Synod of Hohenaltheim

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The Synod of Hohenaltheim was a church assembly that took place in Hohenaltheim in 916 . It was the only synod of the Carolingian and early German epoch that ever passed resolutions to protect royalty.

On September 20, 916, the Synod of Hohenaltheim was convened by the East Franconian bishops under the leadership of the papal legate Peter von Orte . The synod, which King Conrad I called christus Domini (anointed of the Lord), was intended to strengthen royal power and consolidate the close alliance between church and king. The 38 fully preserved canonical provisions were issued mainly for the protection of the king (especially cc 19, 20 and 23) and the bishops from lay people . Numerous canons are therefore dedicated to the bishops, their offenses and their protection (cc. 2–5, 8, 13–16, 24, 29–31, 36 and 37). For the apostasy from the king in cc. 20 and 23 pronounced the death penalty. The canons also contain provisions on penance (cc. 9, 32 and 33) and on perjury (cc. 22-25). With clerics in general deal cc. 12, 17, 18, 26, 28 and 38. Acts of violence against the king, Christ Domini , were threatened with anathema . At the synod, Bishop Richowo von Worms was commissioned to investigate the blindness of Bishop Einhard I of Speyer and to report to the Pope in a letter. Einhard was mutilated in 913 and forcibly brought to death. The result of the investigation is not known.

It is unclear whether Konrad himself took part in the synod and which bishops from eastern France were present. The Saxon bishops did not appear and were strongly reprimanded for this at the synod. Even the importance of Hohenaltheim around 916 is unknown. However, the Church's attempt to strengthen royal power did not bring the expected success. Konrad's kingship failed two years later.

For the older research, represented by Ernst Dümmler and Manfred Hellmann , a self-confident episcopate took protection of the weak and often endangered royalty. In 1888, Ernst Dümmler emphasized the central importance of the Synod of Hohenaltheim for the reign of Conrad I: “The main purpose of the Synod” was “to give the unsteady kingship in the Church a support”. Research has dealt with the question of whether Konrad participated in the synod. In his study of the synods in Germany and Imperial Italy in 1988, Heinz Wolter asserted : "The Synod of Hohenaltheim came about at the instigation of Konrad I". Horst Fuhrmann considered the presence of Konrad I “not improbable” and refers to the source of the Hohenaltheim canons by Burchard von Worms , which states that the synod met in the presence of the king.

swell

  • Synod of Hohenaltheim (916), ed. Horst Fuhrmann , MGH Conc. VI, 1, Hannover 1987, No. 1, pp. 1-40.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Regesta Imperii web portal, Synodal Acts of Hohenaltheim
  2. ↑ Ernst Dümmler: History of the East Franconian Empire , Vol. 3: The last Carolingians. Konrad I. (Yearbooks of German History), 2nd edition, Leipzig 1888, pp. 606f.
  3. ^ Heinz Wolter: The synods in the realm and in realm Italy from 916 to 1056. Paderborn u. a. 1988, p. 19.
  4. ↑ Horst Fuhrmann: The Synod of Hohenaltheim (916) - considered from the sources. In: German Archives for Research into the Middle Ages , Vol. 43 (1987), pp. 440–468, here: p. 467.