Liutbert (or Ludbert) (died 889) was the
Archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
from 863 until his death. He also became
Abbot of Ellwangen in 874 and is reckoned the first
Archchancellor of Germany
An archchancellor ( la, archicancellarius, german: Erzkanzler) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the wo ...
. He was one of the major organisers—along with
Henry of Franconia—of the vigorous and successful defence of
East Francia
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire int ...
against
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...
attack during his last decade.
In May 868, Liutbert presided over the
synod of Worms, which condemned the
Greek church for heresy and laid down punishments for rebels. In 870, he became the archchaplain of
Louis the German until 876 and thereafter of
Louis the Younger until the latter's death in 882. Under
Charles the Fat, however, he did not retain this position, rather it was preserved for
Liutward of Vercelli. Liutbert did not accept his lack of position at court initially; he had himself referred to as "archchaplain," though he was not, in an 882 document of
Weissenburg, another abbey of which he was abbot.
The ''
Annales Fuldenses'', from about the 860s, was being written in the circle of Liutbert and after 882 until 887 (the so-called "Mainz continuation") under his supervision. Because of the demotion he had suffered after the accession of Charles the Fat to all East Francia in 882, Liubert was a partisan opponent of the emperor's. It has even been suggested that the Mainz ''Annales depiction of Liutbert and Liutward bears resemblance to the figures of
Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acc ...
and
Haman in the
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the fi ...
., based on the work of Geneviève Bührer-Thierry. Liutbert was also an opponent of Charles' plan to make his heir his bastard son
Bernard
Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
.
In 871, the
Moravians rebelled against Frankish overlordship and the
Sorbs
Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Bran ...
along the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...
followed suit. An army under Liutbert's command defeated them at
Waldaha (Vltava or Moldau). In 883, when Vikings sailed up the
Rhine
The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
and took a great deal of plunder, Liutbert met them with a small force and retrieved their booty. He also rebuilt
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, which they had damaged. In late 884, the Vikings attacked
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
and wintered in
Hesbaye. Early in 885, in a campaign organised by Charles the Fat, Liutbert and Henry of Franconia surprised the Vikings and set them to flight.
Early in 887, Charles the Fat was forced to dismiss his chaplain and chancellor Liutward and replace him with Liutbert at the behest of the
Alemannians. After regaining his high post, Liutbert's attitude toward the emperor significantly improved and he was able to draw more imperial largesse to
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Liutbert
Archbishops of Mainz
9th-century archbishops
889 deaths
Bishops in the Carolingian Empire
Year of birth unknown
Writers from the Carolingian Empire
9th-century Latin writers