The Formation of Culture Through Eleventh-Century Ritual and Literature

Abstract

Culture is the reflection of the values and ideals of society, and changes over time as values change. The early eleventh century was a time of change due to religious ideals and new governments in the French and German Kingdoms, and the values and ideals of those societies were reinforced and molded by ritual veneration of saints’ relics and the episcopal vitae which gave histories of the saints who were venerated and the churches and monasteries that kept their relics. This contribution evaluates the use of saints’ relics by those involved in the pax Dei movement and by Pope Leo IX at the Synod of Reims (1050). It then evaluates how the public veneration of saints helped to promote the ideals found in episcopal vitae from Toul and Regensburg, namely that holy bishops should belong to a network of saints, that they defend and provide for their people, that they support monasticism, and that they show respect for Rome and the office of pope.

1. Introduction

The various expressions of culture—literature, art, rituals, music, etc.—help to shape, reinforce, justify, and express certain values deemed important by the collective mentalities shared by those who are a part of that society. Culture is not something static but changes and develops over time to better express the values and ideals of a particular society. The Second Vatican Council defined culture as

everything whereby man develops and perfects his many bodily and spiritual qualities […] He renders social life more human both in the family and the civic community, through improvement of customs and institutions. Throughout the course of time he expresses, communicates and conserves in his works, great spiritual experiences and desires, that they might be of advantage to the progress of many, even of the whole human family.

(Gaudium et spes 2014, paragraph 53)

This definition recognizes that previous expressions of culture continue to be of value for later audiences as a foundational part of current mentalities and expressions of culture.

Catholicism today is the inheritor of twenty-one centuries of various cultural developments and interchanges. For any institution to survive, including the Church, it is necessary that it adapts to new expectations and concerns. The developing nature of the Church’s understanding of its faith and the changing expressions of religion are seen in light of evangelization and a concern for the salvation of souls. Theologians have often labelled these developments in the Church’s identity and mission as reforms, both in and of the Church (Riforme nella Chiesa, riforma della Chiesa 2019). Late twentieth-century ideas of ‘reform’ have been influenced by Gerhardt Ladner, Henri de Lubac, and Yves Congar, and this has continued into the twenty-first century (Leyser 2016). The concept of evangelization is of central importance in many of these arguments, because it is what encourages the Church to find ways to speak to the cultures in which she is found. Reform, in this sense, is not a dramatic change of beliefs and structures for the sake of change, but rather applying a careful analysis of how to promote the Church’s beliefs and creed among various, different peoples (Mosca 2019). For some theologians, the Church is always reforming; however, this does not mean a rupture with what has come before, but rather continuity with the past (Chu Llo 2019, pp. 136–37; Sabaresse 2019, p. 16; Dotolo 2019, pp. 35–48; Kramer et al. 2022, p. 23). For believers, the Church, so closely united with Christ and his mission in the world, is not something that can be changed substantially in herself, but her appearance changes over time to relate to society and its culture in the present age (Chu Llo 2019, pp. 136–37; Haffner 2007, pp. 33–65; Congar 2011, pp. 38–39).

In the eleventh century, bishops and abbots, along with the noble families from which they came, made use of the veneration of saints in ritual and literature to shape their culture and to assert the ideals and values that they believed were important, particularly when it came to the role of clergy and monastics in society (Le Jan 1957, pp. 40–41; (Glaber 2008, p. 84; Otloh 1841, pp. 525–42; Vita S. Deodati, col 611–34), (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, pp. 491–505; Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 339; Ruotger 1951, pp. 3–4). Many bishops, like Bruno of Toul (1002–1054), the future Pope Leo IX, were proponents of stricter clerical discipline that was characteristic of the time. Through the public and ritual veneration of relics and the writing or use of episcopal and abbatial vitae, the bishops and abbots, along with the communities over which they presided, promoted the values and ideas that underpinned and molded their culture by looking to the past to justify and reinforce their beliefs. The ritual drew attention to a saint’s importance, and the vitae enshrined the values that the saint represented.

2. The Ritual Veneration of Relics and Ideas of Peace

Saints’ relics had always had a certain power associated with them. These were physical, tangible connections to those men and women believed to be in heaven with God, and therefore were seen as a bridge between heaven and earth. In the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, ecclesiastics used the veneration of relics to assert and promote certain ideas found in the vitae of these saints or to uphold the integrity and honesty of those who swore on the relics (Töpfer 1992, pp. 42–44, 54; Lauranson-Rosaz 1992, pp. 122–23, 125–27; Landes 1992, p. 196; Vanderputten 2013, p. 39; Geary 1991, pp. 9–26). The ultimate aim was to assert the proper ordering of society and promote peace.

In the early eleventh century, many saints’ cults were localized, and cults would spread on the basis of political or spiritual connections between leaders and the gifting and/or translation of relics to new altars. Those who had relics often jealously guarded them as they brought prestige to the church and community that possessed them. The vitae of the saints gave an indication of their holy life and the ideals the communities held dear. The miracula connected to these relics were signs of a saint’s continued care for the communities that held them and asserted that the saints had powers, which increased the relics’ popularity, and in turn could promote the institutions which held the relics (and possibly bring in revenues) (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 96). Through ritual, memory, and stories, the veneration of saints and their relics helped to form local identities.

The use of relics also helped to promote ideas of peace, or the proper ordering of society. Ecclesiastics believed that peace could only be restored when each person followed the will of God for him or her, and the world was as it should be. This idea was seen in Augustine’s De civitate Dei and supported by biblical references to the peace that comes from Christ alone (Augustine of Hippo 1998, XIX. 13, pp. 938–40; Remensnyder 1992, p. 282; Moore 1992, p. 309). This concern for proper order was also important to certain Carolingian rulers, who saw a need to organize the Church and ‘to figure out which members of the clergy belonged to which group [canons or monks], and to ensure that everybody would be properly categorized and made aware of the expectations that came with any given category’ (Kramer et al. 2022, p. 15). It is this concept of peace that was then taken up in the monastic reforms of the tenth century, and particularly disseminated in Cluniac circles, where it was connected to iustitia. Peace and liberty of the Church meant that the Church should be free to be what Christ intended it to be. Monks should live as good monks, canons should live as good canons, bellatores as good bellatores, and their ways of life should conform to the ancient tradition of the Church (Vanderputten 2013, pp. 79–80; Duby 1978, p. 103).

The importance of establishing and maintaining peace took on different forms in the French and German Kingdoms. In the French Kingdom, the pax Dei (Peace of God) emerged in Aquitaine in the second half of the tenth century as monks, nobles, and bishops sought to take peace into their own hands (Goetz 1992, p. 267; Magnou-Nortier 1992, pp. 168–69; Koziol 2018, p. 71; Cowdrey 1970, p. 46). The weakness of King Robert the Pious, as exemplified by Rodulfus Glaber’s assertion that Robert was unable to stop Count Odo of Blois from overrunning his own lands, has been cited as one of the reasons these councils emerged (Glaber 1989, III: ix.37, p. 158). The earliest evidence for the movement comes from the councils of Le Puy in 975 and Charroux in c.989, from where it spread throughout France (Cowdrey 1970, p. 43). The rhetoric of the movement stated that proper spiritual, social, and political order in society would bring about peace in the world (Glaber 1989, IV: v.15, p. 195). Scholars studying the pax Dei have observed that ‘at its very heart was a concern with reorganizing the relationship of Christianity to a changing social milieu’ (Head 1992, p. 222). While the veneration of saints and their relics was not new, the way that the pax Dei brought relics to various councils for popular veneration was (Lauranson-Rosaz 1992, pp. 125–27; Callahan 1992, pp. 168–69, 172). The Chronicon of Adhemar of Chabannes, associated with the monastery of Saint-Martial, offers one of the more detailed accounts of a peace council (Cowdrey 1970, p. 45). Abbots and bishops, together with lay nobles, would call the people together, often inviting neighboring bishops and monastic communities as well. After the ecclesiastics preached to the crowds, lay leaders were to swear oaths on the relics of saints to uphold peace in their territories (Remensnyder 1992, p. 282).

In the German Kingdom, the emperor, together with his bishops, and monastic communities worked with local nobility to ensure that proper order was respected. Uta-Renate Blumenthal observed that Henry III’s declaration of peace at the synod of Constance in 1043 and at Trier in 1044 were similar to declarations at peace councils (Blumenthal 1991, p. 50). This was not a part of the pax Dei, but a sign that the rhetoric of peace was instilled in the mindset of eleventh-century European leaders. This example also supports Michel Parisse’s claim that Henry III was competent to ensure the peace of all his subjects, unlike the Capetian kings in France (Parisse 2004, p. 17).

Pope Leo IX’s veneration of relics was an important aspect of his particular pageantry of power (Byttebier 2021a, pp. 152–54; Byttebier 2021b, pp. 61–66).1 Although Leo IX was not directly involved in the pax Dei, his use of similar rituals and rhetoric of peace and right order shows some common features of religious expression and a greater cultural phenomenon throughout Europe (Barthélemy 2021, pp. 419–20). This is not surprising, considering that Lotharingia was a frontier society, taking influences from the German Kingdom of which it was a part and the French kingdom that it bordered. There is not a direct political correlation between Bruno’s experience under the Salians and the experience of those bishops under Capetian kings as these were two very different political contexts (Blumenthal 1991, pp. 49–50).

As bishop of Toul, Leo showed great devotion to his sainted predecessors as he carried their relics in processions or on journeys. He also venerated many other saints, whose vitae were also composed shortly before, during, or shortly after his lifetime by solemnly translating their relics, thus showing approbation for their cults. Among the various examples are the founders of two foundations which were under the patronage of Bruno’s family and in the Diocese of Toul: Saint-Dié, whose vita he also approved, and the three founders of Remiremont, which took place when he consecrated the community’s collegiate church (Chartes de l’abbaye de Remiremont 1997, pp. 58–59). Pope Leo IX also translated the relics of Ss Wolfgang and Erhard of Regensburg, both men considered to be founders of monastic communities in that city and having connections to Leo’s native land (Paul of Fulda 1913, p. 4). These saints were intimately connected to the local communities from which they came, and therefore address local ideas and concerns about ecclesiastical life. The institutions at Toul were concerned with asserting their allegiance to the newly elected German king, Conrad II, and their adherence to the monastic life as understood by the various monastic reformers of Lotharingia.2 The institutions at Regensburg were concerned about evangelizing Central and Eastern Europe. Despite these differences between the two cities, the veneration of these relics by Pope Leo and other bishops helped to promote the ideals of monastic and ecclesiastical life that were found in the vitae and legends associated with these saints.

Leo IX’s most remembered use of the pageantry of the pax Dei occurred at the council of Reims. The events were detailed in Anselm of Reims’ Dedicatio ecclesiae S. Remigii, and summaries are found in the Vita Leonis IX papae and Bruno of Segni’s Libellus. It is the main event of Leo’s papacy as recorded in the Annales sancti Benigni and Orderic Vitalis’ Historia ecclesiastica. Leo took advantage of Abbot Herimar’s invitation to dedicate the abbey church of St Remigius to create an opportunity to promote his ideas and assert a more universal role for the papacy (Blumenthal 1991, p. 160). Numerous bishops and abbots had gathered from Northern France (an area where Leo suspected there were simoniacal bishops), and also, according to the Vita Leonis, ‘a great multitude came from the ends of the earth… Spanish, Bretons, Scots, and Englishmen’ (Robinson 2004, p. 138; Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 196).3 The day after dedicating the church, but before enshrining the relics of St Remigius, Leo convoked a synod, with those relics remaining on the main altar throughout (Ott 2017, pp. 302–3). In this solemn setting, Leo condemned the practice of simony, which became known as a heresy (simoniaca haeresis) because its intention automatically belies an understanding of spiritual goods, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of Holy Orders, which cheapens their value and denies grace as the free gift of God (Tellenbach 2000, pp. 82, 167–69; Rosé 2017, pp. 212–13, 218–25; Rosé 2008, pp. 33–35). The synod then deposed any bishops who were found guilty of this heresy, having the bishops swear on relics of St Remigius that they were not complicit.

Simony was considered an afront to proper order as it did not allow the clergy and the people of a diocese to choose their own bishop, as was stipulated by the canons of numerous ecclesiastical councils and synods. Classifying simony as a heresy associated with Simon Magus can be traced back to the Council of Tours in 567, following commentaries by Augustine and Jerome on the Acts of the Apostles and Christ’s cleansing of the temple in the Gospels (Rosé 2017, pp. 202–3). Gregory the Great incorporated these ideas into his own writings (Rosé 2017, pp. 202–3). However, simony was not well defined in the early eleventh century and was often used as a political tool, touted as the reason to remove clerics from their appointments (West 2013, pp. 256–57; Tellenbach 1966, p. 172; Stroll 2012, p. 3). Eleventh-century sources demonstrate wide differences in rigor and a developing understanding of simony (Brooke 2000, pp. 320–22; Wickham 2013, pp. 55–56; Wipo, Gesta VIII, pp. 30–31; Bonizo, Liber ad amicum V, p. 584; Glaber 1989, V: vol. 25, p. 250). Few, if any, clerics or princes in the early eleventh century would have seen a stark difference between the temporal and spiritual roles of the bishops, and even Bruno blurred these roles (Wickham 2013, p. 347). However, Leo IX and many of his contemporaries took a hard stand against simony.

The main offender at the Synod of Reims was Bishop Hugh of Langres. Archbishop Hugh of Besançon, who was known to be a holy man, was asked to stand as his advocate; however, the archbishop was rendered unable to speak. He only regained his voice after Leo prayed for his forgiveness and return to good health. Hugh of Langres, having been found guilty, was deposed and went on a penitential pilgrimage to Rome. He died on his return from the strains of fasting and penance (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 196–200; Anselm of Reims 1849, coll. 1432–35). Once the synod was over, the relics were finally placed under the altar (Anselm of Reims 1849, col. 1438).

The relics of St Remigius and the ritual at Reims allowed Leo IX to put into practice certain ideas about papal authority and power, which is a common theme upheld by the vitae associated with his native region of Lotharingia. He is shown to have acted as the great pastor of the entire Church. In Lotharingia, Bruno of Toul had formed ideas of papal authority from notions of papal headship current among many bishops, the ‘Petrine exemption’ of Cluny and other monasteries, canon law collections, and the hagiographical Petrine foundation traditions of many dioceses. Typically, councils were called by the king and held in his presence, as Henry III (according to Bonizo ‘a most wise and thoroughly Christian man’) often did (Bonizo of Sutri 1891, p. 584; Robinson 2004, p. 182). Bishops, including the pope, worked alongside or under the king, who was often responsible for appointing or confirming the elections of bishops in his realm.

Here, Leo asserted his papal authority over that of Robert the Pious, who had instructed his bishops not to attend (Mazel 2016, p. 237). This was not just a matter of Leo asserting his authority to call councils, but that Robert also saw it as an afront to his authority over the bishops of his realm and their duties towards him, especially military service (Hoffmann 2000, pp. 115–19). For Richard Southern, this was the turning point in papal history: it was here that a pope began his intervention to exert power over the episcopal office (Southern 1953, pp. 125–27; Parisse 2004, p. 3). Practically the pope had little, if any, power over other bishops outside central Italy, and his authority was mostly respected in matters of dispute. Althoff’s work on the Gandersheim dispute in the reign of Otto III shows that bishops far from Rome—in this case, Willigis of Mainz—had no need to respect the pope’s authority (Althoff 2003, pp. 113, 116–17; Wolfram 2006, pp. 89–94; Görich 1993; Wolter 1988, pp. 315–18; Goetting 1984, pp. 237–47; Goetting 1993, p. 282). The dispute arose when the archbishop of Mainz and the bishop of Hildesheim both claimed patronage of and rights over the monastery of Gandersheim. A papal delegate sent to resolve the dispute was turned away as the archbishop of Mainz essentially refused to allow a foreign bishop to intervene in a local affair. Leo’s physical presence at Reims would have made it much harder for the bishops and abbots present to ignore him, and it speaks of Leo’s own character and talents that he was able to command such respect and authority. That Leo chose to use the ritual of the pax Dei, which was already prominent in France, might have also helped, and indicates his savvy. Part of his decision to hold a council at Reims could also be a response to the destruction caused to Toul by Count Odo of Blois-Champagne, whose territory included Reims. Bruno now held the upper hand and asserted his authority in the territory that belonged to his previous enemy (Wipo 1915, p. 19; Wolfram 2006, p. 80). However, this does not take away from the fact that he took seriously the office of pope and acted accordingly.

3. Vitae Promoting Ecclesiastical Ideals

While the public veneration and translation of relics provided a striking spectacle for those who attended, vitae commissioned by abbots or bishops expressed the ideals that communities or their leaders wanted to promote and actualize by drawing attention to these saints. The tenth- and eleventh-century bishops and abbots attempted to develop their authority by creating identities that exalted their predecessors as men who took seriously their devotion to prayer and dedication to the souls under their charge (Wagner 2020, pp. 229–36; Ott 2007, pp. 145–46). By composing these vitae, the institutions connected with these saints were constructing their identity, grounded in history and the ideals of sanctity exemplified by their founders or the saints whose relics they held. As Stephanie Haarländer has shown, the authors of episcopal vitae portrayed their saints following biblical and patristic norms that were understood to be characteristic of eleventh-century bishops (Haarländer 2000, pp. 231–32). She also reminds us that the hagiographies contain more of the ideal of the bishop than the reality of how their protagonists actually lived (Haarländer 2000, p. 237; Coué 1997, pp. 1–7). Among the themes that were upheld in these works were the veneration of previous bishops and their network of sainted colleagues, bishops as defenders and providers for their people, the expectation of an ascetic or monastic lifestyle, and respect for the papal office. The ideas found in vitae and gesta of various monasteries and dioceses increased their scope of influence as they were transmitted across the region and beyond (Catalogus codicum bernensium (Bibliotheca Bongarsiana) 1875, pp. 14–18).

Evaluating certain vitae that were (roughly) contemporary with Bruno of Toul’s episcopate and pontificate provides a clearer understanding of the values that underpinned the culture of Toul as a city and diocese. Examining episcopal vitae from eleventh-century Toul shows how expressions of culture helped to re-define and mould the ideals and values of the diocese and the German Kingdom more broadly. These lives are particularly important to understand how contemporary ecclesiastics envisaged the episcopal office and the clerical life as they would probably have been known and studied by the cathedral canons and monks in the local monasteries (Reuter 2004, p. 25). The Vita Leonis IX papae, Vita S. Gerardi, Vita S. Mansueti, and the Gesta episcoporum Tullensium concern bishops associated with the diocese of Toul and provide an insight into the mentality and values of the Toulois. The Vita S. Erhardi and Vita S. Wolfkangi provide information about two bishops of Regensburg who were influential in promoting ideas that originated in or near Toul, thus showing how clerical culture transcended diocesan and regional boundaries.

In the mid-1030s, Bruno of Toul commissioned Widric of Saint-Èvre to write the Vita S. Gerardi Tullensi. Widric had been appointed prior of the Monastery of Saint-Èvre in Toul during the episcopate of Berthold, Bruno’s mentor and predecessor once removed (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 490). Bruno then appointed Widric as abbot of Saint-Èvre, Saint-Mansuy, and Moyenmoutier, all peculiar monasteries of the bishop of Toul (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 136–37). Writing about fifty years after Gerard’s death, Widric indicates that he recorded what he learned from the older monks in his community (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 490), but he could have also learned of the events he records from the cathedral canons and lay Toulois who would have remembered Gerard’s episcopate. Considering that Bruno knew Widric as a friend and collaborator suggests that they espoused similar ideals of episcopal ministry, and Bruno possibly even suggested which events and virtues should be highlighted in the Vita.

The Vita Leonis IX papae, written in Toul and begun shortly after Bruno became pope, was completed before July 1061 (Vita Leonis IX papae: Vie du Pape Léon IX (Brunon, évêque de Toul) (avec une traduction de M. Goullet) 2009, pp. xxvii–xxix; Robinson 2004, pp. 26–28).4 In this regard, it is an oddity as most vitae would have been written after the death of a bishop, usually to promote his cult. Even Pseudo-Wibert, the name given to the anonymous author, acknowledged that his work does not fit the norms for episcopal vitae in his introduction; however, he claimed to write the vita nonetheless to edify and to praise the good works that Bruno had done in Toul (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 2–5, 85–86; Vita Leonis IX papae: Vie du Pape Léon IX (Brunon, évêque de Toul) (avec une traduction de M. Goullet) 2009, pp. xxiii–xxv). It seems that the Toulois were the intended audience for the Vita Leonis; Toul is very much at the heart of the biography and was the center of the biographer’s world. There is a sense of pride that their bishop was now the pope. The preface states that Pseudo-Wibert wrote what he heard and saw Bruno say and do, and the author makes references to stories that Bruno would often recount from his youth (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 84–86). It might also be possible that Pseudo-Wibert also heard some of the stories from Bruno’s mother: she plays a major role in the vita and probably visited Toul on occasion. While this source has great value for understanding the ideas prevalent in Toul during Bruno’s lifetime, it cannot be taken at face value. As Parisse reminded his readers: ‘it is not always easy to distinguish what happened from what the biographer would have liked to have seen happen’ (Parisse 2004, p. 5). The work is clearly meant to promote the Abbey of Saint-Èvre and monastic ideals.

Mansuy is credited as the first bishop of Toul, and his vitae therefore also tells the origin of the diocese. There are two versions of Mansuy’s life. The Gesta episcoporum Tullensium begins with the Vita brevior, which concludes by explaining that Mansuy’s authority was passed on to his successor, Amon (Gesta episcoporum Tullensium 1861, pp. 632–33). Adso’s Vita S. Mansueti, or Vita prolixior, is much longer and includes the miracula attributed to Mansuy’s relics and heavenly intercession after his death. Gerard commissioned Adso of Montier-en-Der to write the Vita S. Mansueti when Gerard raised the priory of Saint-Mansuy to an abbey in 982 (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 627). Both versions recount how St Mansuy was born in Ireland (Scotia), went into voluntary exile to Rome, and was sent from Rome to be the bishop of the Leuci, the Celtic tribe which settled in Toul and its surroundings (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, coll. 629). When the son of Leo, the chief of the Leuci, fell off a wall and drowned in the Moselle River, Mansuy miraculously restored the boy to life. Leo then converted to Christianity, was baptised by Mansuy, and outlawed the former religion of the people (Gesta episcoporum Tullensium 1861, p. 633). After his death, Mansuy was buried just north of the city (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, p. 510).

At Regensburg, on 7 and 8 October 1052, Leo IX raised the relics of Bishops Erhard and Wolfgang. Their vitae reveal ideals of the clerical life and the episcopal office. Although Bruno would not have known the Vita S. Erhardi, as it was written after his death, and it is uncertain if he would have read the Vita S. Wolfkangi, he would have known something about these saints’ lives before he gave approbation to their cults. Both vitae indicate connections to monastic life in Lotharingia or Alsace and show these saints maintaining the monastic life even after becoming bishops. Promoting these cults was a way for Leo to approve monastic reform in a diocese outside of the cultural region in which he operated as bishop of Toul.

Shortly after Leo IX’s death, Abbess Heilike of Niedermünster, who oversaw Leo’s translation of Erhard’s relics, asked Paul of Fulda, to write the life of Erhard. Erhard was born in Ireland (genere Scoticus fuit) and showed great piety in his youth (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 10–11). After entering the monastic life in Ireland, he was ordained a bishop and sent to Gaul. He was eventually made a missionary bishop in Bavaria and used Regensburg as his base.

Wolfgang (934–994), a contemporary of Gerard of Toul, was considered the second founder of the abbey of Sankt-Emmeram in Regensburg, having separated the abbacy from the episcopal office. He also instituted a reform of the monastery by giving the monks the customary of Gorze, which was the most prominent monastery in Metz, Toul’s neighboring diocese to the north (Hallinger 1951, pp. 114–15). The Vita S. Wolfkangi was one of many vitae written by Otloh of Sankt-Emmeram (c. 1010–1072) between 1032 and 1062 (Otloh 1841, pp. 521–22). Otloh was educated at various monasteries and became a secular canon before making his monastic profession at Sankt-Emmeram. Otloh’s promotion of monastic life over canonical life in the work could be a means of justifying his own decision to leave the canonry to become a monk.

3.1. Networks of Saints

Eleventh-century vitae and miracula expressed the importance of associations with other saints, either through friendship or cooperation. Continuity of episcopal ministry was important for establishing authority, and the vitae helped to show how bishops maintained continuity with the past. Saintly predecessors gave credence to contemporary authority and could justify the actions taken by later bishops or abbots. Miracula provided tales of the protagonist’s power, often situating their miracles within the ministry of a later bishop whom the authors wanted to praise. They also gave a commentary on the state of a church or abbey, its history, and how it should interact with its episcopal and noble patrons.

When comparing the vitae of Bruno and Gerard, it is evident that their devotion to Ss Mansuy and Èvre was important for establishing episcopal authority. The Toulois bishops come as a group, emphasizing continuity. This is exemplified in Leo IX’s letter extending Gerard’s cult to the universal Church: ‘Therefore we have decreed, with the holy synod’s approval and praise, that he should henceforth be regarded as a saint, and venerated as a saint on 23 April, both at Toul, like St Mansuy and St Èvre, and everywhere in the world, like the other saints’ (Leo IX 1853, coll. 645–46; Gardoni 1981, p. 16). The Vita Leonis mentions three of his predecessors: Gerard, Èvre, and Mansuy. In addition to Mansuy and Èvre, the Vita Gerardi affirms that Gauzelin, Gerard’s immediate predecessor, is in heaven, but there is no existing vita for him (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 500). Pseudo-Wibert’s Vita Leonis IX papae shows how Bruno’s authority came from the saintly Gerard, who grounded his authority in the cults of his predecessors Ss Mansuy and Èvre.

The vitae of Gerard and Bruno show a shared similarity in their devotion to their predecessors, in particular by using their relics to seek peace and protection (Cowdrey 1970, p. 44; Tellenbach 1966, p. 136). Among the more important relics for both Gerard and Bruno were those of St Mansuy, the founding bishop of Toul, and St Èvre, Toul’s seventh bishop. Considering that the vitae of both Gerard and Bruno were written at the abbey dedicated to St Èvre, it is no surprise that Èvre’s relics are given a certain prominence. Èvre was an important intercessor for the bishops of Toul, who became patrons of the abbey that grew around his tomb. The monks of Saint-Èvre had a priory attached to the tomb of St Mansuy, giving them reason to promote his cult as well (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 648). These two houses, situated on opposite ends of the city of Toul, shared a common history. Gerard and Bruno carried the relics of Ss Mansuy and Èvre on their travels and processed with the same relics as a means to ward off evil (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 66; Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 499). Gerard carried these relics around Toul to cure a plague (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 499). When he was ill, Gerard brought the bones of Ss Mansuy and Èvre to the bishop’s personal chapel of St John the Baptist so that he could pray before them (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 501). In the manuscript of the Vita Leonis known as the ‘Austrian version’, chapter 15 contains a passage, not mentioned in the other manuscript, that states that whenever there was a plague, drought, flood, or other disaster, Bruno would lead the clergy and people in procession with the relics of the saints with him, this probably references those of Mansuy and Èvre as well (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 144).

Bruno’s own devotion to Gerard paralleled Gerard’s devotion to St Mansuy. The miracles Adso recalled in the second book of the Vita prolixior S. Mansueti occurred during the episcopacies of Gauzelin and Gerard (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, pp. 509–14). The miracula indicated that these bishops were favoured by St Mansuy and provided a template that later bishops should follow (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, pp. 510–14). The miracula state how Gauzelin gave the tomb of St Mansuy to the abbey of Saint-Èvre as it was not being properly maintained and near ruin (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, p. 510). It also indicates that the intercession of St Mansuy healed the blind servant of the local count, Wido (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, p. 510). This could be a sign of the way that the Church continued to support civic rulers. The last miracle during Gauzelin’s episcopate indicates tensions between Toul and its neighboring village, Gondreville. During the feast of St Mansuy, the people of Gondreville were parading with carts of animals that upset the saint, and he caused the animals to go into a frenzy. However, the cattle were retrieved through Gauzelin’s prayers and St Mansuy’s intercession, again depicting two sainted figures working together.

Gerard’s devotion to Mansuy asserted that his authority was connected to the foundations of the diocese and had been passed on from one bishop to the next. Bruno’s own episcopal authority, seen to be divinely given him from Gerard through his mother’s vision, therefore, has the same origins, derived from St Mansuy and St Èvre (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 96–97). It is also conceivable that a minor reason for Bruno to take the name ‘Leo’ as pope could be the fact that Mansuy converted Chief Leo of the Leuci, the early inhabitants of what was then the diocese of Toul.

The Vita S. Erhardi is another example of the importance placed on the connections to other saints as it indicates the importance of spiritual networks to assert sanctity and authority. The various connections of its protagonist are made more explicit than other vitae. Arriving in the Vosges, Erhard met St Hildulf, founder of Moyenmoutier, living an eremitical life. Hildulf then sent Erhard as a missionary to Bavaria, where he founded seven monasteries, among which was Niedermünster. The vita places a certain emphasis on Erhard’s preaching of the Gospel to the Bavarians in the eighth century, stating that he allowed himself to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 10, 13–14). In the course of his episcopal ministry, Erhard felt compelled to return to the Vosges (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 13–14). Paul follows the Vita S. Odillae in recounting how Erhard came to Hohenburg Abbey where Odile, blind from birth, was living (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 14–15; Vita S. Odiliae 1913, pp. 38–42). When he baptized her, Odile’s sight was restored, and Erhard then sent a letter to Odile’s father, the Duke Ethicon, in order to reconcile father and daughter. The miracula of St Erhard also recount miracles that took place during the time of Wolfgang, who had reestablished monastic life at the abbey which housed Erhard’s shrine, thus also connecting the former bishop with a more contemporary one. Erhard’s life not only related his own sanctity, but emphasized the holiness of those whom he befriended, thus also connecting the foundations associated with them. Paul of Fulda incorporated the Vita S. Hildulfi and the Vita S. Odillae into this hagiography (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 12–15; Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 140–42; Hummer 2009, pp. 1–2). The connections between the Bavarian bishop and these saints from the earlier lives and traditions kept at Moyenmoutier and Hohenburg Abbey, were probably well-known in Alsace, thus Leo IX’s translation of Erhard’s relics possibly helped promote Odile’s and Hildulf’s cult as well. Paul also connected Erhard to the more-recent Wolfgang. The second book, the Miracula, provides eleven stories of Erhard’s powerful intercession, two of which take place ‘in the time of Bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg’ (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 16–17). This also helped to promote Wolfgang’s sanctity and authority. These connections with other historical figures gave Erhard a proper place in history with other saints and rulers in Bavaria and in Lotharingia.

3.2. Bishops Providing for and Defending Their People

Episcopal vitae portrayed their subjects as natural leaders who interceded for and defended their faithful flock (Vanderputten 2013, pp. 79–80; Duby 1978, p. 33). Anne Wagner indicates that the life of Richard of Verdun (970–1046), the abbot of Saint-Vanne who tried to emulate Cluny in his building projects, emulates certain ideas of priesthood that stem from the priest as the intercessor between the faithful and God, and the belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist (Wagner 2005, pp. 107–10). Sean Gilsdorf’s research highlights the concept of the bishop as the ‘priest par excellence’ who constantly mediates between God and man for his people, and the Mass was the greatest expression of this mediation (Gilsdorf 2004, pp. 53–56). This fits with Steffen Patzold’s observations on the distinction between the sacral and political natures of the episcopal office under the Ottonian and Salian rulers (Patzold 2005, p. 356). Hugh of Flavigny (c. 1064–c. 1115) asserted the same ideas when describing the priesthood of Pulchronius of Verdun in his Chronicle (Hugh of Flavigny 1848, pp. 310–11; Wagner 2005, p. 107). Burchard’s Decretum, one of the more important collections of canon law in the eleventh century, affirms the priestly character of the bishop who was to offer Mass frequently, preferably daily, and not only on Sundays and special feasts (Burchard of Worms 1880, col. 581). The importance of the Mass could also be directed towards Berengar of Tours and his beliefs against the true presence of Christ in the eucharistic host (Howe 2016, pp. 178–79; Stroll 2012, pp. 42–45). The hagiographic materials present the priest as one who offers himself for the people, and this is expressed when he offers the Mass on behalf of and for the people, therefore making his role central to salvation and grace (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 182–84).

The self-sacrificial nature of the priesthood is also seen in the sources connected with Bruno of Toul and indicates that this understanding was accepted more widely. Cluniac ideas on liturgy and the Mass were important, and the emphasis on the liturgy and priesthood can be seen in Leo IX’s own dedication to offering Mass as often as possible. The Vita S. Erhardi, written by Paul of Fulda in the 1050s, states that Erhard was ‘consecrated a minister for the altar, he offered himself as a living sacrifice on the altar of (his) heart’ (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 11–12). The Vita Leonis says of Bruno that ‘he constantly offered himself as a sacrifice before the countenance of the divine majesty’ (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 140).

As the Mass is the principal action of priestly service, Gerard and Bruno’s vitae show them providing for their people by offering Mass at different times and recounted these episodes for different aims. Gerard’s Masses were coupled with his devotion to the saints. He offered a Mass in Rome out of devotion to St Peter. He also offered Mass at Epinal, where he placed a reliquary containing the relics of St Goeric of Metz under the altar (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, pp. 498–99). The regularity with which Leo IX offered Mass is highlighted in book II of the Vita Leonis. Whereas other vitae of the period will mention a few particular Masses offered by their protagonists, Leo offered Mass almost daily when he travelled to Rome on pilgrimage and when he was under house arrest in Benevento after the battle of Civitate. He was also accustomed to celebrating Mass on the anniversary of his ordination as pope with full solemnity (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 230, 234). The first Mass mentioned, however, takes place in a vision before his election to the papacy. Bruno was led by St Peter, the patron of the cathedral of Worms, and St Stephen, the patron of the cathedral of Toul, to the altar in the Worms cathedral, and after the services ended, he was told that he would distribute communion to the crowd of men he saw present (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 174). The greater part of the crowd were priests, and Bruno’s feeding them could indicate his future of providing the clergy with a pure way of life. Pseudo-Wibert mentioned that exorcisms took place at the other two specific Masses mentioned, thus claiming the importance of the Mass to dispelling evil in the world (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 202, 210, 232–34).

Gerard was present in times of need to provide assistance and to lead his people in prayer: he processed with the relics of Ss Mansuy and Èvre to bring an end to a drought, he turned water into wine on the way to Rome, he provided bread to alleviate hunger, drew out relics from a river after they had dropped in, and saved the church of Saint-Mansuy from burning down through a vision (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, pp. 496–500). He also defended the Toulois from oppressive forces of neighboring nobles as he led an army of his people bearing kitchen utensils as weapons (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, pp. 501–2). Bruno was a defender of his people as well, leading them in prayer and negotiating or speaking up for them (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 52, 144–50, 212).5 Bruno confronted Bishop Hermann about the way that the monks of Saint-Èvre were being treated, and he ‘assiduously defended [the] interests ’ of the other members of the royal court before Conrad II (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 124; Robinson 2004, p. 114). Bruno also entered into peace negotiations with the French king to help his people (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 148–50).

In the extant charters from Bruno’s episcopate, he concludes the documents by referring to himself as praesul Leuchorum. The word praesul, commonly used for bishops, denotes a patron or protector. In Toul, Bruno would have seen his role in this way: he had already led troops into battle for the city’s previous bishop, and Pseudo-Wibert indicates that the people wanted Bruno as their bishop because they believed that he could protect them (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 110–17). The fact that in 1053 Bruno became the first pope to lead troops into battle also hints at the way that he thought of himself as the protector of the people under his charge in all aspects of their lives, spiritual, political, and corporeal (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 228–30). It also shows how Bruno, like other bishops, was inculcated in the aristocratic culture of the nobility (Hummer 2009, pp. 9–517; Le Jan 1957, pp. 39–41, 289–91; Brucker 1889, pp. 35–541). This mentality would be an important indication of how Bruno understood his appointment to the papacy by the emperor as a means to maintain the good order of society.

A bishop’s solicitude for the poor, exemplifying mercy, is also a sign of his care, concern, and defense for the good of the faithful. Gerard gave aid to the poor, going out into the streets of Toul to find them. Widric indicates that it is believed that the poor ‘appeared to the most holy pontiff [Gerard] as Christ, who once told his faithful in the limits of this age: what you do for one of the least of mine, you do to me’ (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 498). Bruno as bishop of Toul and as pope would spend time distributing food and alms to the poor who would come to his residence, refusing to neglect this duty even when the papal funds were being depleted (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 188). While under house arrest in Benevento after the battle of Civitate, Leo saw a leper sleeping in a corner near his palace late one night (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, pp. 230–32). The pontiff carried the leper to the bed prepared for him, then went to pray. Upon returning to his room, the leper was nowhere to be found, and Leo fell asleep on the floor as was his custom. Upon waking, he urged the servant not to tell anyone about the incident, and Pseudo-Wibert believed that Leo, in his humility, dreamed that the leper was indeed Christ. Pseudo-Wibert compared this episode to St Martin, who had seen the Christ clad in the cloak he gave to a poor man, and the monk Martirius, who had brought a leper to his monastery who was later revealed to be Christ (Sulpicius Severus 2015, p. 27; Gregory I 1857, col. 1300).

