Berthold (patriarch of Aquileia)
Berthold (German: Berthold von Andechs-Meran, Hungarian: Merániai Bertold, Italian: Bertoldo di Andechs-Merania; c. 1182 – 23 May 1251) was the count of Andechs (as Berthold V) from 1204, the archbishop of Kalocsa from 1206 until 1218, and from 1218 the patriarch of Aquileia until his death.
Berthold | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Kalocsa | |
 | |
| Archdiocese | Kalocsa |
| Installed | 1206 |
| Term ended | 1218 |
| Predecessor | sede vacante |
| Successor | Ugrin Csák |
| Other post(s) | Patriarch of Aquileia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1182 |
| Died | 23 May 1251 Aquileia |
| Nationality | German, Hungarian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Early life
He was born around 1182,[1] as a younger son of the Bavarian count Berthold IV of Andechs, who was elevated to a duke of Merania by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1183. His mother was Agnes of Rochlitz, a member of the Saxon Wettin dynasty. Among his siblings were Duke Otto I of Merania, French queen Agnes, Hungarian queen Gertrude, and Saint Hedwig of Silesia.[2]
Berthold, chosen for an ecclesiastical career, became provost at the cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Bamberg in 1203, due to the intercession and influence of his elder brother Egbert, the local bishop. Berthold served in this capacity until 1205.[1]
Archbishop of Kalocsa
Controversial election
Berthold followed his sister Gertrude to the Hungarian court under King Andrew II, who in the first half of 1206 had his brother-in-law nominated Archbishop of Kalocsa, succeeding John.[3] The cathedral chapter elected him under the pressure of the Hungarian royal couple. Andrew II sent a letter to the Holy See in order to request the papal confirmation of his election.[2] However, the appointment was not acknowledged by Pope Innocent III; according to his letter to King Andrew II in June 1206, the pope initiated an investigation on Berthold's age and education under the direction of Eberhard von Regensberg, Archbishop of Salzburg. The process revealed that Berthold may have been 25 years of age or slightly older and did not have an adequate education of canon law to become a suffragan. Consequently, Pope Innocent refused his election in April 1207, citing the violation of the canon of the Fourth Council of the Lateran.[4] Upon the request of the king and the cathedral chapter (postulatio), however, the pope confirmed Berthold as Archbishop of Kalocsa in December 1207.[1] The pope entrusted his papal legate Cardinal Gregorius de Crescentio to deal with the issue.[5] Nevertheless, Berthold was styled as archbishop-elect until 1212.[3] It is plausible he turned 30 that year, which was a condition for the election of a bishop, and Pope Innocent III sent his pallium shortly thereafter.[4]
Following his confirmation, Berthold immediately left behind his archdiocese in order to study at the University of Vicenza. The pope was outraged at this decision. His letter to Andrew II in January 1209 says that Berthold caused public outrage, because – as a prelate – he studied among ordinary students exposing his incomplete knowledge and demonstrating his unworthiness for the archbishopric. According to the pope, the archiepiscopal see was in a more severe status than if it had been a sede vacante. Pope Innocent instructed Berthold to return to Kalocsa, where he can discreetly begin his theological studies, otherwise he threatened to deprive him of his office.[1][6]
Episcopal activity
It is possible Berthold had important role in the settlement of the Teutonic Order to Transylvania in 1211. He sought to establish a separate Roman Catholic diocese for the Transylvanian Saxons and to launch missions in order to convert the Cumans.[7]
In 1212, until Berthold had applied himself to intense study in the Diocese of Vicenza. Nevertheless, King Andrew also made him Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, and even Voivode of Transylvania and the king's deputy in 1212. His undue preference at the instigation of his sister disgusted the Hungarian magnates. In 1213, while the king was on a campaign to Galicia–Volhynia, they dared a raid into a queen's hunting camp and murdered Gertrude and several of her liensmen, while Berthold narrowly escaped his life with Leopold VI of Austria.
On 10 February 1218 Pope Honorius III appointed him Patriarch of Aquileia. In 1238 Berthold moved the capital of the ecclesiastical state from Cividale to Udine, where he gave orders to erect a cathedral. He secured his position being a loyal supporter of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II against the Italian cities of the Lombard League. However, in the fierce conflict between the emperor and Pope Gregory IX, his loyalty earned him a papal excommunication in 1239, which nevertheless was revoked two years later upon the intercession by King Andrew II of Hungary. In his later years, Betroldo tried to arbitrate between Emperor and Pope, though ultimately to no avail.
With Berthold's death, his line of the counts of Andechs became extinct. He was also the last in a long line of German Patriarchs of Aquileia. His successor Gregorio di Montelongo had led a Guelph coalition against Emperor Frederick II.
References
- Kiss 2014, p. 87.
- Udvardy 1991, p. 104.
- Zsoldos 2011, p. 84.
- Udvardy 1991, p. 105.
- Barabás 2015, p. 29.
- Udvardy 1991, p. 106.
- Barabás 2015, p. 156.
Sources
- Barabás, Gábor (2015). A pápaság és Magyarország a 13. század első felében. Pápai hatás – együttműködés – érdekellentét [The Papacy and Hungary in the First Half of the 13th Century. Papal influence – cooperation – clash of interests] (in Hungarian). Pécsi Történettudományért Kulturális Egyesület. ISBN 978 963 89482 5 0.
- Kiss, Gergely (2014). "Meránia és Aquileia között. Berthold kalocsai érsek pályafutásának egyházkormányzati tanulságai [Between the Duchy of Merania and the Patriarchate of Aquileia. The Career of Berthold of Andechs-Meran, Archbishop of Kalocsa and Its Consequences on the Hungarian Church Administration]". In Majorossy, Judit (ed.). Egy történelmi gyilkosság margójára. Merániai Gertrúd emlékezete, 1213–2013 (in Hungarian). Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre. pp. 87–94. ISBN 978-963-9590-77-9.
- Koszta, László (2013). A kalocsai érseki tartomány kialakulása [The Development of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa] (in Hungarian). Pécsi Történettudományért Kulturális Egyesület. ISBN 978-963-89482-2-9.
- Körmendi, Tamás (2014). "A Gertrúd királyné elleni merénylet körülményei [The Circumstances of the Murder of Queen Gertrude]". In Majorossy, Judit (ed.). Egy történelmi gyilkosság margójára. Merániai Gertrúd emlékezete, 1213–2013 (in Hungarian). Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre. pp. 95–124. ISBN 978-963-9590-77-9.
- Körmendi, Tamás (2019). Az 1196–1235 közötti magyar történelem nyugati elbeszélő forrásainak kritikája [A Criticism of Western Narrative Sources for the History of Hungary in the period between 1196 and 1235] (in Hungarian). MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Történettudományi Intézet. ISBN 978-963-416-163-9.
- Markó, László (2006). A magyar állam főméltóságai Szent Istvántól napjainkig: Életrajzi Lexikon [Great Officers of State in Hungary from King Saint Stephen to Our Days: A Biographical Encyclopedia] (in Hungarian). Helikon Kiadó. ISBN 963-547-085-1.
- Udvardy, József (1991). A kalocsai érsekek életrajza (1000–1526) [Biographies of Archbishops of Kalocsa, 1000–1526] (in Hungarian). Görres Gesellschaft.
- Zsoldos, Attila (2011). Magyarország világi archontológiája, 1000–1301 [Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000–1301] (in Hungarian). História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete. ISBN 978-963-9627-38-3.