Lothar von Hochstaden (died 1194 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was

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 ca ...

and

archchancellor An archchancellor ( la, archicancellarius, german: Erzkanzler) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the wo ...

Background

He came from the family of the

Counts of Hochstaden Hochstaden was a medieval county in the Rhineland. It existed from the 11th to the 13th century. After the extinction of a senior line, a junior line was created by marital connection with the counts of Are-Hochstaden. After the main line Are died ...

. Lothar von Hochstaden was the brother of the Dietrich von Are-Hochstaden of

Hohenstaufen 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 ...

. He was provost of St. Cassius in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

and St. Servatius in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

, and

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 * ...

of St. Lambertus in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. After the death of Archbishop Philip I of Cologne, the cathedral chapter at the end of 1191 elected him as the new archbishop. However, the

Count of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the modern ...

forced him to give up. Then Bruno von Berg was chosen as the new archbishop. In January 1192 the Emperor Henry VI made him archchancellor and bishop of Liège, where there had recently been a contentious election in which both parties were supported by various Flemish nobles. One possible aim of the Emperor was to establish a power base in the Lower Rhine region. Baldwin V of Hainault accepted the appointment but

Henry I of Brabant Henry I ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; c. 1165 – 5 September 1235), named "The Courageous", was a member of the House of Reginar and first duke of Brabant from 1183/84 until his death. Early life Henry was possibly born in Leuven (Louvain) ...

refused. The originally chosen bishop, Albert of Leuven, a brother of Henry of Brabant, obtained from the

Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III ( la, Caelestinus III; c. 1106 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, ...

confirming his episcopal dignity and was consecrated September 19, 1192 to

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 by ...

. Then, leaning on Henry VI, Lothar and Baldwin took action against Albert, who was killed on 24 November in front of German knights of Reims. Lothar was blamed for Albert's death. Though he swore his innocence in an oath, the Pope took him with excommunication and released him from his episcopate. Lothar then traveled to Rome. He was released from the spell, but had to abandon the diocese of Liège. To regain his full acquittal, he went in 1194 again to Rome, where he died the same year.

References

Notes

*Peter Csendes: ''Heinrich VI.'', Primus Verlag Darmstadt 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochstaden, Lothar von 1195 deaths Prince-Bishops of Liège 12th-century births 12th-century Prince-Bishops of Liège