investiture Controversy however, he was on the side of
Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...
. Like his friend Bishop Altmann of Passau he did not attend the 1076 Synod of Worms held by the king and instead allied with the oppositional princes at the diet of
Trebur Trebur is a municipality in Groß-Gerau district in Hessen, Germany. It is 13 km southeast of Mainz, and 8 km south of Rüsselsheim. Geography Location Trebur is located in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region. The cities of Mainz, Wiesbade ...
later in that year. Even after Henry's
Walk to Canossa The Humiliation of Canossa ( it, L'umiliazione di Canossa), sometimes called the Walk to Canossa (german: Gang nach Canossa/''Kanossa'') or the Road to Canossa, was the ritual submission of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV to Pope Gregory VII a ...
, Gebhard supported the election of antiking Rudolf of Rheinfelden in March 1077. As he was unwilling to be reconciled with the king, Henry IV expelled him from Salzburg. While his diocese was devastated by the king's forces, Gebhard spent nine years in Swabia 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 of ...
, trying to win the support of the bishops for the cause of Pope Gregory VII. Meanwhile in Salzburg, Berthold von Moosburg was installed as anti-bishop in 1085. Gebhard was not able to return to Salzburg until 1086, assisted by the support of Duke
Welf I of Bavaria Welf I (c. 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Bi ...
. Gebhard died at Hohenwerfen on 15 June 1088 and is buried in the church of Admont Abbey. His feast day is 15 June. He is shown as a bishop with a Greek cross and a
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. In 1629 a process of
canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
was begun but delayed due to the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
and has never been concluded.


Notes


Sources

*Amon, Karl, 1991: ''Die heiligen Bischöfe und Erzbischöfe der Kirche von Salzburg''. In: ''Sursum Corda, Festschrift für P. Harnoncourt''. * *Karner, Pius, 1913: ''Austria Sancta. Die Heiligen und Seligen Salzburgs''. Vienna. *Tomek, Ernst, 1935-59: ''Kirchengeschichte Österreichs''. Innsbruck/Vienna/Munich: Tyrolia. *Wimmer, Otto, Melzer, Hartmann, Gelmi, Josef (eds.), 2002: ''Gebhard Erzb. von Salzburg''. In: ''Lexikon der Namen und Heiligen''. Hamburg: Nikol. *Wodka, Josef, 1959: ''Kirche in Österreich. Wegweiser durch ihre Geschichte''. Vienna: Herder. *Wodka, Josef, 1960: ''Gebhard EB v. Salzburg''. In: ''Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche''. 2nd edition, vol. 4. Freiburg i. B.: Herder.


External links


AEIOU Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia


{{Authority control Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg 11th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire 1010s births 1088 deaths