Gerard of Florennes (ca 975, bishop 1012 – 14 March 1051),

bishop of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Help ...

as Gerard I, had formerly been chaplain to

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

, and helpful to the latter in his political negotiations with

Robert the Pious Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...

, King of France. In 1024 Gerard called a synod in Arras to confront a purported heresy fomented by the Gundulfian heretics, who denied the efficacy of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

. The records of this synod, the ''Acta Synodi Atrebatensis'', preserve a summary of orthodox Christian doctrine of the early eleventh century, as well contemporary peace-making practices. According to this text's author, the heretics were convinced by Gerard's explanation of orthodoxy, renounced their heresy, and were reconciled with the church. Gerard was apparently a member of the high nobility of the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. He was the second son of Arnold, seigneur of

Florennes Florennes (; wa, Florene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 1 January 2006, Florennes has a total population of 10,754. The total area is 133.55 km² which gives a population density of 81 inhabita ...

in the

county of Namur Namur ( nl, Namen) was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, a region in northwestern Europe. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern par ...

, who was the son of a Count Godfrey,

count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

, possibly

Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey I (born 940/945; died 964) was the count of Hainault from 958 and margrave or vice- duke of Lower Lorraine from 959, when that duchy was divided by Duke Bruno, who remained duke until his death in 964. Life Godfrey was the son of Godfr ...

. His mother was Ermentrude, daughter of Count Godfrey "the captive". He was a student of the great

Gerbert of Aurillac Pope Sylvester II ( – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a French-born scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab and G ...

, the leading

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

of the tenth century, and a supporter of the monastic reformer Richard of Verdun, abbot of Saint-Vanne. Between 1002 and 1010, while he was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

he founded the Abbey of St John the Baptist on his father's estate at Florennes, with Richard as its first abbot. At Florennes, on 12 September 1015,

Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey II (965–1023), called the Childless, son of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, was the duke of Lower Lorraine after the death in 1012 of the Carolingian Otto, who left no sons. He was appointed duke by Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, on the ad ...

, whose appointment Gerard had recommended to the Emperor, defeated both of his rivals, Lambert I, Count of Leuven, brother-in-law of Otto, and

Reginar IV Reginar may refer to: * Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915) * Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932) * Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973) * Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013) * Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039) * Ho ...

, count of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

killing Lambert and forcing Reginar to make peace. In 1015, Gerard transferred the abbey of Florennes to the church of Liège. drawing together a community of monks from

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

. Texts from the scriptorium show the innovative separation of words with spaces. Gerard was the earliest known theorist to provide a justification of the division of European society into " three estates". Writing between 1023 and 1025, he observed, in the words of

Georges Duby Georges Duby (7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of Fran ...

, "that there were distinctions between men, an essential inequality which could be compensated only by charity, mercy and mutual service" within the framework of divinely ordained natural law. In addition to his role 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 ...

, Gerard was a voice in the implementation of the

Peace and Truce of God The Peace and Truce of God ( lat, Pax et treuga Dei) was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit ...

movement to limit warfare. At

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

in 1024 he introduced the Peace into Flanders at the urging of Count Baldwin IV, he himself apparently having reservations. In 1025 he criticised

Reginard Reginard was bishop of Liège in the Low Countries from 1025 to 1037, and had the city's first stone bridge over the Meuse built, the Pont des Arches. Life The earliest sources are contradictory on Reginard's background, but it seems likely that h ...

, recently appointed as

bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, for simply releasing suspected heretics after they had made an orthodox declaration of faith, and for allowing somebody excommunicated in Cambrai to be buried in consecrated ground in Liège. During his episcopacy, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Cambrai was reconsecrated on 18 October 1030. In 1023–25, Gerard was working on his ''Vita Gaugerici'', a life of

Gaugericus Saint Gaugericus, in French Saint Géry (also known as Gorik, Gau; in Walloon, Djèri) ( 550 – August 11, 619) was a bishop of Cambrai, France. Biography He was born to Roman parents, Gaudentius and Austadiola, at ''Eposium'' (present C ...

, one of the early bishops of Cambrai. He made extensive use of the library of Marchiennes, a former nunnery converted into a male monastery in 1024. Its abbot, Leduin, was a close ally of Gerard's in the campaign for monastic reform in the diocese. Leduin possessed a manuscript, used by Gerard, containing

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

's ''Regula pastoralis'' and extracts from Taius of Zaragoza's ''De malorum concordia'', and Bachiarius' ''De paenitentia''.Steven Vanderputten and Diane J. Reilly, "Reconciliation and Record Keeping: Heresy, Secular Dissent and the Exercise of Episcopal Authority in Eleventh-Century Cambrai", '' Journal of Medieval History'' 37:4 (2011), 343–57.

Notes

Editions

* S. Vanderputten. D.J. Reilly (ed.), ''Gerardus Cameracensis. Acta Synodi Atrebatensis, Vita Autberti, Vita Gaugerici; Varia scripta ex officina Gerardi exstantia'' (= ''Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis'' 270), Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2014 () {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard of Florennes 11th-century French Roman Catholic bishops 970s births 1051 deaths 11th-century Latin writers

Notes

Further reading

Editions