George was a Franco-papal diplomat who served as the

bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since 11 ...

(753–798) in the

Papal State The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

and

bishop of Amiens The Roman Catholic Diocese of Amiens (Latin: ''Dioecesis Ambianensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Amiens'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Somme, of which the city of Ami ...

(767–798) in

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. He moved extensively between Italy and Francia, but his best recorded mission is the one he made to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 786.

Bishop of Ostia before 767

George was a native of Italy. He may have been a Greek from southern Italy and thus a native speaker of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. He was apparently the owner of a now lost manuscript of the Greek '' Chronographia Scaligeriana'', which he gave, loaned or sold to the

abbey of Corbie Corbie Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Corbie, Picardy, France, dedicated to Saint Peter. It was founded by Balthild, the widow of Clovis II, who had monks sent from Luxeuil. The Abbey of Corbie became celebrated both for its library a ...

around 780, where it was rather clumsily translated into Latin. George is recorded as the bishop of Ostia from 753. In 754, he accompanied Pope Stephen II to the court of the court of the

Frankish king The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...

Pippin III the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

for the anointing of Pippin and his sons,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

and Carloman. The ''

Liber pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'' lists him first among the pope's followers on this occasion. In early 756, during the Lombard siege of Rome, Stephen sent George back to Pippin with letters requesting Frankish intervention. George was also sent on further diplomatic missions to Francia by Pope

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

between 757 and 759. In 757, he attended the

Council of Compiègne A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

. In 761, Paul gave him permission to reside permanently in Francia. George's prolonged absences from Italy have been linked to the gradual abandonment of the Constantinian Basilica, the ancient cathedral of Ostia, which declined in the late 8th century only to be completed despoiled for the building projects of

Pope Gregory IV Pope Gregory IV ( la, Gregorius IV; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor Loui ...

(). In 767, the pope-elect Constantine II recalled George to Rome, probably to perform the bishop of Ostia's traditional role in the confirmation of a new pope. Because of the disputed legality of Constantine's election, George refused to return. To regularize the situation, Pippin III arranged for him to become bishop of Amiens, while continuing to hold the see of Ostia.

Bishop of Ostia and Amiens

After his appointment to Amiens, George spent more time in Francia than in Italy. In the division of Francia that followed the death of Pippin III in 768, Amiens fell within the kingdom of Charlemagne. George was one of twelve bishops from Francia sent to attend the Lateran synod of 769, which confirmed the deposition of Constantine II. In the spring of 773, Charlemagne sent George, Abbot and a certain Alboin to Pope Hadrian I in Rome to ascertain the state of affairs in Italy. The envoy's report confirmed that the Lombards were delinquent in their treaty obligations, paving the way for Charlemagne's invasion of Italy. A letter from Hadrian to Charlemagne dated about 782 confirms that George was a subject of both the pope and the king with dual loyalty for his two bishoprics. In 786, George led a

papal legation The delegations as they existed in 1859. Between the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the capture of Rome (1870), the Papal State was subdivided geographically into 17 apostolic delegations (''delegazioni apostoliche'') for ...

to England. Setting out from Italy, he was accompanied by Bishop

Theophylact of Todi Theophylact or Theophylactus (Latin: ''Theophylactus;'' Greek: Θεοφύλακτος ''Theophylaktos'', "guarded by God") may refer to: * Theophylact Simocatta (7th century), Byzantine author and historian * Theophylactus (Exarch) (died 710), Exa ...

as co-legate and Abbot

Wigbod Wigbod ( la, Wigbodus, also known as Wigbald or Wigbold) was a theological writer of the eighth century. Of his works there is extant a Latin commentary on the Octateuch called ''Quaestiones in Octateuchum'' that is, on the Five Books of Moses (th ...

of Trier as Charlemagne's representative. Several sources, including the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'', treat this mission as the first of its kind since

Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.Delaney '' ...

's two centuries earlier. One of the purposes of the mission was to coordinate the celebration of

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''litan ...

in England and France for Charlemagne's victory in the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fought ...

and the baptism of the Saxon leader

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred tho ...

. According to the ''

Northern Annals The ''Northern Annals'', also called the ''York Annals'', ''Old Northumbrian Annals'' or ''Annals of Alcuin'', are a set of Latin annals from Northumbria covering the years from 732 until at least 806. No independent copy of the annals survives, b ...

'', "George held primacy among" the legates "and they were honourably received by kings and bishops, and by princes and nobles of this country." The legates' report, in the form of a letter to Hadrian, survives, albeit incomplete. According to their report, the legates landed in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and "rested" at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

as guests of Archbishop

Jænberht Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point ...

before travelling to the court of King

Offa of Mercia Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was List of monarchs of Mercia, King of Mercia, a kingdom of History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa of Mercia, Eowa, Offa came to ...

. A

legatine council A legatine council or legatine synod is an ecclesiastical council or synod that is presided over by a papal legate.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150 According to Pope Gregory VII, writing in the ''Dictatus papae'', a papal legate "presides over all ...

was held in Mercia attended by Offa, his bishops and King

Cynewulf of Wessex Cynewulf was the King of Wessex from 757 until his death in 786. He ruled for about 29 years. He was a direct male descendant of Cerdic. Cynewulf became king after his predecessor, Sigeberht, was deposed. He may have come to power under the inf ...

. After this, the legates split up, with George going to

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and Theophylact visiting

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In Northumbria, George held a council attended by King Ælfwald I and Archbishop Eanbald I of York. The report to Pope Hadrian is most detailed concerning the Northumbrian council. It was attended by

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

and Pyttel, who accompanied George and Wigbod back to Mercia as the legates of Ælfwald and Eanbald.; . After George's return to Mercia, a new council was convoked by Offa at which the decisions of the Northumbrian council were read out and accepted. George returned to the continent in late 786. His report was available in Rome by January 787. He brought Alcuin back with him to the Frankish court. In 790, when Alcuin was back in Northumbria, he wrote to Abbot

Adalard of Corbie Adalard of Corbie ( la, Adalhardus Corbeiensis; c. 751, Huise – 2 January 827) was son of Bernard the son of Charles Martel and half-brother of Pepin; Charlemagne was his cousin. He ia recognised as a saint within the Catholic Church. Biogra ...

asking him "to send greetings to my piritualfather George." George's last recorded act was to consecrate the churches of the Abbey of Saint-Riquier in 798.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{refend 8th-century births Bishops of Amiens Cardinal-bishops of Ostia 8th-century diplomats Medieval Italian diplomats Charlemagne