Wenrich of Trier was a German ecclesiastico-political writer of the eleventh century.

Biography

He was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, and afterwards

scholasticus Scholasticus was Exarch of Ravenna from 713 to 723. In 713 he was appointed as exarch, the same year Anastasius II became Byzantine emperor and overthrew his Monothelite predecessor Philippicus. Scholasticus was charged with giving a letter to ...

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

Sigebert of Gembloux Sigebert or Sigibert of Gembloux ( or ; – 5 October 1112) was a medieval author, known mainly as a pro-Imperial historian of a universal chronicle, opposed to the expansive papacy of Gregory VII and Pascal II. Early in his life he became a ...

(''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'', CXL, 584 sq.) calls him also

Bishop of Vercelli The Archdiocese of Vercelli () is a Latin Church, Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy, one of the two archdioceses which, together with their suffragan dioceses, form the ecclesiastical region of Piedmont. Th ...

, but the early documents of the diocese leave no place for him in the list of bishops.

Work

Wenrich authored a controversial treatise on behalf of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV during his struggle with

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), 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 in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

(the

Conflict of Investitures The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture), abbots of monasteries, and the Pope himself. A series ...

). The form is that of an open letter to the pope; the tone is friendly, as though what he had to say was painful to the author. Wenrich disputes the efficiency of the emperor's

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

(1080), opposes the laws of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...

promulgated by the pope, condemns the inciting of the people against the emperor, defends

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian kn ...

s by texts of Scripture and the history of the Church, upbraids Gregory for being an accomplice in the setting up of a rival king, and reminds the pope that he himself has been accused of unlawful striving after the papal dignity, and even of the use of force to attain this end. A reply was written by Manegold of Lautenbach.

Sources

External links

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Schall Encyclopedia article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenrich of Trier 11th-century German writers People from Trier 11th-century writers in Latin