Unwan, Archbishop of Bremen
Encyclopedia
Unwan (died 27 January 1029 in Bremen
) was the Archbishop of Hamburg
-Bremen from 1013 until his death.
Unwan was granted his see
on the agreement that his inheritance would go to the diocese on his death. Throughout his tenure, he was in conflict with the equally ambitious Bernard II, Duke of Saxony
, as was his successor, Adalbert
. In 1020, however, he allied with Empress Cunigunda
to persuade the Emperor Henry II to reconcile with Bernard. Around 1019, Canute the Great
, Conrad II
, and Unwan arranged a peace in the north of Germany and a pact against the Slavs.
Unwan and Benno, Bishop of Oldenburg
, began anew the Christianisation of the Obodrites of Wagria following decades of mild rebellion. The work of the archbishop was largely successful, save for the violent uprising precipitated by Benno's ecclesiastical land claims. In 1021, the Obodrites accepted the overlordship of the archdiocese as opposed to the Duke of Saxony and agreed to pay tithes. Adam of Bremen
records that Unwan was the first German bishop to abolish the practice of observing the rules of both monasticism
and canonry.
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
) was the Archbishop of Hamburg
Archbishop of Hamburg
The Archdiocese of Hamburg is a diocese in the north of Germany and contains the Federal States of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein as well as the part Mecklenburg of the Federal State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In terms of surface area it is the largest in Germany...
-Bremen from 1013 until his death.
Unwan was granted his 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...
on the agreement that his inheritance would go to the diocese on his death. Throughout his tenure, he was in conflict with the equally ambitious Bernard II, Duke of Saxony
Bernard II, Duke of Saxony
Bernard II was the Duke of Saxony , the third of the Billung dynasty, a son of Bernard I and Hildegard. He had the rights of a count in Frisia....
, as was his successor, Adalbert
Adalbert of Hamburg
This article is about Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. For other uses, see Adalbert .Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen was a German prelate, who was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen from 1043 until his death...
. In 1020, however, he allied with Empress Cunigunda
Cunigunde of Luxemburg
Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg, O.S.B. , also called Cunegundes and Cunegonda, was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Saint Henry II. She is the Patroness of Luxembourg; her feast day is 3 March....
to persuade the Emperor Henry II to reconcile with Bernard. Around 1019, Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
, Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
, and Unwan arranged a peace in the north of Germany and a pact against the Slavs.
Unwan and Benno, Bishop of Oldenburg
Bishopric of Lübeck
The Bishopric of Lübeck was a Roman-Catholic and, later, Protestant diocese, as well as a state of the Holy Roman Empire.-History: The original diocese was founded about 970 by Emperor Otto I in the Billung March at Oldenburg in Holstein , the former capital of the pagan Wagri tribe...
, began anew the Christianisation of the Obodrites of Wagria following decades of mild rebellion. The work of the archbishop was largely successful, save for the violent uprising precipitated by Benno's ecclesiastical land claims. In 1021, the Obodrites accepted the overlordship of the archdiocese as opposed to the Duke of Saxony and agreed to pay tithes. Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
records that Unwan was the first German bishop to abolish the practice of observing the rules of both monasticism
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...
and canonry.
Sources
- 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. - Thompson, James WestfallJames Westfall ThompsonJames Westfall Thompson was an American historian specializing in the history of medieval and early modern Europe, particularly of the Holy Roman Empire and France...
. Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.