The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the

Duchy of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, t ...

. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the

County of Verdun The County of Verdun was a sovereign medieval county in the Duchy of Lower Lorraine. County The rulers of the sovereign County of Verdun styled themselves as Counts by the grace of God.Herman of Ename of the

House of Ardenne–Verdun The House of Ardenne–Verdun ( French: Maison d'Ardenne-Verdun) was a branch of the House of Ardenne, one of the first documented medieval European noble families, centered on Verdun. The family dominated in the Duchy of Lotharingia (Lorraine) in ...

to the Bishopric of Verdun.

History

This fief also included the advowson of the church of Verdun over its possessions along the river Moselle. According to a chronist's report, written around the year 900, the Merovingian king

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his d ...

(575–596) came to visit Verdun. There was not enough wine to serve the monarch and the Bishop Agericus was very embarrassed. However God rewarded him for his good deeds and miraculously increased the amount of wine. The king presented Agericus of Verdun with the

Schloss Veldenz Schloss Veldenz in the Hunsrück upland, on a steep vale draining into the Mosel is a castle ruin about southeast of the village of Veldenz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The site is in the district of Bernkastel ...

as a fief of Verdun "because of the wine". Around 1156

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

confirmed the holding by Bishop Albert I of Verdun of the castle together with the surrounding land. A story that Peter (774-798), successor of Madalvaeus, was granted temporal lordship of the Diocese by Charlemagne, but this is no longer accepted. Because of the destruction of the archives in a fire, Bishop Dadon (880-923) commissioned the (Chronicle of the Bishops of Verdun) from Bertharius, a Benedictine monk. This was continued to 1250 by a second monk, Lawrence, and later by an anonymous writer. A key element of

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Hen ...

's domestic policy was to strengthen ecclesiastical authorities at the expense of the nobility who threatened his power. To this end he filled the ranks of the episcopate with his own relatives and with loyal chancery clerks. As protector of the Church he invested them with the symbols of their offices, both spiritual and secular, so the clerics were appointed as his vassals through a

commendation ceremony A commendation ceremony (''commendatio'') is a formal ceremony that evolved during the Early Medieval period to create a bond between a lord and his fighting man, called his vassal. The first recorded ceremony of ''commendatio'' was in 7th cent ...

. Historian

Norman Cantor Norman Frank Cantor (November 19, 1929 – September 18, 2004) was a Canadian-American historian who specialized in the medieval period. Known for his accessible writing and engaging narrative style, Cantor's books were among the most widely rea ...

concludes: "Under these conditions clerical election became a mere formality in the Ottonian empire ..." The Bishop of Verdun, appointed by Otto, was totally faithful to the emperor. In 990 Bishop Haimont ordered the construction of a new cathedral on the Romano-Rhenish plan: a nave, two transepts, two opposing apses, each one flanked by two bell towers. The

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

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

bestowed the title ''

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 ...

'' on Bishop Haimont (990-1024) and his successors in 997. The bishops had the right to appoint a temporary "count for life" (''comte viager''), theoretically subject to the authority of the bishop. These counts were selected from the noble family of

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

. There was frequent conflict between the count and the bishop. With the marriage of Philip IV with

Joan I of Navarre Joan I (14 January 1273 – 31 March/2 April 1305) ( eu, Joana) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305; she was also Queen of France by marriage to King Philip IV. She founded the College of Navarre in Paris in 130 ...

, the daughter of the Count of Champagne, Lorraine and particularly Verdun become a primary focus for the crown of France. After 1331, appointment to the episcopal see was controlled by the King of France rather than the Emperor. The Bishopric was annexed to France in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...

of 1648. It then was a part of the province of the Three Bishoprics.

List of bishops and prince-bishops

Bishops

* ca. 346: St. Saintin * 356–383: St. Maurus * ???–420: Salvinus * ca. 440: Arator * 454–470: Polychronius * 470–486: Possessor * 486–502: Freminus (Firminus) * 502–529:

Vitonus Saint Vitonus (died 525), also called Vanne or Vaune, became a monk as a young man and was later made Bishop of Verdun by King Clovis I. Narrative In 486, following the decisive Frankish victory at the Battle of Soissons, Verdun refused to yiel ...

* 529–554: Desideratus * 554–591: Agericus * v. 595: Charimeres * v. 614: Harimeris * ???–621: St. Ermenfred * 623–626: Godo * 641–648: Paulus * 648–665: Gisloald * 665–689: Gerebert * 689–701: Armonius * 701–710: Agrebert * 711–715: Bertalamius * 716: Abbo * 716–722: Pepo * 722–730: Volchisus * 730–732: Agronius * 753–774: Madalveus * 774–798: Peter * 798–802: Austram * 802–824: Heriland * 824–847: Hilduin * 847–870: Hatto * 870–879: Bernard * 880–923: Dado * 923–925: Hugh I * 925–939: Bernuin, son of Matfried I, Count of Metz, and of Lantesinde (sister of Dado) * 939–959: Berengar * 959–983: Wigfrid * 983–984: Hugh II * 984–984: Adalbero I, later Bishop of Metz (as Adalbero II). * 985–990: Adalbero II, cousin of predecessor.

