Gunther, Archbishop Of Cologne
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Gunther or Gunthar (; died 8 July 873) was Archbishop of Cologne in Germany from 850 until he was excommunicated and deposed in 863.


Life

Gunther belonged to a noble Frankish family and the maternal uncle of
Radboud of Utrecht Saint Radbod (or Radboud) (before 850 – 917) was bishop of Utrecht from 899 to 917. Life Radboud was born around the middle of the 9th century from a noble Frankish family near Namur. His mother was of Frisian origin and a descendant of th ...
. According to the poet Sedulius Scottus, Gunther was a man of great ability. He was consecrated Archbishop of Cologne on 22 April 850. For a long time he refused to cede his
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
Diocese of Bremen to
Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishopric of Bremen, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the ...
who, in order to facilitate his missionary labours, desired to unite it with his Archdiocese of Hamburg. The affair was finally settled (c. 860) by
Pope Nicholas I Pope Nicholas I (; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death on 13 November 867. He is the last of the three popes listed in the Annuario Pontif ...
in favour of Ansgar, and Gunther reluctantly consented.Ott, Michael. "Günther of Cologne." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 27 December 2022
According to Johann Peter Kirsch, in 856 Ingiltrud, wife of Count
Boso the Elder Boso the Elder (c. 800 – c. 855), also known as Boson the Elder, was a Frankish nobleman and the earliest known ancestor of the Bosonid dynasty, a prominent aristocratic family in the Carolingian Empire. He held the title of Count of Turin, and ...
, had left her husband for one of his vassals. Henry Hart Milman says that the Count abandoned his wife. Nicholas commanded the bishops in the dominions of
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...
to excommunicate her unless she returned to her husband. As she paid no attention to the summons to appear before the Synod of Milan in 860, she was put under the ban.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope St. Nicholas I." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 27 December 2022 Boso and Ingiltrud's daughter was Teutberga; she married
Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...
in 855.''Monumenta Germanica Historica, tomus I: Annales Lobienses, anno 855'', p. 232 It is very likely that at the time of his marriage, Lothar II already had a mistress named Waldrada. According to historian Baron Ernouf, Gunther was Waldrada's uncle and Thietgaud, Archbishop of Trier was her brother.Baron Ernouf (1858) ''Histoire de Waldrade, de Lother II et de leurs descendants'', p. 5
/ref> According to the ''Annales Novienses'', Waldrada was Gunther's sister.''Veterum Scriptorum: Annales Novienses'', colonna 537. The ''Vita Sancti Deicoli'' says that Waldrada was related to Eberhard II, Count of Nordgau (included
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
) family of
Etichonids The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Franks, Frankish-Burgundians, Burgundian origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Adalrich, Duke of Alsace, Eticho ( ...
.''Monumenta Germanica Historica, tomus XV.2, Vita Sancti Deicoli'', p. 679. Gunther had become archchaplain of King
Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...
, who wished to divorce his lawful wife Teutberga. At a synod held at Aachen in January, and another in February, 860, a few bishops and abbots, under the leadership of Gunther, compelled Teutberga to declare that before her marriage with the king she had been violated by her brother. Upon her compulsory confession the king was allowed to discard her and she was condemned to a convent. At a third synod held at Aachen in April, 862, Gunther and a few other Lorraine bishops allowed the king to marry his concubine Waldrada. Nicholas I sent two legates to investigate the case, but the king bribed them, and at a synod which they held in Metz, in June, 863, the divorce was approved. Gunther and Thietgaud brought the acts of the synod to the pope and asked for his approval. The pope convened a synod in the Lateran in October, 863, at which the decision of the Synod of Metz was rejected, and Gunther and Thietgaud, who refused to submit, were
excommunicated 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 communion with other members of the con ...
and deposed. The two archbishops drew up a document of seven chapters (reprinted in P. L., CXXI, 377–380) in which they accused the pope of having unjustly excommunicated them. They sent copies of the document to the pope, the rebellious
Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...
, patriarch of Constantinople, and to the bishops of Lorraine. The pope, however, did not waver even when Emperor Louis II appeared before Rome with an army for the purpose of forcing him to withdraw the ban of excommunication from the archbishops. Though excommunicated and deposed, Gunther returned to Cologne and performed ecclesiastical functions on Maundy Thursday, 864. When, however, the other bishops of Lorraine and King Lothair submitted to the pope, Gunther and Thietgaud appeared before the synod which the pope convened at Rome in November, 864, asking to be released from excommunication and restored to their sees, but they were unsuccessful. After the accession of
pope Adrian II Pope Adrian II (; also Hadrian II; 79214 December 872) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 867 to his death on 14 December 872. He continued the policy of his predecessor, Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with ...
, Gunther and Thietgaud returned to Rome in 867. Thietgaud was now freed from the ban, but Gunther remained excommunicated until the summer of 869, when, after a public retraction (P. L., CXXI, 381), he was admitted by the pope to lay communion at
Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...
abbey. The See of Cologne had in 864 been given by Lothair to the subdeacon Hugh, a nephew of
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...
. He was deposed in 866 and Gunther regained his see. Being under the ban, Gunther engaged his brother Hilduin of Cambrai to perform ecclesiastical functions in his place. After the death of Gunther's protector, Lothair II, Wilbert was elected Archbishop of Cologne (7 January, 870). Seeing that all efforts to regain his see would be useless, Gunther acknowledged the new archbishop and left Cologne for good. He died in 873.


References


Bibliography

*
Baron Ernouf (1858) ''Histoire de Waldrade, de Lother II et de leurs descendants'' (Paris)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther 873 deaths Archbishops of Cologne 9th-century archbishops People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Year of birth unknown