Bertrand de Saint-Geniès

Bertrand de Saint-Geniès or Bertram von Sankt Genesius (* 1260 in Saint-Geniès near Cahors , † June 6, 1350 in Spilimbergo near Udine ) was Patriarch of Aquileia from 1334 to 1350 . His tenure ushered in a brief political and economic boom in the patriarchy. He was beatified by his successor Nicholas of Luxembourg .

Life

Bertrand was born in Saint-Geniès north of Toulouse in 1260 . Bertrand studied law in Toulouse and received his doctorate to teach at the University of Toulouse himself. Later Bertrand entered the service of Pope John XXII. and traveled around as an interrogation judge for the Roman Rota . In 1319 he became dean in Angoulême . In 1334 John XXII appointed him. to the Patriarch of Aquileia.

Bertrand reinforced the position of the patriarchate towards the nobility, especially towards the neighboring Counts of Gorizia , who raised territorial claims on the patriarchal state. In addition, he was able to build good relationships with Austria and Venice. In Udine he initiated the expansion of the church begun under one of his predecessors, Berthold von Aquileia , consecrated it to Maria Annunziata in 1335 and raised it to his cathedral church. In 1349 he commissioned the Italian painter Vitale da Bologna with a cycle of frescoes that is one of the best and most completely preserved paintings from the 14th century in Friuli today. After Aquileia was destroyed by the great Friuli earthquake in 1348 , he finally moved the bishopric to Udine. Bertrand carried out reforms and promoted the economic development of the city of Udine, but also of the entire patriarchal state.

The warring Counts of Gorizia, who wanted to extend their rule to the patriarchal state, instigated a conspiracy against Bertrand. On June 6, 1350, the 90-year-old Bertrand was murdered on a trip to Udine near Spilimbergo .

Bertrand was buried in Udine Cathedral. His beatification was carried out by his successor, Nicholas of Luxembourg .

In 1965 his sarcophagus and the frescoes by Vitale da Bologna that he had commissioned were transferred to the neighboring museum in Udine.

literature

• Ekkart Sauser :  BERTRAND: Blessed Patriarch of Aquileja. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 16, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-079-4 , Sp. 123-124.

Web links

• Biography of Bertrand de Saint-Geniès ( Memento of September 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Italian)

predecessor	Office	successor
Pagano della Torre	Patriarch of Aquileia 1334-1350	Nicholas of Luxembourg