Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/69

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TRIER


43


TRIER


lo the Church of St. Peter at Trier. In 81G Louis the I'ious confirmed to Archbishop Hetti (S14-47) the |i privileges of protection and immunity granted by his father. At the partition of the Prankish Empire at Verdun in S43, Trier fell to Lothair's empire; at the partition of Lothair's empire at Mersen in S7(), it fell to the East-Frankish kingdom which later became the German Empire. However, after the death of Louis the Child, the lords of Loi'raine separated from the East-Frankish Kingdom and became vassals of the West-Frankish ruler, King Charles the Simple, until Henry I conquered the country for Germany again. Archbishop Ratbod (883-915) received in 898 com- plete immunity from all state taxes for the entire episcopal territory from the Fving of Lorraine and Bur- gundy, Swentiboid, son of Emperor Arnulf. He ob- tained from Louis the Child the district and city of Trier, the right to have a mint and to impose cus- toms-duties; from Charles the Simple he gained the right of a free election of the Bishop of Trier. In this way the secular possessions of the bishops of Trier, which had sprung from the valuable donations of the Merovingian and Carlovingian rulers, were raised to a secular principality. Archbishop Ratbert (931-56), brother-in-law of King Henry I, was confirmed by Otto I in all the temporal rights gained by his prede- cessors.

Archbishop Poppo (1016-47), son of Margrave Leopold of .\ustria, did much to enlarge the territory owned by the church of Trier. During the strife over Investiture, Engelhert of Ortenburg (1078-1101) and Bruno of Laufen (1102-24) belonged to the imperial party. Albero of Montreuil (1131-52) had, as Arch- deacon of Metz, opposed lay Investiture; during his administration the cathedral school of Trier reached its highest fame. From about 1100 the jVrchbishop of Trier was the Arch-Chancellor of Gaul, for the Ger- man emiJcror, and thus became the possessor of an imperial office and an Elector of the German king and emperor. As the archbishops of Trier were among the leading spiritual princes of the empire, they be- came involved in all the struggles between pope and emperor. While Hillin (11.52-69) was a partisan of Frederick Barbarossa, Arnold I (1169-83) made suc- cessful efforts to bring about a reconciliation between the emperor and pope (1177). John I (1190-1212) was excommunicated by Innocent III on account of his adherence to King Philip of Swabia; Bishop John in- creased the possessions of the archdiocese by gaining several countships and castles. Theodoric II of Wied (1212-42) belonged to the party of Frederick II, while Arnold II of Isenburg (1242-59) opposed the emperor. Henry II of Vinstingen (1260-86) was the first Archbishop of Trier who took part in the election of a German emperor as one of the seven Electors; the electoral dignity, together with the right to the first vote, was confirmed by the Golden Bull in 1356. As in other German dioceses, so also in Trier, the ri.sing cities, especially Trier and Coblenz, sought to rid themselves of the .suzerainty of the bishop. Such at- tempts were crowned with considerable success during the rule of Archbishop Diether of Nas.sau (1300-07), brother of King Adolph of Nassau. On the other h.and, Baldwin of Lu.xembourg (1308- .54), the most noted of the medieval archbishops of Trier, was able to restore and raise the importance of the See of Trier by his wide-reaching activity both in secular and spiritual affairs. He brought the cities of Coblenz and Trier under his suzerainty again, and was the actual organizer of his possessions as an electoral state. Werner of Falkenstein (13S8-1418), one of Baldwin's successors, acquired Limburg on the Lahn; during the great Western Schism he held loyally to Gregory XIL After the death of Otto of Ziegenhain (141S-30), who laboured zealously for the reform of the Church, there was a double election; upon this Pope Martin V appointed a third person archbishop.


During the struggle of the candidates to secure the diocese it suffered severely. James of Sierck (1439- 56) sought to restore order in the confused finances of the diocese. He was deposed by Eugenius IV as an adherent of the Council of B;isle and of the Antipojje Felix V, who was elected there. However, the deposi- tion had no effect as the German Electors opposed it. John II, Margrave of Baden (1456-1503), promoted the reform of the Churcli. He left the diocese heavily in debt, and these debts were increased by his great- nephew and successor, James II of Baden (1503-11). The Reformation limited the spiritual jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Trier. Although the energetic


The Cathedr.vl Cloisters, Trier


Richard von Greiffenklau (1511-31) vigorously op- posed the Reformation, still he could not prevent the new doctrine from gaining a foothold in the district of the Hunsriick, and in that on the right bank of the Rhine. He defeated the attacks of Franz von Sickingen upon the city of Trier, as well as the efforts of that city to become independent of the bishop. In 1512 he exhibited the Holy Coat for the first time and spent the donations of the pilgrims on the cathe- dral. Johnll vonMetzenhausen (1531-40) attempted reforms which were frustrated by his death. John IVvonHagen (1541-47) sent a representative to the Council of Trent and began earnest measures of reform. John V von Isenburg (1547-56) attended the council him.self, but w:is recalled home by the incur- sion of Margrave Albreclit of Brandenburg-.\nsbach into the:xrch<lioce.se, which the margrave^ dcva.stated horribly. John VI von der Leyen (155(i-()7) was able to regain Trier, but could not prevent the French from taking possession of his three .suffragan dioceses, Metz, Toul, and Verdun. He chocked the further spread of the new doctrines by calling the Jesuits into his diocese (l.")l')l). James III vonEltz (1.567-Sl) and John VII vonSchonenberg (1.581-99) carried out in their possessions the reformatory decrees of the Coun- cil of Trent. The former .secured the administration of the Abbey of Priim, whereby the secular possessions of the archdiocese reached their final extent; the latter established two .seminaries at Coblenz and Trier. Lothair vonMefternich (1599-1623) joined the Catholic League in order to secure the stability