George was a Franco-papal diplomat who served as the

bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent bishop is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. For ce ...

(753–798) in the

Papal State The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy fro ...

and

bishop of Amiens The Diocese of Amiens (Latin: ''Dioecesis Ambianensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Amiens'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Somme, of which the city of Amiens is the capital. In 202 ...

(767–798) in

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

. He moved extensively between Italy and Francia, but his best recorded mission is the one he made to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 786.

Bishop of Ostia before 767

George was a native of Italy. He may have been a Greek from southern Italy and thus a native speaker of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. He was apparently the owner of a now lost manuscript of the Greek '' Chronographia Scaligeriana'', which he gave, loaned or sold to the

abbey of Corbie Corbie Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Corbie, Picardy, France, dedicated to Saint Peter. It was founded by Balthild, the widow of Clovis II, who had monks sent from Luxeuil. The Abbey of Corbie became celebrated both for its library a ...

around 780, where it was rather clumsily translated into

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 ...

. George is recorded as the bishop of Ostia from 753. The earliest reference to the bishop of Ostia and the other suburbicarian bishops as "

cardinal bishop A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

s" dates from George's time. In 754, George accompanied Pope Stephen II to the court of the court of the

Frankish king The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...

Pippin III the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude. Pepin's upbringing was dis ...

for the anointing of Pippin and his sons,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and Carloman. The ''

Liber pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' lists him first among the pope's followers on this occasion, before Wilchar and the archdeacon Theophylact. In early 756, during the Lombard siege of Rome, Stephen sent George back to Pippin with letters requesting Frankish intervention. George was also sent on further diplomatic missions to Francia by Pope Paul I between 757 and 759. In 757, he attended the Council of Compiègne. In 761, Paul gave him permission to reside permanently in Francia. George's prolonged absences from Italy have been linked to the gradual abandonment of the Constantinian Basilica, the ancient cathedral of Ostia, which declined in the late 8th century only to be completed despoiled for the building projects of

Pope Gregory IV Pope Gregory IV (; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death on 25 January 844. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor L ...

(). In 767, the pope-elect Constantine II recalled George to Rome, probably to perform the bishop of Ostia's traditional role in the confirmation of a new pope. Because of the disputed legality of Constantine's election, George refused to return. To regularize the situation, Pippin III arranged for him to become bishop of Amiens, while continuing to hold the see of Ostia.

Bishop of Ostia and Amiens

After his appointment to Amiens, George spent more time in Francia than in Italy. In the division of Francia that followed the death of Pippin III in 768, Amiens fell within the kingdom of Charlemagne. George was one of twelve bishops from Francia sent to attend the Lateran synod of 769, which confirmed the deposition of Constantine II. In the spring of 773, Charlemagne sent George, Abbot and a certain Alboin to Pope Hadrian I in Rome to ascertain the state of affairs in Italy. The envoy's report confirmed that the Lombards were delinquent in their treaty obligations, paving the way for Charlemagne's invasion of Italy. A letter from Hadrian to Charlemagne dated about 782 confirms that George was a subject of both the pope and the king with dual loyalty for his two bishoprics. In 786, George led a papal legation to England. Setting out from Italy, he was accompanied by Bishop Theophylact of Todi as co-legate and Abbot Wigbod of Trier as Charlemagne's representative. Several sources, including the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'', treat this mission as the first of its kind since

Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century in England, 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English". Augustine ...

's two centuries earlier. One of the purposes of the mission was to coordinate the celebration of

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

in England and France for Charlemagne's victory in the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...

and the baptism of the Saxon leader

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

. According to the '' Northern Annals'', "George held primacy among" the legates "and they were honourably received by kings and bishops, and by princes and nobles of this country." The legates' report, in the form of a letter to Hadrian, survives, albeit incomplete. According to their report, the legates landed in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and "rested" at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

as guests of Archbishop

Jænberht Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one p ...

before travelling to the court of King

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

. A

legatine council A legatine council or legatine synod is an ecclesiastical council or synod that is presided over by a papal legate.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150 According to Pope Gregory VII, writing in the ''Dictatus papae'', a papal legate "presides over all b ...

was held in Mercia attended by Offa, his bishops and King

Cynewulf of Wessex Cynewulf was the King of Wessex from 757 until his death in 786. He ruled for about 29 years. He was a direct male descendant of Cerdic. Cynewulf became king after his predecessor, Sigeberht, was deposed. He may have come to power under the ...

. After this, the legates split up, with George going to

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

and Theophylact visiting

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. In Northumbria, George held a council attended by King Ælfwald I and Archbishop Eanbald I of York. The report to Pope Hadrian is most detailed concerning the Northumbrian council. It was attended by

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

and Pyttel, who accompanied George and Wigbod back to Mercia as the legates of Ælfwald and Eanbald.; . After George's return to Mercia, a new council was convoked by Offa at which the decisions of the Northumbrian council were read out and accepted. George returned to the continent in late 786. His report was available in Rome by January 787. He brought Alcuin back with him to the Frankish court. In 790, when Alcuin was back in Northumbria, he wrote to Abbot

Adalard of Corbie Adalard of Corbie (; c. 751, Huise – 2 January 827) was the son of Bernard who was the son of Charles Martel and half-brother of Pepin; Charlemagne was his cousin. He is recognised as a saint within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Ch ...

asking him "to send greetings to my piritualfather George." George's last recorded act was to consecrate the churches of the Abbey of Saint-Riquier in 798.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{refend 8th-century births Bishops of Amiens Cardinal-bishops of Ostia 8th-century diplomats Medieval Italian diplomats Charlemagne