Eberhard (Naumburg-Zeitz)

Eberhard , also Eppo († May 5, 1079 near Würzburg ) was bishop of Naumburg from 1045 to 1079 . As a chaplain, Eberhard was one of the most important advisors to King Henry IV.

Life

The origin of Eberhard is unknown. The claim that has been appearing since the 17th century that Eberhard was a born Count von Wippra cannot be supported by older sources.

Eberhard was still from Emperor Heinrich III in 1045 . was appointed Bishop of Naumburg. He was one of the not atypical imperial bishops who saw their tasks less in spiritual obligations than in political activities for the king and empire. In 1060 he accompanied the underage King Heinrich IV on the Hungarian campaign, which brought him into the immediate vicinity. He remained undeterred on his side, even during the Saxon War and the Investiture Controversy . During the Saxon War he was temporarily expelled from his diocese as a bishop loyal to the king, instead he was one of the few companions Heinrich who fled with him in 1073 from the besieged Harzburg to Hersfeld. On January 24, 1076 he was one of the signatories of the Worms deposition decree, with which Heinrich wanted to force Pope Gregory VII to abdicate. In the following year he accompanied Heinrich to Canossa , where he vouched for Heinrich with Hugo von Cluny and others to the Pope.

After returning from Italy in 1077, it was no longer possible for Eberhard to enter his diocese. He was therefore by Heinrich III. 1077 or 1078 used as administrator in the diocese of Würzburg . The local Bishop Adalbero , who was loyal to the Pope, had to flee and the king later named Meinhard and Emehard as opposing bishops. Eberhard died on May 5, 1079 near Würzburg when he fell from his horse.

literature

• Lampert von Hersfeld : Annals . Selected sources on German history in the Middle Ages. Freiherr vom Stein memorial edition; 13. Darmstadt 1957
• Heinrich Theodor Flathe :  Eppo (Eberhard), Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 158.
• Bruno Herrmann: The rule of the Naumburg bishopric on the middle Elbe (= Central German research; Volume 59). Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 1970.
• H. Koller: Eberhard (Eppo), Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 3, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-7608-8903-4 , Sp. 1520 f.
• Walter Schlesinger:  Eberhard. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 229 ( digitized version ).
• Heinz Wießner: The Diocese of Naumburg 1 - The Diocese 2 . In: Max Planck Institute for History (Ed.): Germania Sacra , NF 35,2, The Dioceses of the Church Province of Magdeburg . Berlin / New York 1998, pp. 743-748.

predecessor	Office	successor
Kadeloh	Bishop of Naumburg 1045-1079	Günther I. von Wettin