Cunibert, Cunipert, or Kunibert (c. 60012 November c. 663) was the ninth

bishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, from 623 to his death. Contemporary sources mention him between 627 and 643.

Life

Cunibert was born somewhere along the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

to a family of the local Ripuarian Frankish aristocracy, and educated in Metz at the court of

Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young" ( French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629) was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623). The son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fred ...

. He entered the church and became

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

."Cunibert of Cologne", ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints''
/ref> He was made bishop of Cologne in 623, and attended the Synod of Clichy in 626/627. As bishop, Cunibert was an advisor to King Dagobert I, and served as tutor to his son and heir

Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'', or "do-nothing king", with the mayor of the palace in fact ruling ...

.Gorlinski, Virginia. "Saint Cunibert". ''Encyclopedia Britannica''
/ref> In 633 or 634 Sigebert was invested as king of

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

. Following this, Dagobert made Cunibert and Adalgisel, the

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

, co-

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

s of the kingdom. Following the death of Adalgisel's successor,

Pepin of Landen Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Sige ...

, Cunibert served as the chief public official of the king, in which capacity he revised the Lex Ribuaria. Throughout his episcopacy, monasticism flourished and churches were founded and restored. He is regarded today as a saint by the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and his feast day is the day of his death: November 12. He is buried in a church bearing his name in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, the city where he lived and died.

References

External links

heiligenlexikon.de
{{Authority control 600 births 663 deaths 7th-century Frankish bishops Year of death uncertain 7th-century Frankish saints 7th-century Frankish writers 7th-century writers in Latin