Wilhelm I of Utrecht

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Wilhelm I of Utrecht († April 27, 1076 ) had been Bishop of Utrecht since 1056 . He expanded the secular rule in the monastery of Utrecht and stood entirely on the side of Henry IV in the investiture dispute .

Life

He probably came from the nobility of the county of Geldern , possibly he was even the brother of Count Dietrich von Geldern. Nothing more is known from his early years. He probably owes his appointment as bishop to Anno II of Cologne. Though even his critics have recognized him as scholarly, he has barely distinguished himself spiritually.

He tried to strengthen the secular power of the Utrecht bishops, especially in the West. During the time of Wilhelm the secular rule of the bishops of Utrecht probably reached its greatest extent. The counts in West Friesland were defeated in 1064. Henry IV transferred the county rights in most of West Friesland to the bishopric of Utrecht . In other parts of the diocese he was also able to achieve successes in consolidating his secular influence. The integration of the diocese of Utrecht into the imperial church system was completed during the time of Wilhelm .

In 1064, Wilhelm and a large entourage accompanied Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land . He barely escaped a Bedouin attack.

Politically, he was a staunch supporter of Henry IV and, as such, an opponent of Gregory VII. When the investiture controversy openly broke out between the king and the pope, Wilhelm sided entirely with Henry. He played an important role at the Worms Hoftag in 1076 and drew many doubters to the royal camp. He signed the deposition sentence for Gregory as the first suffragan bishop after the archbishops . This led to excommunication and a dismissal order from the Pope. However, Wilhelm continued to hold office. Even after many other bishops were intimidated by excommunication, Wilhelm held on to his position. At the synod of Utrecht in the same year he himself excommunicated Gregory in the presence of the king. His death severely weakened Heinrich's party.

After the Pope had refused a burial for a long time, Wilhelm was finally buried in the cathedral church in Utrecht .

literature

predecessor Office successor
Bernulf Bishop of Utrecht
1054-1076
Konrad