Wibod (died 895) was the Bishop of Parma from 855 until his death. He was, during the reigns of Louis II

Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis II the Younger was the King of Italy and Roman Emperor from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was imperator augustus , but he used imperator Romanorum after his conquest of Bari in 871, which led to poor relations with Byzantium...

, Carloman

Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman was the eldest son of Louis the German, king of East Francia , and Hemma, daughter of the count Welf...

, Charles III

Charles the Fat

Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...

, and Berengar I

Berengar I of Italy

Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...

, the most important power-broker in Emilia

Emilia (region of Italy)

Emilia is a historical region of northern Italy which approximately corresponds to the western and north-eastern portions of today’s Emilia-Romagna region...

.

Wibod was a frequent ambassador for Louis II after 860. He and a count named Bernard were the delegates of Louis II who, along with two suburbicarian bishops and a cardinal priest of Pope Hadrian II, formed an embassy to Louis the German

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...

 at Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

 in October 870. This embassy brought letters confirming Hadrian's support of Louis in the conflict surrounding the succession to Lotharingia

Lotharingia

Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...

 and the consecration of Willibert as Archbishop of Cologne. Wibod acted as an ambassador for Louis II and Engelberga

Engelberga

Engelberga was the wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, from 5 October 851 to his death on 12 August 875. As empress, she exerted a powerful influence over her husband. Her family, the Supponids, prospered during Louis's reign...

 again in 872.

Wibod was the first recipient Italian bishop of an extension of his saecular authority of districtio (defence) beyond his city's walls, from Carloman. The extension of temporal episcopal authority in the civitates (cities) and their comitati (counties) became a trend in the 10th century. Wibod was also a recipient of Charles' largess. Charles granted Wibod land around Susinate and Vigonzone. These lands probably served as country homes for the bishop when conferring with Charles while the latter was breaking from royal duties in Pavia

Pavia

Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

.

Wibod was the "highest counsellor" or consiliarius regis of Charles. His influence and power in Italy far exceeded that of the king's favourite and chancellor, Liutward of Vercelli. He consequently attended the West Frankish coronation and imperial assembly at Grand

Grand, Vosges

Grand is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Grand is known for its Roman amphitheatre, mosaics and aqueduct.- External links :*...

 on 20 May 885.

During the contests for the Italian throne following Charles' death in 888, Wibod preferred the German and German-supported candidates over the French ones. He consistently backed Berengar against the Guideschi

Guideschi

The Guideschi, Guidoni, Vitone or Widonids were an Italian family of Frankish origin prominent in the ninth century. They were descended from Guy of Nantes, whose origins were Austrasian. They were an aggressive dynasty, expanding their base of power into the Papal States, ever loyal to the Empire...

 claimants, but he was won over to the French side by the entreaties of Anselm II, Archbishop of Milan

Anselm II, Archbishop of Milan

Anselm II Capra was the Archbishop of Milan from 882 until his death. He was the leader of the West Frankish party against the East Frankish in the Italian politics of his day. He opposed Berengar of Friuli and supported crowning the Frank Guy III of Spoleto as King of Italy after the deposition...

.

Sources

• Wickham, Chris. Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000. MacMillan Press: 1981.
• MacLean, Simon. Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge University Press: 2003.
• Reuter, Timothy (trans.) The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.