Wolfger von Erla
Wolfger von Erla,
He was renowned in his own time as a diplomat and peacemaker. He participated in the highest levels of the politics of the
Wolfger's courts at Passau and Aquileia attracted scholars and writers. His possible patronage of the
Early life
Wolfger was born to a noble family from
Bishop of Passau
As bishop, he expanded the holdings of his diocese and was a consistent ally of the
At a diet in
During the German throne dispute that followed Henry VI's death in 1197, Wolfger remained loyal to the Staufer candidate, Philip of Swabia. When the pope took the side of Otto of Brunswick, Wolfger was excommunicated.[1]
Wolfger's episcopal travel accounts provide the only contemporary reference to the famous
In 1204, Wolfger built the castle of Obernburg because of a feud with the Count of Ortenburg.[6] He urged the creation of another diocese out of the territory of the diocese of Passau, but this never came to fruition before he began vigorously seeking election to the patriarchate of Aquileia.
Patriarch of Aquileia
Innocent III did not prevent Wolfger's election as patriarch, even though the latter was excommunicated. In 1206, Innocent ordered him to go to Germany to negotiate with Philip. The result was a letter from Philip to the pope that opened negotiations to end the throne dispute. On 11 June 1206 in Nuremberg, Philip enfeoffed Wolfger with the Duchy of Friuli, the secular territory of the patriarchate. The patriarch was a driving force in bringing about the agreements between Philip, Otto and Innocent. Philip appointed him Reichslegaten (imperial legate) in the Kingdom of Italy and in return for his services granted him the imperial castle of Monselice. Having secured Innocent's recognition of Philip as imperial candidate, Wolfger was returning from Rome when Philip was assassinated (1208).[1]
Accused of involvement in the assassination of Philip, Margrave
Otto also confirmed Wolfger as Reichslegaten with responsibility for reasserting imperial rights and regaining imperial properties in Italy. He was so successful he even recouped lands Otto had secretly given over to the papacy. He was also tasked with preparing Italy for Otto's impending
In 1211, Otto was excommunicated and the Staufer Frederick II elected to replace him. To prevent an outbreak of civil war, Wolfger advised Otto to marry Philip's daughter, the 13-year-old Beatrice, to whom he had been betrothed following Philip's death. Otto did so, but Beatrice died three weeks later (1212). In February 1214, Wolfger attended a diet of Frederick II in Augsburg to have the new king confirm Aquileia's privileges and fiefs and to have the castle of Monselice, which Otto had reclaimed, returned.[1]
In 1215, Wolfger attended the
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l F. W. von Kries, "Wolfger von Erla", in J. Strayer (ed.), Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Vol. 12 (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1989), pp. 672–673.
- ^ Hansiz I, p. 337.
- ^ Siegrid Schmidt, "Dürnstein", in Francis G. Gentry, Werner Wunderlich, Winder McConnell and Ulrich Mueller (eds.), The Nibelungen Tradition: An Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2002), pp. 63–64.
- ^ Michael Resler, "Wolfger von Erla", in Francis G. Gentry, Werner Wunderlich, Winder McConnell and Ulrich Mueller (eds.), The Nibelungen Tradition: An Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2002), p. 138.
- ^ Rudolf Weigand, "The Transmontane Decretists", in Wilfried Hartmann and Kenneth Pennington (eds.), The History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical Period, 1140–1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX (Catholic University of America Press, 2008), p. 204.
- ^ Georg Juritsch (1894), Geschichte der Babenberger und ihrer Länder (Innsbruck), p. 378.
- ^ a b Peter Štih, "The Patriarchs of Aquileia as Margraves of Carniola", in The Middle Ages between the Eastern Alps and the Northern Adriatic (Brill, 2010), pp. 262–263, 267.
Further reading
- Helmut Birkhan. Der achthundertjährige Pelzrock: Walther von der Vogelweide—Wolfger von Erla—Zeiselmauer. Proceedings of the Walther-Symposion der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 24–27 September 2003, in Zeiselmauer. Vienna: 2005.
- Egon Boshof. Link Wolfger von Erla – Bischof von Passau, Patriarch von Aquileja. Ostbairische Lebensbilder. Passau: 2004, 1, pp. 22–39.
- Egon Boshof. Wolfger von Erla : Bischof von Passau (1191–1204) und Patriarch von Aquileja (1204–1218) als Kirchenfürst und Literaturmäzen. Heidelberg: 1994.
- Hansiz, Marcus. Germaniae sacræ: Metropolis Lauriacensis cum Episcopatu Pataviensi. (in Latin). Tomus I (1727). Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg): Happach & Schlüter.
- Hedwig Heger. Das Lebenszeugnis Walthers von der Vogelweide: die Reiserechnungen des Passauer Bischofs Wolfger von Erla. Vienna: 1970.
- P. Kalkoff (1882). Wolfger von Passau, 1191—1204. Eine Untersuchung über den historischen Werth seiner Reiseriunerungen.. (in German). StraBburg, Weimar 1882.
- Franz von Krones. "Wolfger von Ellenbrechtskirchen". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 44. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1898, pp. 124f.
- Pio Paschini. "Il patriarcato di Wolfger di Ellenbrechtskirchen". Memorie Storiche Forogiuliesi, 9 (1915), pp. 20–39.
- Anette Zurstraßen. "Wolfger von Erla". Lexikon des Mittelalters, 9, p. 308.
- Wolfger von Erla in Austria-Forum (in German) (at AEIOU)
- "Wolfger von Erla". Germania Sacra people index (in German). Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities.