Godfried or Godfrey van Rhenen (died on 27 May 1178) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

from 1156 to 1178. Godfrey was appointed with support from

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

in 1159 to deal with a revolt of citizens and his own ministers as a consequence of the struggle between the papal-supporting

Welfs The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meus ...

and the emperor-supporting

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

, in which Godfrey supported the Hohenstaufen. The revolt was ended in 1160 in favour of the bishop. After this he busied himself with strengthening his position in the

Oversticht Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of ...

and in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

. This led to a conflict with

Floris III, Count of Holland Floris III (1141 – August 1, 1190) was the count of Holland from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI and Sophia of Rheineck, heiress of Bentheim. Career Floris III was a loyal vassal to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He accompanied the emp ...

in 1165, in which the emperor mediated. Bishop Godfrey built forts at Vollenhove and

Montfoort Montfoort () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Montfoort received city rights in 1329. Population centres The municipality of Montfoort consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or distric ...

External links

Godfried van Rhenen
biography (in Dutch) 1178 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Prince-Bishops of Utrecht Year of birth unknown {{Netherlands-bio-stub