Bishopric of Osnabrück

Who rules

Name

Gerhard of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen

Title

Bishop of Osnabrück

Since

1191/92: elected by the cathedral chapter after Bishop Arnold died in 1191

Born

not pinned

Family

Second son of Count Henry I of Oldenburg (Wildeshausen line, died 1167) and Salome of Guelders-Zutphen. His brother Otto will be bishop of Münster from 1204; his kin hold Wildeshausen and Oldenburg (nsw's area).

Confidence

high

A dynast's son from the Weser lowlands. He did not come to Otto's coronation at Aachen in July 1198. The ADB calls him a loyal supporter of the Staufen who broke with his own cathedral chapter over the throne war, against the policy of the princes round him; de.wikipedia agrees that his Staufen stance brought him conflicts. No dated act of his for either king is known for 1199. Much later he became archbishop of Bremen (named by Innocent III and elected on 30 October 1210, accepted at Bremen in 1217) and died at Frankfurt on 13 August 1219.

Overlord

The king (regalia); the archbishop of Cologne is his metropolitan. The see's high courts are in the hands of its lay advocate, the count of Tecklenburg.

What the realm holds

• The city of Osnabrück: cathedral close, market and walls enlarged in the 12th century, with the separate Neustadt growing round St John's
• Iburg castle, the bishops' residence, and the abbey of St Clement beside it
• Wiedenbrück on the Ems: market, mint and toll rights held by the see since 952
• Melle and the Grönegau, Bramsche, Dissen and the other church manors, parishes and tithes of the diocese (extent in 1200 rough)
• Mint at Osnabrück

How it was acquired

The see dates from Charlemagne's time; Barbarossa's privilege of 1171 to the city; the advocacy has been Tecklenburg's since 1180 (some sources say 1182).

Allies and rivals

His Oldenburg-Wildeshausen kin to the north; the cathedral chapter. Rivals: Count Simon of Tecklenburg, his own advocate, who fought the bishops of Münster and Osnabrück about 1196; the count of Ravensberg, whose Calvelage lands (Vechta, Bersenbrück) and fiefs lie across the diocese.

The realm that morning

On 1 January 1200 Gerhard holds his city, Iburg and Wiedenbrück, while his advocate Simon of Tecklenburg, a firm partisan of Otto, holds the see's high courts. In the throne war he is Philip's man by inclination (the ADB's 'loyal supporter of the Staufen', who broke with his chapter over it) but has done nothing that can be dated for Philip; surrounded by Otto's friends, he keeps quiet. Across his borders: west, Tecklenburg (Ibbenbüren, Lengerich); north, his Wildeshausen kin and the counts of Diepholz (nsw); east, the bishop of Minden; south-east, Ravensberg; south, Münster and Lippe's Rheda round his Wiedenbrück enclave.

Wealth

The Osnabrück market and mint, Wiedenbrück's market, mint and toll, the tithes and manors of the church. Linen fame is later. No figures.

Military

Iburg castle and the city walls; the see's ministeriales; but the advocacy and the leading of the see's men in the field belong to Tecklenburg. No numbers.

Threats

• The Tecklenburg advocacy, which keeps the see's courts in a lay count's hands
• The Tecklenburg and Ravensberg feud, fought across his diocese (Ravensberg will suffer a heavy defeat in 1202)
• A throne-war stance at odds with his advocate and with Cologne

Court in 1200

Iburg castle, the bishops' residence.

Officers

Count Simon of Tecklenburg as advocate of the see (holding its high courts); the cathedral chapter, with which the bishop has broken over the throne war (ADB).

Relations with rome

No quarrel with Rome known. Like every prelate he must levy the fortieth for the crusade, ordered by Innocent III at the end of December 1199 (campaign notes Part 8.4), which will set him against his own clergy during 1200.

Coinage

Mints at Osnabrück and at Wiedenbrück (market, mint and toll granted 952).

The host

The see's men are led by its advocate, the count of Tecklenburg, who is Otto's man; the bishop's own following is small.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. during 1200 (nothing pinned)No dated act of Bishop Gerhard is known for 1200; the likely course is quiet rule from Iburg while Tecklenburg and Ravensberg feud.Depends on: Tecklenburg keeping the peace with its bishop. Stopped by: The feud spilling onto the bishop's manors, or pressure from Cologne and Otto to declare himself.

Places of note

• Iburg castle and abbey of St Clement: The bishop's residence since about 1100.
• Osnabrück cathedral: Cathedral and city; the burghers' own court since 1171.
• Wiedenbrück: The see's market, mint and toll on the Ems since 952.

Where the sources disagree

• campaign notes Part 6 D and Part 9 put Osnabrück among the north-western sees that are 'Welf-leaning or wavering [thin]'. The study of Archbishop Adolf notes Gerhard's absence from Otto's coronation in 1198; the ADB calls him a loyal Staufen supporter who broke with his chapter in the throne war, and de.wikipedia agrees (both undated). Nothing pins him to Otto. Staufen-leaning (low confidence for that exact winter) is the reading followed here; his chapter may lean the other way.

Evidence: His family and later career are clear; for 1198-1200 there is only his absence at Aachen and the ADB's general verdict. The see's lands in 1200 are drawn from later borders.

On the map: Very rough: in 1200 the bishop's temporal lordship is thin, and the north of the diocese (Bersenbrück, Ankum, Quakenbrück) is left out because Ravensberg and Tecklenburg rights there are not pinned.