Wazo

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Wazo (right), Palais Provincial , Liège

Wazo (also Waso , Wazzo , Watzo , Watho , more rarely Gazo or Guazo , French Wazon ) (* around 985 , † 1048 ) was Bishop of Liège from 1042 to 1048 . He was basically loyal to the emperor, but clearly criticized the royal claim to rule over the church.

Life

He comes from unknown, probably humble circumstances. He was educated at the cathedral school in Liège at the time of Bishop Notker and was also a scholastic there. He became chaplain, head of the cathedral school, dean of the cathedral chapter in 1013. His strict manner made him many opponents. So he accused the provost of having exceeded his powers. He therefore temporarily left Liège and, through Abbot Poppo von Stablo, became a member of the court orchestra at the court of Conrad II. At times, the king even planned to make him Archbishop of Mainz. This failed because of the contradiction of the Empress Gisela . He stayed at court for only a few months and returned to Liège.

There he was elected provost of the cathedral in 1029. When the bishop's chair became vacant in 1037, he was proposed as his successor, but refused to run. A few years later there was another episcopal election and Wazo became Bishop of Liège in 1042. He was elected by the clergy and the people. At the court of Henry III. there were some reservations about wazo. Archbishop Hermann of Cologne and Bishop Bruno of Würzburg stood up for him , so Heinrich invested him.

During the general need in the winter of 1043, Wazo supported those in need with the distribution of grain. He behaved similarly later in times of war. In the uprising of Dietrich von Hollands , Gottfried von Lothringen and others in 1047, the bishop defended Liège. In this context he said: “ That no one should have any doubts that I am loyal to him [the emperor] with all that I know and what is in my power, however he may treat me. And if he had my right eye gouged out, I would not refrain from using the left one for his honor and for his service. ” But since he could not hope for any help, he made peace with Duke Gottfried, which he did at the imperial court Brought charges of treason. This was rejected in Liège. The prevention of an invasion by Henry I of France by Wazo, as described by the chronicler [Anselm von Lüttich], is heavily exaggerated and it is unclear how great the threat really was and what part the bishop had in maintaining the peace.

Basically he was a pillar of imperial power in the Lorraine region, but he also criticized the emperor when he saw church interests in danger. Overall, he played an important role in formulating ideas that would become important to Gregorian reform . Opposite Heinrich III. he once said that the anointing of a priest weighed heavier than that of a king. The anointing of the priest would be the source of life, the anointing of the king the source of killing. As high as life is above death, the priest is above the king. He sharply criticized Heinrich's actions against the Archbishop-Elekt of Ravenna Witger in 1046. According to this, the bishops owe the emperor to obedience only in worldly, not in spiritual matters. In spiritual matters they were subordinate to the Pope only. The resolutions of the Synod of Sutri and the deposition of Pope Gregory VI. were illegal for him. Wazo said that a pope should not be judged by anyone. Although Wazo's arguments were based on older traditions, the formulation of the differences between spiritual and secular violence at the height of the king's sacred sovereignty over the church had a new quality.

Despite his strict faith, he was rather hostile to the persecution of heretics and relied on the power of arguments. “We bishops should remember that we have not received the sword of secular power. That is why we are not asked to consecrate people to death, but to give them life with God's help. "

The chronicler Anselm gave Wazo a lot of space in his episcopal history of the Liège church, which was suggested by the bishop.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Egon Boshof : The Salians. Stuttgart, 1987 p. 83
  2. ^ Egon Boshof: The Salians. Stuttgart, 1987 pp. 105f.
  3. ↑ cit. after: Alfred Mühr : The German Emperors. Dream and reality of the empire. Frankfurt am Main, 1971 p. 91f.
  4. ^ Egon Boshof: The Salians. Stuttgart, 1987 pp. 103, 149
  5. ^ Egon Boshof: The Salians. Stuttgart, 1987 p. 115
  6. ^ Daniel Ziemann: Heinrich III - Crisis or climax of the Salic kingship. In: The Salians, the Reich and the Lower Rhine. Cologne u. a., 2008 p. 18f.
  7. ^ Egon Boshof: The Salians. Stuttgart, 1987 p. 150
  8. ^ Adriaan H. Bredero: Christianity and Christianity in the Middle Ages. Stuttgart, 1998 p. 162

literature

predecessor Office successor
Rithard Bishop of Liège
1042-1048 		Dietwin (Liège)
personal data
SURNAME Wazo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES What O; Wazzo; Watzo; Watho; Gazo; Guazo; Wazon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Liege
DATE OF BIRTH around 985
DATE OF DEATH 1048