Imperial Assembly 777

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The Imperial Assembly and the Synod of 777 in Paderborn stood at the end of the first phase of Charlemagne's Saxon Wars . The establishment of mission areas for the Christianization of Saxony and probably also the Spanish campaign were decided.

prehistory

Charlemagne had launched a campaign against the Saxons for the first time in 772 . He had conquered the Eresburg and destroyed the Irminsul . The Saxons responded with counter-actions such as the destruction of Fritzlar . In 775, Karl undertook another campaign. He conquered the Hohensyburg and moved on to the Oker . The Saxons were defeated at Brunsberge . The Ostfalen , the Engern and also the Westphalia paid homage to the king. Only the Nordelbier did not follow suit. For Charlemagne , a large part of the Saxon area had to be considered pacified. In 776 the first baptisms of Saxony took place and Karl had the Palatinate Paderborn built in today's Paderborn , which at that time still bore the name Urbs Karoli .

course

In the year 777 a first Reichstag and a Reich Synod took place in the Palatinate on the soil of Saxony. The Carolingian chroniclers interpreted the absence of Widukind and his supporters as a continuation of their rebellious behavior. Additional baptisms were performed at the congregation. The Salvator Church is also said to have been consecrated. A first community of canons was located there in the Saxon region.

The meeting, attended by Wilchar von Mentana , the highest dignitary of the Frankish Church, and Abbot Fulrad , was dedicated to the Christian mission in Saxony. The Saxon area was divided into different districts for Christian proselytizing. The ecclesiastical organization preceded the secular organization in the form of the county constitution . The bishop of the diocese of Utrecht was responsible for the area around today's cathedral . For Osnabrück this was Liège , for Verden the Amorbach monastery , for Minden the Fulda monastery under Abbot Sturmius and for the area around Paderborn the diocese of Würzburg . Another part with Soest as the focus fell under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cologne .

Islamic envoys from Spain had come to the imperial assembly, asking for military support against the emir of Cordoba . The campaign in Spain was probably decided at the meeting.

consequences

Karl then waged war in Spain. During his absence it became clear that the Saxons were by no means defeated. Rather, they destroyed the Palatinate and the city of Urbs Karolina under the leadership of Widukind. The conquest and Christianization of Saxony suffered a serious setback. In the longer term, the resolutions turned out to be significant. Most of the mission districts later gave rise to dioceses. Only the Archbishops of Cologne preferred to administer the area under them directly.

swell

literature

  • Karl Hengst : Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. 799 in Paderborn. Poetry and truth. In: Josef Meyer zu Schlochtern , Dieter Hattrup (Ed.): Spiritual and worldly power. The Paderborn Meeting 799 and the struggle for the meaning of history. Schöningh, Paderborn et al. 2000, ISBN 3-506-76277-X , pp. 20–38, here pp. 27–30 .
  • Caspar Ehlers : The integration of Saxony into the Frankish empire. (751–1024) (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. 231). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35887-0 (Also: Würzburg, University, habilitation paper, 2005).
  • Karl Hauck : Paderborn. The center of Karls Sachsenmission 777. In: Josef Fleckenstein , Karl Schmid (Hrsg.): Adel and Church. Gerd Tellenbach for his 65th birthday presented by friends and students. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) et al. 1968 pp. 92–140, ( digitized version (PDF; 9.0 MB) ).