Arnulf (also Arnulph or Arnoul) was the illegitimate son of King

Lothair of France Lothair (; ; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. was the penultimate Carol ...

. He became

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

Biography

Arnulf belonged to the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

, the rule of which in France ended when Arnulf's half-brother,

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (r ...

, died childless.

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...

was elected to succeed him as king. King Hugh made Arnulf archbishop of Reims in March 989, against the will of the previous archbishop, Adalberon, who had wanted to be succeeded by Gerbert of Aurillac. In September, Arnulf supported an attempt to place his uncle

Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine Charles (c. 953 – 22 June 992/995?) was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death. Life Born at Reims in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and the younger brother of King Lothair ...

, on the French throne. Charles briefly held

Rheims 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 ...

and

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

. In 990, Arnulf refused to attend a synod at

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

and he and Charles were imprisoned on 29 March. In June 991 Archbishop Seguin of Sens presided over a Council of Reims in the Basilica of Saint Basle, which deposed Arnulf for alleged

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

, in favour of Gerbert. This deposition was much opposed, however.

Pope John XV Pope John XV (, ; died March 996) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by birth, he was the first pope who canonized a saint. The origins of the investiture controversy stem from John XV's ...

sent Leo,

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Saints Boniface and Alexius at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, as legate to preside over a synod at Mouzon on 2 June 995. Gerbert was suspended from the episcopum. A second synod, held on 1 July, declared the whole process of deposition and elevation to be illegal and invalid. Thus, Arnulf was reinstated. Arnulf crowned Hugh Magnus, the son of Hugh Capet's successor, Robert II, as co-king in the Capetian tradition in 1017. At this time, any resistance to the new dynasty had died in him. He held the see until his death in 1021, then the only direct male line descendant of the Carolingian family in the eldest living branch aside from his first cousin

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, who died two years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnulf 10th-century births 1021 deaths Archbishops of Reims 10th-century French archbishops 11th-century archbishops Sons of kings