Arbeo (also Aribo or Arbo) of Freising (723 or earlier near

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

– 4 May 784) was an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

author and Bishop of

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

from 764. Arbeo probably was a scion of the

Huosi The Huosi were one of the ''Uradel'' (ancient noble families) in the duchy of Bavaria. Their status was enshrined in the '' Law of the Bavarians'', which lists them first among the five families having special rights privileges after the ducal Ag ...

noble dynasty in the stem duchy of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. He may have been the child which, according to his own hagiography, Saint

Corbinian Saint Corbinian ( la, Corbinianus; french: Corbinien; german: Korbinian; 670 – 8 September c. 730 AD) was a Frankish bishop. After living as a hermit near Chartres for fourteen years, he made a pilgrimage to Rome. Pope Gregory II sent him to ...

rescued from the floodwaters of the

Passer ''Passer'' is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds with thick bills for ...

River near

. Arbeo was raised by Corbinians's brother Erembert and prepared for an ecclesiastical career, becoming a member of the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. At first a priest and notary under Bishop Joseph of Freising and official of the episcopal chancery, he was appointed abbot of the newly founded monastery of

Scharnitz Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gieße ...

in 763. One year later he succeeded Joseph as Bishop of Freising. During his tenure the Bavarian monasteries of

Innichen Innichen (; it, San Candido , lld, Sanciana) is a municipality in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located in the Puster Valley on the Drava River, about northeast of Bolzano, on Italy's border with Austria. It hosts Italy’s International ...

, Schäftlarn and

Schliersee Schliersee is a small town (Markt) and a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. It is named after the nearby Lake Schliersee. It comprises the districts Schliersee (town), , , , Josefsthal and Spitzingsee. Among the po ...

were established, and Scharnitz Abbey relocated to Schlehdorf. Arbeo had the relics of Saint Corbinian transferred to

. In the long-time quarrels of the Agilolfing duke

Tassilo III of Bavaria Tassilo III ( 741 – c. 796) was the duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. The Son of Duke Odilo of Bavaria and Hitrud, the Daughter of Charles Martell. Tassilo, then still a child, began his rule as a Frank ...

with his Frankish suzerains, the bishop remained a loyal supporter of King

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

and may have lost his diocese in his later years. Arbeo founded the Freising episcopal library and

scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes an ...

. He is often counted as the first named author in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and is sometimes credited with the composition of the '' Codex Abrogans,'' a bilingual vocabulary in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

and

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

, often described as the first German book. He is buried in

. His commemoration day in the Catholic Church is 4 May. An affiliation with Margrave Aribo, progenitor of the Aribonids is possible but has not been established.

Works

* ''Arbeonis episcopi Frisingensis vitae sanctorum Haimhrammi et Corbiniani'' (''"Lives of Saints Emmeram and

, by Arbeo, Bishop of Freising"'') *Albert Lehner: Sacerdos = Bischof. Klerikale hiérarchie in der Emmeramsvita, 2007 Leipzig (Leipziger Universitätsverlag / ). * Sigmund Ritter von Riezler: Arbeo . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Vol. 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 510. * Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Arbeo (Aribo, Arbo), Bischof von Freising . In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Vol. 1, Hamm 1975, Sp. 205.

External links

* *
Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon article
* http://www.manfred-hiebl.de/mittelalter-genealogie/mittelalter/bistuemer/freising/arbeo_bischof_von_freising_+_783.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbeo of Freising Aribonid dynasty German Benedictines Medieval German saints Roman Catholic bishops of Freising 8th-century bishops in Bavaria Old High German literature 723 births 784 deaths 8th-century Christian saints Benedictine bishops German male writers 8th-century Frankish writers 8th-century Latin writers People from Merano

Works

Further reading

External links