Prince-bishops · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Metz

The bishop of Metz was once lord of one of the great cities of the Empire, but since the 12th century his temporal power has been shrinking: Metz itself is becoming a self-governing city of patricians between 1180 and 1210.

What he keeps outside the walls is a scatter of castellanies and salt-works in Lorraine: Vic and the salt of the Seille valley, Épinal in the Vosges, Rambervillers. Bertram, a Cologne-trained churchman who once defied Barbarossa, is the lord of a fading principality in a rich region.

Who holds it

Name
Bertram (born Berthold)
Title
Bishop of Metz
Since
1180
Confidence
high

A Cologne canon, elected archbishop of Bremen in 1178 with Barbarossa's backing but rejected by Alexander III; given Metz in 1180, where he took the name Bertram. He sided with Archbishop Philip of Cologne against the emperor and was driven from his see in 1187, returning in 1190. He has acted against heretics; in 1199 Innocent III wrote to him about lay groups in Metz reading the Scriptures in French and meeting in secret (campaign notes).

Dies 6 April 1212.

What it holds

  • Metz: the bishop's city lordship, now passing to the citizens' own institutions (1180-1210)
  • Vic-sur-Seille and the salt-works of the Seille valley (Vic, Marsal, Moyenvic): the richest part of the bishop's temporal
  • Épinal: the town on the Moselle founded by a bishop of Metz in the 10th century, held by the bishops
  • Rambervillers: an old castellany of the bishops
  • Fiefs held of the bishop by the counts of Dagsburg (Dabo), counts of Metz, and other Lorraine lords

How it was acquired

Royal and Merovingian grants to an old see; Épinal founded by the bishops in the 10th century. The decline of the temporal set in from the 12th century as the city and the lay advocates took over rights.

How things stand that morning

Bertram holds his castellanies and salt and is losing the city. The see leans to Philip, like the other Lorraine sees (campaign notes).

Wealth

Salt from the Seille valley (Vic, Marsal, Moyenvic); the Moselle trade at Metz and Épinal; the city's wine and money-changing, now in the citizens' hands.

Threats

  • The citizens of Metz
  • The counts of Dabo and the duke of Lorraine
  • Heresy in the city, which the pope expects him to stamp out

Advocates and rivals

The citizens and patricians of Metz; the counts of Dagsburg (Dabo), who hold the county of Metz from the bishop; the duke of Lorraine; the counts of Bar and of Saarbrücken.

Places of note

  • Metz cathedral: Seat of the bishop

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The bishop is well attested. The sources consulted say only that the temporal shrank from the 12th century and the city broke free between 1180 and 1210; the salt-works, Épinal and Rambervillers are drawn from general histories of the temporal and should be checked before play relies on them.

On the map: French places are drawn as whole communes. The bishop's many fiefs held by lay lords are not drawn.

Primary sources for Empire

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Bertram (Metz) (dewiki.de, mirror of de.wikipedia)
  2. Liste der Bischöfe von Metz (dewiki.de, mirror of de.wikipedia)
  3. Hochstift Metz (dewiki.de, mirror of de.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.