Rotbert of Trier

In 931, Archbishop Rudgar of Trier died, and by the end of the year his successor, Rotbert, was in place. If we assume the usual age of 30 when becoming a bishop, we can assume Rotbert was born c.900.

Rumor has it he had a sister (Mathilda) who was queen to King Henry I of Germany, which helped the appointment. Further scholarship has led to the conclusion that this family connection was highly unlikely, which means we don't have much information on Rotbert prior to his appointment that would explain why he was a suitable candidate. He is known to have had a brother, Count Ansfried the elder, who held 15 counties in Lotharingia, so Rotbert apparently came from an influential family.

Rotbert was part of the coronation ceremony of King Henry' successor, Otto I. Rotbert supported Otto, and became his arch chancellor, dealing with royal petitioners on the king's behalf.

In 942 Rotbert consecrated the newly built church of St. Maximin at the Abbey of St. Maximin, where Israel the Grammarian was educating Otto's youngest brother, Bruno. A duke wanted to control the abbey, and tried to take possession of it from Rotbert's jurisdiction. As part of the plan, the duke accused Rotbert of disloyalty to Otto. Not only was Otto not buying it, but Pope Agapetus II confirmed Rotbert's jurisdiction of the abbey. (The illustration shows St. Maximin Abbey in a later century.)

Rotbert had a keen interest in rebuilding and reforming monasteries, and in getting their possession out of the hands of the laity. He traveled to Italy with Otto, bringing back relics of Saint Severus, the 4th-century bishop of Ravenna. He was a patron of scholars such as Israel the Grammarian, who dedicated a book to Rotbert. The historian Flodoard dedicated more than one work to Rotbert.

Rotbert died of plague while attending a royal assembly. Although writers about his life claimed he was buried at the church of St. Paulinus in Trier, in 1950 his tomb was discovered at the Liebfrauenkirche in Trier, a cathedral consecrated by Rotbert in 955.

Rotbert was not alone in wanting to get monasteries into clerical possession. Pope Agapetus II shared that goal, which we'll talk more about tomorrow.

Israel the Grammarian

A mistranslation of the word "Israel" in a record from the court of King Æthelstan made it sound that there was a Jew working in the court, but evidence shows that the man's name was actually Israel, and he was one of the foremost scholars of the 10th century.

Living from approximately 895 - 965 CE, Israel benefitted from the Carolingian Renascence (to distinguish it from the historical Renaissance), when Charlemagne in the 8th century sponsored scholars and promoted education. Although the Carolingian Empire collapsed in the late ninth century, King Alfred the Great invited scholars from the continent, a trend that was continued by his grandson, Æthelstan. (It is possible that Israel knew the recently discussed Æthelwold and Dunstan.)

Israel was one of those continental scholars. We know little of his early life, except that he was at Rome for a while as a student of "Ambrose" (whoever that was). He probably had a Celtic origin, because it was a 10th-century habit to give Celtic children Old Testament names.

Israel produced the Gospel book that contains the explanation (and diagram) of the board game Alea Evangelii, the "Game of The Gospels." A note in the manuscript claims:

Here begins the Gospel Dice [or Game] which Dub Innse, bishop of Bangor, brought from the English king, that is from the household of Æthelstan, King of England, drawn by a certain Franco [or Frank] and by a Roman scholar, that is Israel.

He also wrote Versus Israhelis de arte metrica super nomen et uerbum, "Verses from Israel on the metrical art of the noun and verb." This was dedicated to Bishop Rotbert of Trier. It is assumed that this was written around the time (or right after) Æthelstan's death, and Israel was looking for a new patron.

He found one. From 940 Israel was in Trier. He was the tutor of the future archbishop of Cologne, Bruno, brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great. At a synod in Verdun in 947, Israel is referred to as "bishop." An Israel is mentioned as Bishop of Aix-en-Provence, but it is not definitively known to be "our" Israel. A bishop in Aachen between 948 and 950 debated religion with a Jew named Salomon. It is tempting to equate that bishop with Israel, since he would have been an important figure at the school in Aachen.

He was apparently a rare thing of his time and place: a man who knew Greek. Israel wrote on theology, and he produced a major teaching text when he edited the Ars Minor of Donatus and redacted everything he thought was too sensitive, an edition that could still be found in print in the 20th century. He also wrote commentary on the works of John Scottus Eriugena, and a commentary in the Isagoge of Porphyry (illustration).

Israel retired to become a monk at a Benedictine monastery in Saint-Maximin in Trier.

We know quite a bit about Archbishop Rotbert of Trier; I'll share some of it with you. See you tomorrow.