Dietrich II of Ahr

Dietrich II of Ahr , also Dirk van der Aare or Dietrich van der Aare († December 5, 1212 in Deventer , Netherlands ) was bishop of Utrecht .

Life

Dietrich, of the family van der Aare , was the first provost of Maastricht and was after the rapid succession made death of his two predecessors, the Guelph Arnold I. of Isenburg († April or June 1197) and the Waiblingers Dietrich I of Holland († August 28, 1197), elected Bishop of Utrecht. At that time he was in Sicily with Emperor Heinrich VI. and was present at his death on September 28, 1197. He then hurried to Utrecht and received his episcopal ordination here in early 1198. In July and August 1198 he took part in the coronation ceremonies of King Otto IV in Aachen , whose special favor he enjoyed.

The bishops of Utrecht were powerful enough in the thirteenth century to challenge the authority of the Counts of Holland, who saw them diminish their authority. At the beginning of his episcopate, Dietrich found that his diocese was heavily in debt due to the activities of his predecessors and went to Friesland to raise money there. But he didn't make sure that Count Dietrich VII of Holland was entitled to half of Friesland's income. Wilhelm , who ruled a part of Friesland after his quarrel with his brother, Count Dietrich VII., Took the bishop prisoner in the monastery of Stavoren and wanted to have him transported to the monastery of Oosterzee, but loyal residents of the diocese of Utrecht freed theirs Bishop very quickly. As a penance, Wilhelm agreed to make a barefoot pilgrimage to Utrecht Cathedral , accompanied by 500 soldiers , and to publicly ask the bishop for forgiveness.

In 1202 the Counts Dietrich VII of Holland and Otto I von Geldern invaded the diocese of Utrecht. But Bishop Dietrich had won a powerful ally, Duke Heinrich I of Brabant, who captured Dietrich VII and Otto I after a battle near Heusden in September 1202. Thereupon the bishop, taking advantage of the situation, plundered Holland, devastated the Veluwe in Gelderland , besieged Zutphen and forced enormous sums of money from the wealthier inhabitants of this city

Dietrich VII of Holland had to pay a large ransom for his release and died soon afterwards on November 4, 1203. In the war that now ensued between his daughter Ada and his brother Wilhelm over possession of Holland, Ada and her husband, the Count Ludwig II. Von Loon (or Looz), get Bishop Dietrich on their side by bribing him and also promising him that if he succeeds, Holland will be received from him as a fief. For a short time the allies were successful and devastated Kennemerland , but when Wilhelm again gained advantages over his opponents, the bishop reached a settlement with him in 1204.

Bishop Dietrich remained loyal to King Otto IV until 1206, but then switched to his opponent Philip of Swabia . After Philip's death in 1208 he again swore loyalty to Otto IV. Nothing is known of its ecclesiastical administration. He died on December 5th, 1212 in Deventer and was buried in the Utrecht Cathedral.

swell

• Gesta episcoporum Trajectensium , Chronicle of the 13th Century, ed. by Ludwig Weiland, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), 23rd vol. (1874), pp. 405-409
• Annales Egmundani , in: MGH, 16th vol. (1859), pp. 473-478
• Orkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland , ed. von Van der Bergh, The Hague 1866, Vol. 1, No. 185 f.

literature

• G. Allmang: Are (Thierry d ') . In: Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques , Vol. 3 (1924), Col. 1630–31
• Pieter Lodewijk Muller :  Dietrich, Bishop of Utrecht . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 190.
• Post: Are (Dirk van der) . In: PC Molhuysen and PJ Blok (eds.): Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek . Deel 10. AW Sijthoff, Leiden 1937, col. 25

predecessor	Office	successor
Dietrich I of Holland	Bishop of Utrecht 1197–1212	Otto I. von Geldern