Arnulf of Chocques

Arnulf Malecorne von Chocques (or von Rohes ; † 1118 ) was a leading cleric during the First Crusade and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1099 and from 1112 to 1118.

Before the First Crusade, Arnulf was the teacher of Cecilia, daughter of King William I of England . During the crusade he was the chaplain of the Normans led by Robert of Normandy , Cecilia’s brother and Wilhelm’s son . He was probably an Apostolic Legate under the authority of Adhemar de Monteil , the Bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay . After Adhemar's death in 1098, he shared control of the clergy with his colleague Peter von Narbonne . Some of the non-Norman knights in the crusader armies considered him corrupt, even vulgar songs were sung about him, but most of the crusaders respected him as an eloquent preacher.

He was one of the greatest skeptics about Peter Bartholomew 's claim to have discovered the Holy Lance in Antioch , which is why Peter offered to undergo a trial by fire . His resistance brought him into opposition to Raymond IV of Toulouse , who believed Peter's account.

In order to alleviate the crisis among the Crusaders on this subject and also to raise morale after Peter's death in the ordeal by fire, Arnulf had a statue of Christ made, which was mounted on one of the siege engines during the siege of Jerusalem (1099) . After conquering the city, he discovered the Holy Cross under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - a discovery that was not as controversial as that of the Holy Lance, but was just as suspicious: Arnulf might have tried to resolve the problems he had with his doubts Holy Lance had conjured up by the Holy Cross to make people forget. The cross became the most sacred relic in the Kingdom of Jerusalem .

After Raimund left Jerusalem, Arnulf was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem on August 1, 1099. He was supported by Godfrey of Bouillon , the first regent of the new state, and in return supported Godfrey in his decision to make Jerusalem a secular state rather than let the clergy rule it. However, doubts soon arose about the canonical nature of his election as he was not even a deacon . Before he could be consecrated, he was replaced in December by Dagobert of Pisa , sent as a legate by Pope Paschal II , and instead made archdeacon of Jerusalem. From this position he intrigued repeatedly against Dagobert and influenced the proceedings that led to Dagobert's removal in 1102.

In 1112, after the death of the Patriarch Ghibelin of Arles , he officially became the Patriarch of Jerusalem, although many of the other clergy mistrusted him and considered him unnecessarily harsh. He was particularly unpopular with the Greek Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox Christians when he restricted the masses in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to Latin-Western Christians. In 1115 he was charged with sexual relations with a Muslim woman and briefly deposed, but returned to the bishopric and remained a patriarch until his death.

Arnulf married his niece Emma to Eustach Garnier , lords of Caesarea and Sidon .

literature

• Steven Runciman: History of the Crusades. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3406399606 .

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Patriarch of Jerusalem 1099	Scrooge from Pisa
Ghibelin from Arles	Patriarch of Jerusalem 1112–1118	Garmond of Picquigny