Ruthard was archbishop of Mainz from 1089 to 1109.

In 1096 he opposed violence against the Jews arising from the First Crusade

First Crusade

The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...

, trying to turn Emicho

Emicho

Count Emicho , was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century and the leader of the "German Crusade" in 1096...

 away from 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...

. After a two-day stand-off, Emicho broke into the city, and caused a massacre.

He was then accused by Emperor Henry IV, whom he opposed in the Investiture Conflict, of appropriating property of murdered Jews. Ruthard left his diocese until 1105.

He founded Disibodenberg Abbey in 1108 at the place where Disibod

Disibod

Saint Disibod was an Irish monk and hermit, first mentioned in a martyrologium by Hrabanus Maurus . Hildegard of Bingen around 1170 composed a vita of Saint Disibod...

had built a cell at the confluence of the rivers Nahe and Glan..