Baturich (died 847), also spelled Baturic or Baturicus, was the abbot of Saint Emmeram's and

bishop of Regensburg The Bishops of Regensburg (; or ) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany.

Hraban Maur Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Franks, Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the autho ...

at the

abbey of Fulda The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day Ger ...

. He became abbot and bishop simultaneously in 817. In 819, he accompanied the army of Bavaria in the field against the rebel

Ljudevit Ljudevit () is a Croatian masculine given name. The name comes from the word ''ljudi'', meaning ''people''. The name Ljudevit is also used as a translation of foreign names such as Ludwig or Louis. Ljudevit may refer to: * Ljudevit (Lower Pannon ...

in Lower Pannonia. In May 823, he attended the great council of the Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In 833, when

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

became king of all

East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

, he appointed Baturich as his ''ambasciator'', a court officer who relayed the king's commands to the scribes. It was probably at this time that he appointed Baturich his

archchaplain An Archchaplain is a cleric with a senior position in a royal court. The title was used in the Frankish kingdom in the Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings ...

, although the earliest reference to this appointment is from 844. He remained Louis's archchaplain until his death. When in 833 the Emperor

was imprisoned by King Lothair, Baturich remained loyal to King Louis and the emperor. That same year, the emperor gave him control of

Mondsee Abbey Mondsee Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Mondsee in Upper Austria. History The region of the ''Mondseeland'', in which Mondsee is located, was formerly part of Bavaria. Mondsee Abbey was founded in 748 by Odilo, Duke of Bavaria on the r ...

. Baturich did not accompany the king on his expedition to Italy in 837, but he was with Louis's army during its campaign of 846 against

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and its disastrous retreat through

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He died in 847. He was succeeded by his nephew, Erchanfrid.

Scriptoria

Baturich and Hraban exchanged letters, books, students and even

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

. Hraban addressed a poem to Baturich, ''Ad Baturicum episcopum'', while as bishop Baturich looked after Fulda's interests at court. Baturich expanded the libraries of Saint Emmeram's and Regensburg Cathedral and standardized the handwriting of their

scriptoria A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and Illuminated manuscript, illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for ...

. Some 31

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s survive from his scriptoria. Five of these explicitly identify him as their commissioner. In 821, Baturich commissioned a dossier of conciliar texts (now Munich, Clm 14468), including texts on the Council of Regensburg (792) against the

Adoptionists Adoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism, is an early Christian nontrinitarian theological doctrine, subsequently revived in various forms, which holds that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God at his baptism, his resurrection, or his asc ...

and the Council of Friuli (796). While attending the council of 823, he had a copy made of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

's commentary on ''

1 John The First Epistle of John is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works. The author of the First Epistle is so ...

'' (now Munich, Clm 14468). In 826 or early 827, Baturich commissioned a

pontifical A pontifical () is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy Orders. While the ...

of prayers and benedictions for the use of the new royal court of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It is preserved today in Munich, Clm 14510, folios 1–75. It contains a

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

service that was probably used for the crowning of King Louis the German, who arrived in Bavaria in 826. A

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

charter that can be dated to the 820s lists Baturich among the ''coronatores viri'', "crowning men", of Bavaria.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control 8th-century births 847 deaths 9th-century Christian abbots Roman Catholic bishops of Regensburg

Life

Scriptoria

Notes

Bibliography