Eraclus, alternatively Eraclius or Evraclus, was the 25th bishop of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

(959–971).

Life

Educated by

Rathier Ratherius (887–890 AD – 974 AD) or Rathier or Rather of Verona was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His difficult personality and political activities led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer. Early life and career He was born sometime bet ...

, Eraclus served as

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 * Dean Sw ...

of Bonn, before being elected bishop of Liège with the support of

Bruno of Cologne Bruno of Cologne, OCart (; ; – 6 October 1101), venerated as Saint Bruno, was the founder of the Carthusians. He personally founded the order's first two communities. He was a celebrated teacher at Reims and a close advisor of his former pupi ...

. He was consecrated on 21 August 959. While bishop he founded two

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

es, St Paul's (which later became

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral (), is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral in Liège, Belgium. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It became ...

) and St Martin's. He had a particular devotion to

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

, attributing to that saint a healing he had experienced. Eraclus placed strong emphasis on the importance of scholarship, laying the foundations for Liège becoming an international centre of learning. In 968 he accompanied

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

to Italy, and on 22 December rallied the emperor's panic-stricken army during an unexpected

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

.Hubert Silvestre, "Eracle", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 44
(Brussels, 1985), 446–459. Eraclus died on 27 or 28 October 971 and was buried in the church of St Martin that he had founded. He was succeeded by

Notker Notker or Notger is a masculine Germanic given name. Notable people with the given name include: Historical *Notker the Stammerer ("Notker I"; 840–912), Latin poet, possibly composer and monk in Saint Gall *Notker Physicus ("Notker II"; 900� ...

, who would establish the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

Writings

*A letter to his teacher, Rathier *An account of his healing by the intercession of St Martin of Tours

References

{{Authority control Bishops of Liège 971 deaths