Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims
Encyclopedia
Ebbo (c. 775 – 20 March 851 in Hildesheim
) was archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German
serf
on the royal demesne of Charlemagne
. He was educated at his court and became the librarian
and councillor of Louis the Pious
, king of Aquitaine, son of Charlemagne. When Louis became emperor
, he appointed Ebbo to the see
of Rheims, then vacant after the death of Wulfaire.
He was an important figure in the spread of Christianity
in the north of Europe
. At the insistence of Louis, in 822, he went to Rome
and asked Pope
Pascal I to become the papal legate
to the North. He was licensed to preach to the Danes and he and Halitgar
, bishop of Cambrai, and Willerich
, bishop of Bremen, went there in 823. He made short subsequient trips, but all with little success. Saint Ansgar was more successful a few years later.
When Louis's sons by his first marriage to Ermengarde of Hesbaye
(Lothair, Louis
, and Pepin
) rebelled in 830, Ebbo remained loyal. But in 833 he joined the insurrection and on 13 November presided over the synod
in the Church of Saint Mary in Soissons
which deposed Louis and forced him to publicly confess many crimes, none of which he had, in fact, committed. As a reward Lothair gave Ebbo the Abbey of Saint Vaast
.
He then became a loyal follower of Lothair. He remained with him even after Louis's reinstatement in March 834. When Lothair had to flee to Italy
, however, Ebbo was too ill with gout
to follow and took shelter with a Paris
ian hermit
. He was found by Louis' men and imprisoned in the Abbey of Fulda
. Events of the previous year were soon reversed. He was brought to the Synod of Thionville
(2 February 835) and made to admit, in front of 43 bishop
s, that Louis had never committed the crimes of which he had accused him. Ebbo publicly recanted from the pulpit in Mainz
on 28 February. The Synod then promptly deposed him. He was again imprisoned in Fulda and later given to Fréculf, bishop of Lisieux, and later to Boso, abbot of Fleury
.
Ebbo was restored when Louis died and Lothair succeeded, in December 840. A year later, however, Charles the Bald
was in control of France
and Ebbo was deposed a second time. Hincmar was appointed to succeed him in 845 and refused to recognise his acts during his reinstatement. They were declared invalid by the Council of Soissons in 853.
Ebbo went to the court of Lothair, but Pope Sergius II ignored his pleas to be reinstated (again). When Lothair had no use for Ebbo, however, he was forced to leave that court and go to that of Louis the German. Louis made him Bishop of Hildesheim (between April 845 and October 847) and it is in this position that he died on 20 March 851, in the seat of his diocese.
He wrote the Apologeticum Ebbonis in defence of his reinstatement. It was probably one of his ordinations from the period of his reinstatement who penned the Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals. He also assembled artists at Hautvillers
who transformed Carolingian art
into a new thing and founded the so-called Reims School. The beautiful Gospel Book of Ebbo is their most well known product. His influence in the Carolingian Renaissance
is enormous in the realm of art and illumination.
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
) was archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
on the royal demesne of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. He was educated at his court and became the librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
and councillor of Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, king of Aquitaine, son of Charlemagne. When Louis became emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, he appointed Ebbo to the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Rheims, then vacant after the death of Wulfaire.
He was an important figure in the spread of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in the north of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. At the insistence of Louis, in 822, he went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and asked Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Pascal I to become the papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
to the North. He was licensed to preach to the Danes and he and Halitgar
Halitgar
Halitgar was a ninth-century bishop of Cambrai . He is known also as an apostle to the Danes, and the writer of a widely-known penitential.-Life:...
, bishop of Cambrai, and Willerich
Willerich
Willerich was the second bishop of Bremen in Germany; or, according to some, the first, his predecessor Willehad being just a missionary in the area, and the diocese set up after his death. He was consecrated in 804 or 805....
, bishop of Bremen, went there in 823. He made short subsequient trips, but all with little success. Saint Ansgar was more successful a few years later.
When Louis's sons by his first marriage to Ermengarde of Hesbaye
Ermengarde of Hesbaye
Ermengarde of Hesbaye was Queen of the Franks and Holy Roman Empress as the wife of Emperor Louis I. She was Frankish, the daughter of Ingeram, count of Hesbaye, and Hedwig of Bavaria...
(Lothair, Louis
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
, and Pepin
Pepin I of Aquitaine
Pepin I was King of Aquitaine.-Biography:He was the second son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye....
) rebelled in 830, Ebbo remained loyal. But in 833 he joined the insurrection and on 13 November presided over the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in the Church of Saint Mary in Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
which deposed Louis and forced him to publicly confess many crimes, none of which he had, in fact, committed. As a reward Lothair gave Ebbo the Abbey of Saint Vaast
St. Vaast's Abbey
The Abbey of St. Vaast was a Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, département of Pas-de-Calais, France.-History:The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast was the first bishop of Arras and later also bishop of Cambrai, and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras...
.
He then became a loyal follower of Lothair. He remained with him even after Louis's reinstatement in March 834. When Lothair had to flee to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, however, Ebbo was too ill with gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
to follow and took shelter with a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
. He was found by Louis' men and imprisoned in the Abbey of Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
. Events of the previous year were soon reversed. He was brought to the Synod of Thionville
Thionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
(2 February 835) and made to admit, in front of 43 bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, that Louis had never committed the crimes of which he had accused him. Ebbo publicly recanted from the pulpit in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
on 28 February. The Synod then promptly deposed him. He was again imprisoned in Fulda and later given to Fréculf, bishop of Lisieux, and later to Boso, abbot of Fleury
Fleury Abbey
Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Loiret, France, founded about 640, is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, which posseses the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia. Its site on the banks of the Loire has always made it easily accessible from Orléans, a center of...
.
Ebbo was restored when Louis died and Lothair succeeded, in December 840. A year later, however, Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
was in control of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Ebbo was deposed a second time. Hincmar was appointed to succeed him in 845 and refused to recognise his acts during his reinstatement. They were declared invalid by the Council of Soissons in 853.
Ebbo went to the court of Lothair, but Pope Sergius II ignored his pleas to be reinstated (again). When Lothair had no use for Ebbo, however, he was forced to leave that court and go to that of Louis the German. Louis made him Bishop of Hildesheim (between April 845 and October 847) and it is in this position that he died on 20 March 851, in the seat of his diocese.
He wrote the Apologeticum Ebbonis in defence of his reinstatement. It was probably one of his ordinations from the period of his reinstatement who penned the Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals. He also assembled artists at Hautvillers
Hautvillers
Hautvillers is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France....
who transformed Carolingian art
Carolingian art
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
into a new thing and founded the so-called Reims School. The beautiful Gospel Book of Ebbo is their most well known product. His influence in the Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Renaissance
In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
is enormous in the realm of art and illumination.
External links
- Opera Omnia of Ebo Rheminensis Episcopus, with analytical indexes, edited by Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
- Ebonis Vita Ottonts episcopi Bambergensis.