Hillin of Falmagne
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Hillin of Falmagne | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Trier | |
crosier and a book inscribed PAX VOB. The inscription around the edge reads + HILLIN • DI • GRA • TREVIRORVM • ARCHI • EPISCOPVS. | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Electorate of Trier |
| In office | 1152–1169 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1100 |
| Died | 23 October 1169 |
Hillin of Falmagne (
Archbishop of Trier from 1152. He was an imperialist and a partisan of Frederick Barbarossa in the Investiture Controversy
of the twelfth century.
Biography
Hillin's familial origins trace back to the commune of Falmagne near
Albero of Montreuil
. In 1142, he took up direction of the cathedral school; in 1150, he was named Dean of the cathedral, and in 1152 he was elected Archbishop by the clergy and the people.
Imperial Politics
Later that year Barbarossa was elected
Pope Eugenius III himself, most likely in Segni. After Hillin's return to Germany, he took part in Frederick's first plenary court in July 1152 at Regensburg
.
In 1154 – 1155 Hillin accompanied Barbarossa on the Emperor's first expedition into
papal election to Barbarossa and his antipope Victor IV rather than to the majority-elected "Sicilian" candidate, Pope Alexander III
; Victor made him legate for his support. After Victor's death in 1164, however, Hillin's support for the imperial party wavered, and in 1165, the Archbishop went over to the side of Alexander.
Internal Politics
In contrast to his predecessor Albero, Hillin was peaceable and prudent in character, as he displayed in continual efforts to establish peace among his various warring neighbors. Shortly after his accession to the See of Trier, Hillin served to reconcile Duke
. In 1163 Hillin secured reparations from Frederick of Merzig, who had been engaged in extortion, and lifted the excommunication placed upon him.Religious and Cultural Activities
In order to settle affairs in the archdiocese, the archbishop turned to
Lorraine, where the two managed to allay the strife between the people of Metz and Verdun. He also received letters from Elisabeth of Schönau, who, in an epistle written ca. 1159, rebuked Hillin for his pacific attitude and urged him to relay her prophecies of doom to the opponents of Victor IV. In 1169 Hillin engaged in correspondence with Hildegard of Bingen
, whom he approached for advice, who visited Trier under his auspices, and who preached a stern sermon to the clergy and people thereof.
On 24 August 1156, the archbishop consecrated the splendid abbey church of
castles of Manderscheid and Dreis with towers; around 1160, he took to renovating the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, augmenting the archiepiscopal palace, deepening the moat, laying the foundations of a pentagonal keep, and digging a cistern
.
He died in Trier, but his burial place is unknown.
References
- Franz Xaver Kraus (1880), "Hillin", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 12, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 429–431
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1990). "Hillin von Fallemanien". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 2. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 867–868. ISBN 3-88309-032-8.
- Stephan Hilpisch (1972), "Hillin", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 9, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–159; (full text online)
External links
- Saarländische Biografien: Hillin von Falmagne (tabellarisch)
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