Synod of Erfurt
Encyclopedia
The Synod of Erfurt was a church council
held at Erfurt
in northeastern Thuringia
under the presidency of Henry I of Germany
in 932.
Erfurt was attended by ecclesiastics from every region of the Kingdom of Germany
save the Duchy of Bavaria
, where Duke Arnulf
presided over the Synod of Dingolfing, probably in concert with Henry's simultaneous Erfurt event. The purpose of the synod was to deal with everyday church matters, but it did discuss one pressing issue, that of the annual tribute owed to the Magyars during a nine-year truce (beginning 926). The synod agreed to cease paying the tribute and the Battle of Riade
precipitated.
Among the other issues the synod considered was that brought forward by Pietro Candiano II, Doge of Venice
, who suggested in a letter to the council that all Jews
who refused to be baptised be expelled from the kingdom.
The canons of the council were published as a breviarium canonum and sent to Adalbert, Archbishop of Salzburg.
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...
held at Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
in northeastern Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
under the presidency of Henry I of Germany
Henry I of Germany
Henry I the Fowler was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and German king from 919 until his death. First of the Ottonian Dynasty of German kings and emperors, he is generally considered to be the founder and first king of the medieval German state, known until then as East Francia...
in 932.
Erfurt was attended by ecclesiastics from every region of the Kingdom of Germany
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
save the Duchy of Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
, where Duke Arnulf
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria
Arnulf , called the Bad or the Evil , was the duke of Bavaria from 907 until his death. He was a member of the Luitpolding dynasty....
presided over the Synod of Dingolfing, probably in concert with Henry's simultaneous Erfurt event. The purpose of the synod was to deal with everyday church matters, but it did discuss one pressing issue, that of the annual tribute owed to the Magyars during a nine-year truce (beginning 926). The synod agreed to cease paying the tribute and the Battle of Riade
Battle of Riade
The Battle of Riade or Battle of Merseburg was fought between East Francia and the Magyars at an unidentified location in northern Thuringia along the river Unstrut on 15 March 933. The battle was precipitated by the decision of the Synod of Erfurt to stop paying an annual tribute to the Magyars in...
precipitated.
Among the other issues the synod considered was that brought forward by Pietro Candiano II, Doge of Venice
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...
, who suggested in a letter to the council that all Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
who refused to be baptised be expelled from the kingdom.
The canons of the council were published as a breviarium canonum and sent to Adalbert, Archbishop of Salzburg.
Sources
- Kedar, B. Z. "Expulsion as an Issue of World History." Journal of World HistoryJournal of World HistoryThe Journal of World History is a refereed scholarly journal that presents historical analysis from a global point-of-view, focusing especially on forces that cross the boundaries of cultures and civilizations, including large-scale population movements, economic fluctuations, transfers of...
. Vol. VII, No 2, Fall 1996, pp 165–180. - Reuter, TimothyTimothy ReuterTimothy Alan Reuter , grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical institutions of the Ottonian and Salian periods .Reuter received his D.phil from Oxford in...
. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991. - Bernhardt, John W. Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.