Notker (or Notger) of Liège (; c. 940 – 10 April 1008 AD) was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

(972–1008) and first

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

(980–1008) of the

Bishopric of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

(now in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Life

Notker was born around 940 and probably belonged to a noble

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n family. He is mentioned in the ' as

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Saint Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

in Switzerland, but he is not mentioned by the otherwise prolix historians of St Gall. In 969 he was appointed imperial chaplain in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and in 972 he was nominated by

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor 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 ...

as bishop of Liège, a suffragan of the Archbishop of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. When he received the countship of Huy in 980, he simultaneously obtained secular power for the See and thus became the first Prince-Bishop of Liège. He travelled to Rome for the coronation of

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V (; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Otto III. Family ...

, and later negotiated a peace treaty between

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

and Robert, the king of France. He adhered faithfully to the cause of the emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

, whom he accompanied to Rome. He also brought Otto's corpse back to Germany and prayed at his funeral in 1002.

Achievements

After receiving secular power from Otto II, Notker transformed the episcopal city into the capital of an ecclesiastical principality in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. He built a new

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, Saint Lambert's, seven

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, including St. John's in Liège, after the model of

Aachen Cathedral Aachen Cathedral () is a Catholic Church, Catholic church in Aachen, Germany and the cathedral of the Diocese of Aachen. One of the oldest cathedral buildings in Europe, it was constructed as the royal chapel of the Palace of Aachen of Holy Rom ...

, two

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

s and a city wall. He laid the foundation of the fame of the Liège Schools, to which studious youths soon flocked from all Christendom. By procuring the services of

Leo the Calabrian Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually masc ...

and thus making possible the study of Greek, Notker gave notable extension to the Liège curriculum. Among Notker's pupils, who extended the influence of the Liège schools to ever wider circles, may be mentioned Hubald,

Wazo of Liège Wazo of Liège (c. 985 – 1048) was bishop of Liège from 1041 to 1048, and a significant educator and theologian. His life was chronicled by his contemporary Anselm of Liège. During this period Liège became known as an educational center. W ...

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

, who also taught at Liége, Gunther of Salzburg,

Ruthard of Mainz Ruthard (died 1109) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1089 to 1109, and a leading opponent of the Emperor Henry IV and his antipope Clement III (Wibert of Ravenna). He spent nearly eight years in exile because of his opposition, and played a part in t ...

and Erluin of Cambrai, Heimo of Verdun, Hesselo of Toul,

Heriger of Lobbes Herigerus ( – 31 October 1007) was a Benedictine monk, often known as Heriger of Lobbes for serving as abbot of the abbey of Lobbes between 990 and 1007. Remembered for his writings as theologian and historian, Herigerus was a teacher to numer ...

Adelmann Adelmann (, , , , ; ?, – c. 1061, Brescia) was the bishop of Brescia, in Northern Italy, during the eleventh century. Adelmann seems to have become bishop there in 1050, and to have taken an active share in the church-reform movement of the peri ...

(who later studied under

Fulbert Fulbert is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Fulbert of Cambrai, Bishop of Cambrai (died 956) * Fulbert of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres (1006–1028) * Fulbert of Falaise (fl. 11th century), maternal grandfather of William the C ...

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

), Gozechin who taught at Mainz and Adalbald of Utrecht. In

Folcwin Saint Folcwin or Folcuin (; Old Dutch: ''*Folkwin''; French: Folquin) (d. 15 December 855) was a Frankish abbot, cleric, and Bishop of Thérouanne (appointed 816). Biography Folcwin was born to Hieronymus, son of Charles Martel, and his wife Er ...

's opinion Notker's achievements surpass those of any of his predecessors. He developed the urban structure of the city, its fortifications, commerce and education. Under his rule, the city of Liège was sometimes called the "Northern Athens".

Authorship

He has sometimes wrongly been identified as the author of the ' written under his patronage by

Johannes Fried Johannes Fried (born 23 May 1942, in Hamburg) is a German historian, professor, and medievalist. Biography Fried studied at the University of Heidelberg, where he obtained his doctorate in 1970 and his habilitation in 1977. He was professor at ...

considers Notker, rather than

John Canaparius John Canaparius, O.S.B. Cam., (), was a German Camaldolese monk who became the prior of the Monastery of Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio in Rome. It had been long assumed that in the year 999 he wrote the first ''Vita sancti Adalberti episcopi Pragen ...

, the author of the ', a life of

Adalbert of Prague Adalbert of Prague (, , , , ; 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch (), was a Czech missionary and Christian saint. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, ...

written around 1000, which contains the first recorded mention of Danzig/Gdansk, as '.

Sources

* * Schoolmasters of the Tenth Century. Cora E.Lutz. Archon Books 1977. *
Notger de Liège at la civilisation au Xe siècle
'. Brussels. 1905. {{DEFAULTSORT:Notker of Liege 940s births 1008 deaths Benedictine bishops 10th-century bishops in Lotharingia 11th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Prince-bishops of Liège