Wezilo, died 1088, was
Archbishop of Mainz from 1084 to 1088. He was a leading supporter of the
Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV 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 ...
, and of
antipope Clement III.
A priest in
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...
, Wezilo owed his promotion to the support of Henry IV. In 1085 he negotiated on behalf of the emperor with the
papal legate, the future
Pope Urban II, and in the same year he was convicted of
simony and excommunicated by the pro-papal Synod of
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...
.
In May 1087 the forces of Clement III and "the imperialist prefect Wezilo" forced
Pope Victor III
Pope Victor III ( 1026 – 16 September 1087), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 May 1086 to his death. He was the successor of Pope Gregory VII, yet his pontificate is far less notable than his time as De ...
to retreat from Rome.
Wezilo was buried in
Mainz Cathedral
, native_name_lang =
, image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg
, imagesize =
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, caption =
, pushpin map =
, pushpin label position =
, pushpin map alt =
, pushpin mapsize =
, relief =
, map caption =
, iso regi ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Year of birth unknown
1088 deaths
Archbishops of Mainz
Investiture Controversy
Simony
11th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire