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Wolfger von Erla
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Wolfger von Erla
Wolfger von Erla, known in Italian as Volchero (c. 1140 – 23 January 1218), was the Bishop of Passau from 1191 until 1204 and Patriarch of Aquileia thereafter until his death.
He was renowned in his own time as a diplomat and peacemaker. He participated in the highest levels of the politics of the Holy Roman Empire, traveling frequently between Germany and Italy, where he served as imperial legate. He took part in the Crusade of 1197 and played a role in founding the Teutonic Knights.
Wolfger's courts at Passau and Aquileia attracted scholars and writers. His possible patronage of the Nibelungenlied has assured him a central place in the history of German literature.
Wolfger was born to a noble family from Erla on the river Enns. Early documents show him as a married layman and with a least one son named Ottokar. He probably entered minor orders as a widower. In 1183, he became the provost of Pfaffmünster near Straubing and in 1184 of Zell am See. He became a canon of the cathedral of Passau, and was elected bishop on 11 March 1190. He was ordained to the priesthood only after his election, on the Saturday before Pentecost, 8 June, and consecrated bishop on Sunday 9 June, by Archbishop Adalbert of Salzburg. His son, who appears often in his episcopal expense account, regularly travelled with him while he was bishop.
As bishop, he expanded the holdings of his diocese and was a consistent ally of the Staufers and Babenbergs. In 1195, he was involved in negotiating the release of Richard the Lionheart, then imprisoned in Dürnstein under the care of Hadmar II of Kuenring. He attended the imperial diet held in Bari in April 1195. The Emperor Henry VI selected him to negotiate with Pope Celestine III over the succession to the Kingdom of Sicily.
At a diet in Worms in December 1195, Wolfger took the cross. He traveled with Duke Frederick I of Austria on the Crusade of 1197. He was part of the group of German princes who elevated the fraternity of the Hospital of Saint Mary of the Germans at Acre into an order of knighthood, the Teutonic Order. On his return, he successfully petitioned Pope Innocent III to grant the order a papal charter in 1199.
During the German throne dispute that followed Henry VI's death in 1197, Wolfger remained loyal to the Staufer candidate, Philip of Swabia. When the pope took the side of Otto of Brunswick, Wolfger was excommunicated.
Wolfger's episcopal travel accounts provide the only contemporary reference to the famous Minnesänger Walther von der Vogelweide outside of the Minnesang itself. He may also have been the patron of the author of the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, since a fictional bishop of Passau plays a prominent role in it. The poet Albrecht von Johansdorf was also associated with his court. The jurist Eilbert of Bremen dedicated his Ordo iudiciarius to Wolfger.
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Wolfger von Erla
Wolfger von Erla, known in Italian as Volchero (c. 1140 – 23 January 1218), was the Bishop of Passau from 1191 until 1204 and Patriarch of Aquileia thereafter until his death.
He was renowned in his own time as a diplomat and peacemaker. He participated in the highest levels of the politics of the Holy Roman Empire, traveling frequently between Germany and Italy, where he served as imperial legate. He took part in the Crusade of 1197 and played a role in founding the Teutonic Knights.
Wolfger's courts at Passau and Aquileia attracted scholars and writers. His possible patronage of the Nibelungenlied has assured him a central place in the history of German literature.
Wolfger was born to a noble family from Erla on the river Enns. Early documents show him as a married layman and with a least one son named Ottokar. He probably entered minor orders as a widower. In 1183, he became the provost of Pfaffmünster near Straubing and in 1184 of Zell am See. He became a canon of the cathedral of Passau, and was elected bishop on 11 March 1190. He was ordained to the priesthood only after his election, on the Saturday before Pentecost, 8 June, and consecrated bishop on Sunday 9 June, by Archbishop Adalbert of Salzburg. His son, who appears often in his episcopal expense account, regularly travelled with him while he was bishop.
As bishop, he expanded the holdings of his diocese and was a consistent ally of the Staufers and Babenbergs. In 1195, he was involved in negotiating the release of Richard the Lionheart, then imprisoned in Dürnstein under the care of Hadmar II of Kuenring. He attended the imperial diet held in Bari in April 1195. The Emperor Henry VI selected him to negotiate with Pope Celestine III over the succession to the Kingdom of Sicily.
At a diet in Worms in December 1195, Wolfger took the cross. He traveled with Duke Frederick I of Austria on the Crusade of 1197. He was part of the group of German princes who elevated the fraternity of the Hospital of Saint Mary of the Germans at Acre into an order of knighthood, the Teutonic Order. On his return, he successfully petitioned Pope Innocent III to grant the order a papal charter in 1199.
During the German throne dispute that followed Henry VI's death in 1197, Wolfger remained loyal to the Staufer candidate, Philip of Swabia. When the pope took the side of Otto of Brunswick, Wolfger was excommunicated.
Wolfger's episcopal travel accounts provide the only contemporary reference to the famous Minnesänger Walther von der Vogelweide outside of the Minnesang itself. He may also have been the patron of the author of the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, since a fictional bishop of Passau plays a prominent role in it. The poet Albrecht von Johansdorf was also associated with his court. The jurist Eilbert of Bremen dedicated his Ordo iudiciarius to Wolfger.
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