UTRECHT
246
UTRECHT
the close of the seventh century, with the consent of
the Frankish king, he settled at the market-town of
Utrecht and built two clnin-hes there, the Church of
Our Saviour, and that of Si. Martin. The conver-
sion of the Frisians to Christ iaiiit y, t hough, progressed
very slowly. After Willibrord's death St. Boniface
repeatedly gave his attention to the Church of Utrecht
without, however, being its bishop. Under the guid-
ance of his friend St. Gregory, the school founded by
St. Willibrord became a noted centre of Christian
education for the northern part of the Frankish king-
dom. During the early years of its existence the
Choib and Tr.\nsept of the Old Cathedral, Utrecht
diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the
heathen Frisians, and in the ninth and tenth centuries
from the plundering expeditions of the Normans, who
traversed the territory robbing and burning as they
went. Better times appeared during the supremacy
of the Saxon emperors, who esteemed the Bishops of
Utrecht highly, and frequently summoned them to
attend the imperial councils and diets. Through the
grants of land and privileges bestowed by these
emperors the Bishops of Utrecht became secular
princes, and were among the most powerful feudal
lords of the north-western part of the empire. In this
way, like the other German bishops, they became
involved in the quarrels of the emperors and popes.
Bishop William (1057-76) was an unswerving partisan
of the Emperor Henry IV during the Strife of Investi-
tures. He took part in the Synod of Worms which
pronounced the deposition of Pope Gregory VII, and
signed the decree of deposition directly after the
Archbishop of Mainz. His successor Konrad (1078-
99) was also a zealous adherent of the emperor. The
Concordat of Worms (1122) annulled the emperor's
right of investiture, and the cathedral chapter
received the right to the free election of the bishop.
It was, however, soon obliged to share this right with
the four other collegiate chapters which existed in the
city of Utrecht. The Counts of Holland and Geldern,
between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of
Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the
filling of the episcopal see. This often led to'disputes
at the election of the bishops, and it was but seldom
that capable and worthy men gained the See of St.
Willibrord. Consequ<'ntly the Holy See frequently
interfered in the elcctiim, and after the middle of the
fourteenth century repeatedly appointed the bishop
directly withoul regard to the five chai)tcrs.
The Great Schism of llie West in the latter quarter of the fourteenth ccnlurv also afl'ected the Diocese of Utrecht. Bishoj) Arnold II of Iloorn (1371-78) was opposed by a rival bishop, Floria of Wevelinkhofen (1378-93). The latter was generally recognized when
Arnold, in return for a large sum of money, renounced
his claims to Utrecht, and was raised to the See of
Liege. During the episcopate of Floris, Gerhard
Groote, who traversed the diocese as a preacher of
repentance, was very successful in his efforts to bring
about reforms. Floris was succeeded by one of the
best bishops of Utrecht, Frederick of Blankenheim
(1392-1423). Frederick's excellent administration
was followed by a schism that lasted twenty-five
years. Pope Martin V would not recognize Rudolph
of Diepholz (1423-55), who had been elected by the
chapters, and appointed Rabanus, Bishop of Speyer,
as bishop, and, after his resignation, the cathedral
provost of Utrecht, Zweder of Culenberg. After
Zweder's death in 1433 his brother, Walraf of Mors,
was appointed bishop by Pope Eugene IV. As the
neighbouring secular rulers took part in the quarrel
over the diocese, the country suffered terribly until
the general recognition of Rudolph put an end to the
schism. After his death the chapters elected Gijs-
brecht of Brederode, but Philip of Burgundy was able
to obtain at Rome the appointment of his illegitimate
son David. During the entire period of his episcopate
Da\ id (1457-94) maintained himself with difficulty
against his enemies, namely the knights of the diocese
and the city of Utrecht. He was succeeded by Fred-
erick of Baden (]49t)-1516) a protege of Maximilian
of Austria, and Phihp of Burgundy (1518-24), who
did much for the encouragement of art and to improve
church discipline. Henry of Bavaria (1524-28),
who was also Bishop of Freising and Worms, resigned
the see in 1528 with the consent of the chapter, and
transferred his secular authority to Charles V, who
was also Duke of Brabant and Count of Holland.
Thus Utrecht came under the sovereignty of the
Habsburgs; the chapters voluntarily transferred their
right of electing the bishop to Charles V, and Pope
Clement VII gave his consent to the proceeding. The
first bishop appointed by Charles, Cardinal William
Enckevorst, died in 1533 without having ever entered
his diocese.
In 1550, at the instance of Philip II, the church organization of the Netherlands was entirel}' changed by forming new dioceses and reorganizing the old ones. Utrecht was taken from Cologne, of which it had been a suffragan, and raised to the rank of an archdiocese and metropolitan see. Its suffragan dioceses were Haarlem, Bois-le-Duc, JMiddelburg, Devcnter, Leeuwarden, and Groningen. But the new ecclesiastical province had not a long existence. During the administration of the first archbishop, Frederick Schenk of Toutenberg (1561-80), Calvinism spread rapidly, especially among the nobility, who viewed with disfavour the endowment of the new bishopries with the ancient and wealthy abbe3's. When the northern pro\"inces of the Netherlands revolted, the archdiocese fell, with the overthrow of the Spanish power. As early as 1573, under the supremacy of the Calvinists, the public exercise of the Catholic faith was forbidden. Proof of the perse- cution which the Catholics suffered is given by the death of the nineteen martyrs of Gorkum. The two successors appointed by Spain did not receive canon- ical confirmation, neither could they enter their diocese on account of the opposition of the States- General. From the end of the sixteenth century their place was taken by vicars Apostolic for the United Netherlands, who, however, were generally driven from the coimtry by the States-General and forced to administer their charge from abroad. Although, in addition to this, there was a great lack of priests, still a very large part of the population of the Netherlands remained loyal to the Catholic religion. Among these vicars .\postolic, who were generally made titular archbishoi)S, was John of Neercassel (Iti02-S6), a friend of the Jansenists .\rnold and Quesnel, who had fled from France and was inclined to Jansenism him-