Prince-bishops

* 990–1024: Haimont (Heymon) * 1024–1039: Reginbert * 1039–1046: Richard I * 1047–1089: Theoderic * 1089–1107: Richer * 1107–1114: Richard II of Grandpré * 1114–1117: Mazo, administrator * 1117–1129: Henry I of Blois, deposed at the Council of Chalon (1129) * 1129–1131: Ursio * 1131–1156: Adalbero III of Chiny * 1156–1162: Albert I of Marcey * 1163–1171: Richard III of Crisse * 1172–1181: Arnulf of Chiny-Verdun * 1181–1186: Henry II of Castel * 1186–1208: Albert II of Hierges * 1208–1216: Robert I of Grandpré * 1217–1224: John I of Aspremont * 1224–1245: Radulf of Torote * 1245–1245: Guy (Wido) I of Traignel * 1245–1247: Guy (Wido) II of Mellote * 1247–1252: John II of Aachen * 1252–1255: James (''Jacques'') I Pantaléon of Court-Palais * 1255–1271: Robert II of Médidan * 1271–1273: Ulrich of Sarvay * 1275–1278: Gerard of Grandson * 1278–1286: Henri of Grandson * 1289–1296: James (''Jacques'') II of Ruvigny * 1297–1302: John III of Richericourt * 1303–1305: Thomas of Blankenberg * 1305–1312: Nicholas I of Neuville * 1312–1349: Henry IV of Aspremont * 1349–1351: Otto of Poitiers * 1352–1361: Hugh III of Bar * 1362–1371: John IV of Bourbon-Montperoux * 1371–1375: John V of Dampierre-St. Dizier * 1375–1379: Guy III of Roye * 1380–1404: Leobald of Cousance * 1404–1419: John VI of Saarbrücken * 1419–1423:

Louis I of Bar Louis I of Bar (between 1370 and 1375 – 23 June 1430) was a French bishop of the 15th century and the ''de jure'' Duke of Bar from 1415 to 1430, ruling from the 1420s alongside his grand-nephew René of Anjou. Life He was a son of Robert I of ...

(† 1430), administrator * 1423–1423: Raymond * 1423–1424: William of Montjoie * 1424–1430:

(† 1430), administrator * 1430–1437: Louis of Haraucourt * 1437–1449: William Fillatre * 1449–1456: Louis of Haraucourt * 1457–1500: William of Haraucourt * 1500–1508: Warry de Dommartin * 1508–1522: Louis de Lorraine * 1523–1544: Jean de Lorraine (1498–1550), brother of predecessor * 1544–1547: Nicolas de Mercœur (1524–1577), nephew of predecessor * 1548–1575:

Nicolas Psaume Nicolas PsaumePsaulme, Preaume, Psalmaeus. (1518, in Chaumont-sur-Aire – 10 August 1575, in Verdun) was a count-bishop of Verdun and prince of the Holy Roman Empire. The Bishopric of Verdun was then a French-speaking State of the Holy Ro ...

. The Bishopric was annexed to France in 1552. This was not formally recognised in the Empire until the

in 1648. * 1576–1584: Nicolas Bousmard * 1585–1587: Charles de Lorraine * 1588–1593: Nicolas Boucher * 1593–1610:

Eric of Lorraine Eric of Lorraine (14 March 1576 – 27 April 1623), count of Vaudémont, was a Bishop of Verdun and half brother of Louise of Lorraine, Queen consort of France. Biography Eric of Lorraine was born in Nancy on 14 March 1576 as a son of Nicolas, ...

** 1593–1601: Christophe de la Vallée, administrator * 1610–1622: Charles de Lorraine,Saive Numismatique
/ref> nephew of predecessor

Bishops and French fiefs

* 1623–1661: François de Lorraine (1599 † 1672), brother of predecessor * 1667–1679: Armand de Monchy d'Hocquincourt * 1681–1720: Hippolyte de Béthune * 1721–1754: Charles-François D'Hallencourt * 1754–1769: Aymar-Fr.-Chrétien-Mi. de Nicolai * 1770–1793: Henri-Louis Rene Desnos Until 1801 Verdun was part of the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Trier. On November 29, 1801 it was suppressed and added to the Diocese of Nancy. On October 6, 1822 the diocese was re-established.

External links

Website of the diocese

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdun, Bishopric 990s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1552 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in the 990s Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in France 997 establishments Former monarchies of Europe de:Bistum Verdun fr:Diocèse de Verdun it:Diocesi di Verdun