Anspert (died 7 December 881) was archbishop of Milan from 868 to 881.

Biography

Despite the tradition that he was a member of the Confalonieri family, this is not confirmed. When he was not yet a bishop, Anspert received by emperor Louis II the asset of Ansprand, who had killed the monarch's brother. He was appointed archbishop of Milan on 26 June 868 and under Louis II he was '' missus dominicus''. An educated man, he asked Irish monks to found the archbishop's ''scriptorium'' in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, a centre for the production of

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

s. On 12 August 875, he moved to

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, where the emperor had just died, and organized his sepulture in the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. In January of the following year, he participated in the coronation of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, and received from the new king further territories at Cavenago, Vimercate and Ornago. In July 877 he took part in a council at

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

in which he obtained several privileges for the Milanese archbishopric. After Charles the Bald's death (877), Anspert entered into conflict with Pope John VIII, who favoured Boso of Vienne as King of Italy, while the Milanese proposed

Carloman of Bavaria Carloman (, ; c. 830 – 22 March 880) was a Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty. He was the eldest son of Louis the German, king of East Francia, and Hemma, daughter of a Bavarian count. His father appointed him governor of Carantania in ...

. On 1 June 879 he was excommunicated and, in the following October, deposed; however, Anspert remained in charge as the Milanese clergymen supported him. Anspert and John reconciled when they met at the coronation of

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

as King of Italy (6 January 880) at Ravenna. During his tenure as archbishop the church of Milan was named as ''Ambrosian'' Anspert died in Milan in December 881 and was buried in the church of Sant'Ambrogio.

Biography

Sources

Further reading