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Gunther of Bamberg
Gunther (1025/1030 – 23 July 1065) was a German nobleman and prelate of the Holy Roman Empire. He served as Chancellor of Italy from 1054 until 1057 and as Bishop of Bamberg from 1057 until his death. He was the leader of the Great German Pilgrimage of 1064–65, on which he died.
Gunther was a regular at the imperial court, a man of luxurious living and a patron of letters. He revived High German literature with his commissioning of the Ezzolied on the eve of his pilgrimage. He was buried in a rich silk, the so-called Gunthertuch, that he had acquired on the pilgrimage.
Although he belonged to the high nobility, Gunther's parentage is unknown. According to Lampert of Hersfeld, "he was born among the first of the palace" (natus erat ex primis palacii). He was certainly close to the court of the Emperor Henry III (died 1056).
There are two main theories of his relations. One, on the basis of necrologies and property holdings, relates him to the Margraves of Meissen. The other, placing more emphasis on properties, holds that Gunther was a son of a certain count named Pilgrim who held Salaberg and Haag and was related to the Aribonids.
Gunther's mother's name was Gerbirg. She died between 1050 and 1060. The historian Ernst Klebel, who held the second view of Gunther's paternity, argued that she belonged to the Eppensteiner family of the Dukes of Carinthia. This would make Gunther a relative of his predecessor in the see of Bamberg, Adalbero.
Gunther himself owned large estates throughout the March of Austria and in Carinthia.
Gunther was the provost of Hainburg from at least 1051. He also held a canonry in the collegiate church of Saints Simon and Jude, founded by Henry III in his favored city of Goslar. He was appointed Chancellor of Italy by Henry III. The first record of him in that post is from 31 May 1054. As chancellor he was close to Pope Victor II and to the Empress-dowager Agnes of Poitou. He was retained by Agnes after Henry III's death, when she became regent for her son, Henry IV. At the instigation of Agnes, he was elected Bishop of Bamberg in March 1057 and confirmed by Henry IV on 30 March. He was succeeded as chancellor by the man he probably recommended, Wibert of Parma.
In church politics, Gunther was an ally of Archbishop Anno II of Cologne, who had headed the cathedral school at Bamberg until 1054. With Anno's help he recouped ecclesiastical property at Forchheim and Fürth. In Bamberg itself, Gunther built the collegiate church of Saint Gangolf. Like most churchmen who owed their position to the patronage of the Salian emperors, Gunther was sympathetic to but did not promote the Gregorian church reform.
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Gunther of Bamberg AI simulator
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Gunther of Bamberg
Gunther (1025/1030 – 23 July 1065) was a German nobleman and prelate of the Holy Roman Empire. He served as Chancellor of Italy from 1054 until 1057 and as Bishop of Bamberg from 1057 until his death. He was the leader of the Great German Pilgrimage of 1064–65, on which he died.
Gunther was a regular at the imperial court, a man of luxurious living and a patron of letters. He revived High German literature with his commissioning of the Ezzolied on the eve of his pilgrimage. He was buried in a rich silk, the so-called Gunthertuch, that he had acquired on the pilgrimage.
Although he belonged to the high nobility, Gunther's parentage is unknown. According to Lampert of Hersfeld, "he was born among the first of the palace" (natus erat ex primis palacii). He was certainly close to the court of the Emperor Henry III (died 1056).
There are two main theories of his relations. One, on the basis of necrologies and property holdings, relates him to the Margraves of Meissen. The other, placing more emphasis on properties, holds that Gunther was a son of a certain count named Pilgrim who held Salaberg and Haag and was related to the Aribonids.
Gunther's mother's name was Gerbirg. She died between 1050 and 1060. The historian Ernst Klebel, who held the second view of Gunther's paternity, argued that she belonged to the Eppensteiner family of the Dukes of Carinthia. This would make Gunther a relative of his predecessor in the see of Bamberg, Adalbero.
Gunther himself owned large estates throughout the March of Austria and in Carinthia.
Gunther was the provost of Hainburg from at least 1051. He also held a canonry in the collegiate church of Saints Simon and Jude, founded by Henry III in his favored city of Goslar. He was appointed Chancellor of Italy by Henry III. The first record of him in that post is from 31 May 1054. As chancellor he was close to Pope Victor II and to the Empress-dowager Agnes of Poitou. He was retained by Agnes after Henry III's death, when she became regent for her son, Henry IV. At the instigation of Agnes, he was elected Bishop of Bamberg in March 1057 and confirmed by Henry IV on 30 March. He was succeeded as chancellor by the man he probably recommended, Wibert of Parma.
In church politics, Gunther was an ally of Archbishop Anno II of Cologne, who had headed the cathedral school at Bamberg until 1054. With Anno's help he recouped ecclesiastical property at Forchheim and Fürth. In Bamberg itself, Gunther built the collegiate church of Saint Gangolf. Like most churchmen who owed their position to the patronage of the Salian emperors, Gunther was sympathetic to but did not promote the Gregorian church reform.