Milo of Trier (died 762 or 763) was the son of St. Leudwinus and his successor as

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.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 ...

. His great-uncle Saint Basinus had preceded his father as

Early life

Milo was the son of the Leudwinus of Trier and Willigard of Bavaria. He was born a nobleman and later styled Count of Trier. His brother was Wido (Gui), Count of Hornbach. Rotrude of Hesbaye was possibly his sister.

Lambert of Maastricht Lambert of Maastricht, commonly referred to as Saint Lambert (; Middle Dutch: ''Sint-Lambrecht''; ; 636 – c. 705), was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège (Tongeren) from about 670 until his death. Lambert denounced Pepin's liaison with his mis ...

was a kinsman. Milo received a monastic education. Prior to his ecclesiastical career, Milo also had a military career, something he had in common with his putative brother-in-law

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

. It is not clear whether Milo received anything more than a diaconal ordination.

Archbishop of Trier

As the scion of one of the most powerful Frankish clans in

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

, Milo's future seemed secure. He succeeded his father as

Bishop of Reims

When Charles Martel drove Saint Rigobert from

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, Milo was appointed his successor. As bishop, Milo became a controversial figure for the Church. His avarice and fondness of earthly pleasures soon placed him in opposition with the church. Milo did not lead a spiritual life and flagrantly ignored the Rules of Saint Benedict that governed his colleagues.

Paul Fouracre Paul J. Fouracre is professor emeritus of medieval history at the University of Manchester. His research interests relate to early medieval history, the history of the Franks, law and custom in medieval societies, charters, hagiography and serf-lor ...

says that

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

considered Milo and bishops like him "warlike, adulterous, and prone to help themselves to church property". Milo habitually used church property for his personal and political purposes, usually to indulge his illegitimate sons. He accumulated much of the riches of his dioceses and developed a reputation for corruption.

Pope Zachary Pope Zachary (; 679 – March 752) was the bishop of Rome from 28 November 741 to his death in March 752. He was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Zachary built the original church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, forbade the traffic of sla ...

counseled Boniface about dealing with disreputable prelates such as Milo. "As for Milo and his like, who are doing great injury to the church of God, preach in season and out of season, according to the word of the Apostle, that they cease from their evil ways." Accounts of Milo's time as bishop are collected in the

Gesta Treverorum The ''Gesta Treverorum'' (''Deeds of the Trevians'') is a collection of histories, legends, wars, records of the Archbishops of Trier (Trèves), writings of the Popes, and other records that were collected by the monks of the St. Matthias' Abbey ...

Deposition

Politically, Milo was a formidable opponent of Boniface's reforms of the church in the eastern Frankish Empire. However, when Milo's own behavior invited the criticism of

, Boniface seized the opportunity and began a campaign to have Milo replaced. In March 744, Boniface successfully pursued the Council of Soissons to remove Milo as Archbishop of Trier. By that time, Milo's behavior had become so repugnant even his formidable political connections could not save him. Though he put up a lengthy resistance, Milo was deposed as bishop and replaced by

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

Death

Milo was killed by a

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

in a hunting accident in Meulenwald near

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

sometime between 753 and 758. Since the 4th century, it had been a tradition to bury the bishops of Trier in the crypt at St. Maximin's Abbey in Trier. However, due to his controversial life, Milo was not given this honor and was instead buried near the scene of the accident where a memorial, The Cross of Milo, was erected.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milo 8th-century Frankish bishops Archbishops of Trier Frankish Benedictines Bishops of Reims Roman Catholic bishops of Trier Deaths due to boar attacks 8th-century Frankish saints 760s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain