Siegel von Petrus von Brixey, Bischof von Toul

Peter of Brixey (french: Pierre de Brixey, Brixei, german: Peter, Petrus von Brixey) (died 1192) was

Bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

from 1167 to 1192, and a supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the late twelfth-century phase of the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

, one of the few bishops of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

to do so.

Biography

Peter was the son of Peter,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Brixey, and Matilda of Rinel (Risnel, Rinelle). He was made a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

in 1152, then archdeacon in 1156. In 1165, the previous Bishop of Toul, Henry I of Lorraine, died; two years later, Peter was elected to succeed him, and consecrated by Hillin of Falmagne,

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.suffragan. Thereafter, he put an end to the war between Frederick IV of Dampierre, Count of Toul, and the cathedral canons, and by 1177 had rebuilt the castle of

Liverdun Liverdun () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of ...

, destroyed in the strife, making it and the associated town a nexus of power in the diocese. In order to lure settlers, he offered a charter of freedom to the local community, the first to be issued in Lorraine. In 1178, Peter received the right to mint his own coinage from the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. In the succeeding years, he himself came into conflict with the powerful

Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine Matthias I (1119 – 13 May 1176) was the duke of Lorraine from 1138 to his death as the eldest son and successor of Simon I and Adelaide. Like his forefathers going back to Theodoric II and even to Adalbert, he was a stern supporter of the kin ...

, who sought to gain the rents of the church of Toul for his son, Theoderic,

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

; Peter appealed the case to Alexander III, but the Pope was unable to intervene due to his ongoing struggle with Barbarossa. Nevertheless, on the death of the Count of Toul without issue, Peter entrusted the lordship of the county to Matthias's youngest son (also named Matthias). Thereafter, he busied himself with founding several monastic communities, at Liverdun in 1184, at Rinel in 1185, and at Commercy in 1186. Peter was a strong supporter of the interests of Barbarossa, both paying numerous lengthy visits to the imperial court and himself playing host in

to the Emperor twice, in 1171 and at Pentecost of 1187. When Hillin's pro- Staufen successor,

Arnold I of Vaucourt Arnold I of Vaucourt (french: Arnaud, Arnaut de Vaucort, german: Arnold von Valcourt, Valancourt, Walecourt) (''circa'' 1120 – May 25, 1183 in Trier), was the Archbishop of Trier from 1169 to 1183. He took a pro-Imperial position in the Investi ...

, died in May 1183, and the succession came into dispute between

Folmar of Karden Folmar of Karden (''ca''. 1135 – 1189), also occurring in the variant forms ''Fulmar'', ''Vollmar'', ''Volcmar'', ''Formal'', or ''Formator'', was the Archbishop of Trier from 1183 and the last not also to be a prince elector. He opposed t ...

, the candidate of the pro-papal party, and

Rudolf of Wied Rudolf of Wied (died 9 July 1197) (also appearing in the forms ''"Rudolph," "Rodolf," Radulf," etc.'') was anti-Archbishop of Trier, Archbishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier, Trier from 1183–1189. He was a supporter of the Holy Roman Empi ...

, the imperial candidate, Peter supported the latter, refusing to receive Folmar in Toul when the latter returned from Rome in 1186 as a Papal Legate armed with the judgment of

Pope Urban III Pope Urban III ( la, Urbanus III; died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187. Early career Crivelli was born in Cuggiono, Italy as the son of Guala Crivelli and had four brothers: Pietro, ...

. Shortly thereafter, Peter was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by Folmar at a hastily assembled

provincial synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

in Mouzon. Peter himself hastened to Rome, arriving just in time to assist at Urban's funeral. Urban's successor

Gregory VIII Pope Gregory VIII ( la, Gregorius VIII; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Aposto ...

nullified Peter's excommunication in a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

issued on November 30, 1187, whereupon Peter returned to his diocese, which he set himself to putting in order. Peter is listed among the numerous nobles and prelates to have attended the great

Diet of Pentecost The ''Mainzer Hoffest'' (literally "Mainz court festival") or Diet of Pentecost was a ''Hoftag'' (imperial diet) of the Holy Roman Empire started in Mainz on 20 May 1184.Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

(May 20-22) of 1184, and was almost certainly among the many bishops attending the Diet of Christ in Mainz on March 27, 1188, where his imperial master took the cross, for he himself shortly followed the imperial army to the Holy Land in 1189 in the company of Gutbert,

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of Apremont; Henry, Count of

Salm Salm may refer to People * Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck * Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan * House of Salm, a European ...

; and Garsires and Regnier of Montreuil. While he was to be absent, he named his nephew Frederick,

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of Toul, and the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of Saint Aprus of Toul

vicars general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the church of Toul.''Histoire'', p. 425. In 1191, he was present at the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: * Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade * Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of A ...

, having arrived in the company of

Henry II, Count of Champagne Henry II of Champagne (or Henry I of Jerusalem) (29 July 1166 – 10 September 1197) was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and king of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. Early life Henry ...

. After the Treaty of Jaffa between

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

and Richard the Lion-Heart was signed on September 2, 1192, allowing Christians free access to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, he made his way there, where he died and was buried.

Footnotes

References

* F. Benoît, ''Histoire ecclésiastique et politique de la ville et du diocèse de Toul''. Alexis Laurent, Toul, 1707.
full text online
(in French) *T. de Morembert, « Brixey (Pierre de) » in ''Dictionnaire de Biographie Française,'' vol. 7, Paris, 1956 col. 374 * , available at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

here
Volume VI.
(in German) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter of Brixey 1192 deaths Bishops of Toul 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Year of birth uncertain Christians of the Third Crusade