Otto II of Constance

Otto II († September 22, 1174 ) was Bishop of Constance from 1165 to 1174 . It is unclear whether he belonged to the House of Habsburg .

Otto II of Konstanz (from a manuscript around 1200)

Life

Its origin is unclear. According to tradition from the early modern period, it came from the House of Habsburg. The Augsburg bishop registers assign him to the dynasty of the Counts of Habsberg from Upper Franconia . Possibly he was canon in Augsburg and provost of St. Mauritius.

He must have been elected in 1165 shortly after the death of his predecessor. It was consecrated before April 1166. How much the cathedral chapter or the emperor had in the election is unknown.

The relationship with Friedrich I was weak. In the vicinity of the emperor he can only be traced as Elekt in March 1166 at a court day in Ulm . He appears as a witness in two documents. The bishop is not mentioned in a document issued in October 1166 for the Canons' Monastery of Öhringen . There Friedrich made the imperial rights to the provost clear. This is seen as a de facto reversal of an earlier donation to the Diocese of Constance . Otto had significantly closer ties to the pope who was close to the emperor. According to early modern tradition, Calixt III. placed the diocese under papal protection. To what extent this applies is unclear.

The bishop was not completely free in his decisions, therefore canons or the cathedral provost are often found as witnesses under episcopal documents. Sometimes members of the cathedral chapter accompanied the bishop on trips in the diocese. There was hardly a legal act in which members of the cathedral chapter were not also involved. During his time there were various diocesan synods.

Otto continued the practice of his predecessor of incorporating parish churches into the monasteries and monasteries of his diocese. During his time as bishop he consecrated various parish and monastery churches. He was particularly active in promoting the monasteries. Compared to his function as a clerical dignitary, that of the secular prince clearly takes a back seat. For unknown reasons, Otto resigned his position shortly before his death.

literature

• Helmut Maurer : The Bishops of Constance from the end of the 6th century to 1206 ( Germania sacra ; NF 42.1; The dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Mainz. The Diocese of Constance ; 5). Walter de Gruyter , Berlin / New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-017664-5 , pp. 354-366. ( Digitized version )
• Helmut Maurer: Otto II of Constance. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Ursula-Renate Weiss: The Bishops of Constance in the 12th century .; a contribution to the investigation of the imperial episcopal position in the field of forces of imperial, papal and regional-diocesan politics . Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1975, ISBN 3-7995-6819-0 . Pp. 122-127.

predecessor	Office	successor
Hermann von Arbon	Bishop of Constance 1165–1174	Berthold von Bussnang