Arnulf (died 1003) was the

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

from 970 until his death. He is known for his feud with

Abbo of Fleury Abbo or Abbon of Fleury (; – 13 November 1004), also known as Saint Abbo or Abbon, was a monk and abbot of Fleury Abbey in present-day Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire near Orléans, France. Life Abbo was born near Orléans and brought up in t ...

, and his denunciation of the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. Arnulf was the nephew of Ermentheus, the previous bishop, succeeding to the see on his death in 970. He was known as a strong supporter of

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 ...

, who took over as ruler of

West Francia In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...

. Abbo, who became abbot of Fleury in 988, offended Arnulf by his vigorous advocacy of the rights of monasteries. Their power struggle is documented from Abbo's side in his works. Arnulf's only surviving work, ''De cartillagine'' (On cartilage), is a response to Abbo's ''Apologeticus'' and was written in the aftermath of a riot that broke up the council of Saint-Denis in 993. At the

Synod of Saint-Basle de Verzy A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in 991 Arnulf resisted papal interference, with very aggressive rhetoric. His speech there, ''O lugenda Roma'', was passed down in a text composed by

Gerbert d'Aurillac Pope Sylvester II (; – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a 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 Moorish and Greco-Roma ...

, who became Pope Sylvester II at the end of the decade. Gerbert's version took remarks by Arnulf, and put them into connected form. It also emphasised the attack on the pope of the time, John XV, over the destructive remarks about the institution of the papacy. The business of the meeting was to deal with

Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims Arnulf (also Arnulph or Arnoul) was the illegitimate son of King Lothair of France. He became archbishop of Reims. Biography Arnulf belonged to the Carolingian dynasty, the rule of which in France ended when Arnulf's half-brother, Louis V, di ...

, as a rebel, part of the aftermath of Hugh Capet's assumption of power from the

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

. The speech attributed to Arnulf as prolocutor, and in particular his characterisation of the Pope as Antichrist, was quoted subsequently, for example, by the Magdeburg Centuriators and by

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnulf (bishop of Orleans) Bishops of Orléans 1003 deaths Year of birth missing