Hugh of Vermandois (920 – 962) was the

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 ...

from 925 to 931 and from 940 to 946. He was the son of

Herbert II, Count of Vermandois Herbert II (died 23 February 943), Count of Vermandois, Count of Meaux, and Count of Soissons. He was the first to exercise power over the territory that became the province of Champagne. Life Herbert was the son of Herbert I of Vermandois. He w ...

and Adela, the daughter of

Robert I of France Robert I ( – 15 June 923) was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquess, Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian ...

and sister of

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...

. Upon the death of Seulf, the previous archbishop of Reims, Hugh's father Herbert was able to leverage his influence on king

Rudolph of France Rudolph (), sometimes called Ralph (; 890 – 14/15 January 936), was the king of West Francia (France) from 923 until his death in 936. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law, Robert I, and spent much of his reign defending his realm from ...

to impose his son, not yet five years old, as bishop-elect, which enabled him to take control of the diocese's administration. Odolricus, who was either bishop of Aix or of

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

, was brought in to assume the office of a bishop in Hugh's place. In 931, hostilies broke out between count Herbert and the king, aided by Hugh the Great. Herbert, who had been the power behind the episcopate, was driven out of Reims and a new archbishop, Artald, supported by Hugh the Great, was imposed. By the end of 938, relations between Hugh the Great and the new king of the Franks, Louis IV, had significantly deteriorated, and Hugh the Great and count Herbert openly rebelled. In 940, they laid siege to Reims, with the support of

William Longsword William Longsword (, , , ; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, ...

, count of Normandy. According to

Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...

, the defenders deserted Artald, and the city fell after only six days, after which Hugh of Vermandois was again installed as bishop. His position was weakened after the death of his father in February 943. Though king Louis confirmed his status as archbishop that same year, he soon turned against Hugh the Great and his nephews, the sons of Herbert of Vermandois, and unsuccessfully attempted to oust archbishop Hugh from Reims in 945. At the end of the summer of 946, a coalition led by king Louis,

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

and

Conrad I of Burgundy Conrad I, called the Peaceful (; ; ; – 19 October 993), was King of Burgundy (ruling a political unit also called the Kingdom of Arles) from 937 until his death in 993. Life A member of the Elder House of Welf, Conrad was the son of King ...

, intent on breaking Hugh the Great and his allies' power, laid siege to Reims again, and the city surrendered after a brief three days of siege, upon which the 26-year-old archbishop Hugh fled the city and was replaced as archbishop by Artald again. At the Synod of Ingelheim in 948, attended by both Louis and Otto as well as 32 bishops and archbishops, Artald was definitely confirmed as archbishop of Reims while Hugh was

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 ...

. In 961 after Artald's death there was an attempt to restore Hugh to his episcopal office, however

Pope John XII Pope John XII (; 14 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for ...

decided against this and instead made Odelricus the new bishop. At this point Hugh was also excommunicated. He died at Meaux in 962.

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References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugh of Vermandois Herbertien dynasty 10th-century archbishops Archbishops of Reims 920 births 962 deaths People excommunicated by the Catholic Church