3.3. Solicitude for the Monastic Life

By the tenth century, the Rule of Benedict had become universal in the West, and different houses developed their own approach to living it (Gaillard 2019, pp. 33–55; Raaijmakers 2010; Cushing 2005, pp. 7–17). The promotion of the Rule of St Benedict and proper adherence to it brought waves of monastic reform, in which reform-minded monks often found inspiration in Egyptian monasticism (Leclercq 1982, pp. 89–108). The main concern of the reformers in the tenth and eleventh centuries was to guarantee that monasteries had good abbots who could ensure that their monks were proper oratores following the Rule of Benedict, however the communities were able to make that happen, or at least seem to happen (Vanderputten 2013, pp. 79–80; Duby 1978, p. 103). Equally important was maintaining the control of monastic properties. The monasteries had been given various properties over time, and these foundations argued that their adherence to Benedict’s rule was dependent on their continued ownership of these lands, which provided the monks with the necessary material goods to live (Tellenbach 1966, pp. 77–78). Canons that asserted monastic property was inalienable were incorporated into Burchard’s Decretum (Burchard of Worms 1880, col. 809). The biographies of founding abbots and bishops served as a means to provide examples of an authentic form of monastic life, to show various connections between different houses, and to assert claims to important properties. Each community wanted to retain their autonomy from outside influences, but the monasteries could not just throw off the relationships that they had with their patrons outside the monastic community (Vanderputten 2013, pp. 9, 83–93; Jestice 1997, pp. 177–83; Blumenthal 1991, pp. 15, 18–19)6. As bishops had a large degree of authority over the monasteries in their dioceses, showing bishops acting like monks was an indication that they held a concern for authentic monastic life and made good decisions regarding the common life and properties of the monasteries under their care.

Gerard and Bruno of Toul were seen to uphold the monastic life in a variety of ways. The miracula of St Mansuy praised the return of monastic discipline during Gerard’s episcopate as he restored and consecrated the church where Mansuy’s relics were kept and instituted the night office there (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1841, p. 511). The relics of St Mansuy gave the monastery that bore his name authority and power, and his powerful intercession protected and guided the life of the monks who maintained and prayed at his tomb. Gerard’s and Bruno’s Vitae show the bishops working and interacting with monastic figures, both past and present. In the Vita S. Gerardi, the connections between the ascetic Gerard and the saintly Abbot Majolus of Cluny are prominent, and Gerard himself is even called another ‘Benedict, father of monks’ (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 498; Nightingale 1992, pp. 48–49). This friendship provided Bruno with an example to follow in his rapport with William of Volpiano (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 136). Although this suggests that Saint-Èvre embraced a form of the Cluniac tradition, the bishop maintained his role as patron and it was never subject to the abbot of Cluny nor the pope. Widric’s portrayal of Gerard stands in opposition to Bishop Hermann of Toul, who was seen as an opponent to monastic life in the Vita Leonis and the Vita Willelmi (although the Gesta episcoporum Tullensium shows Hermann in a better light) (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 104; Glaber 2008, p. 62; Gesta episcoporum Tullensium 1861, p. 643). Bruno was remembered for defending the monks of Saint-Èvre when they came into conflict with Hermann and supporting monastic life from his first moments as bishop of Toul (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 104). These sources were not meant to merely record events, but rather to shape them. Supporting William’s reform of Saint-Èvre gave credence to Widric’s leadership of the monastery as he was appointed with William’s consultation and not simply by Bruno. In turn, Bruno’s successors were being encouraged to support the way of life that William established at Saint-Èvre and the other monasteries under the bishop’s patronage.

The Vita S. Erhardi is more a commentary on Erhard’s life than it is a biographical account and provides less detail about the saint’s actions than other vitae, such as the Vita S. Wolfkangi or Vita S. Gerardi. With this emphasis on Erhard’s character, the work itself is not a foundation story of the abbey of Niedermünster but served as an example of monastic virtues and to provide a point of reference for Erhard’s cult (Paul of Fulda 1913, p. 9). These virtues were those of good monks and nuns, showing poverty, chastity, and obedience. Erhard’s most prominent virtue seemed to be chastity, which was compared to that of the angels in the prologue and in the body of the vita. It was to be emulated in both nuns and clerics (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 4, 11). Erhard is also shown embracing poverty, relinquishing all his possessions. Paul states of Erhard and Hildulf: ‘Thus because they were most noble of birth, they entirely refused to all patrimony, in the land of pilgrimage, and by the merit of life and having searched for their proper work to sell all for divine service’ (Paul of Fulda 1913, pp. 17–18). This stands in opposition to contemporary complaints that monks were amassing too much wealth, whereas the Rule of Benedict says that they should give all to the monastery to be held in common (Rule of St Benedict XXXIII: 1–6).7 However, Erhard’s example was the pattern of authentic monastic life for the monks at Niedermünster, which justified Pope Leo IX’s confirmation of the properties and rights of these foundations, ensuring that monastic wealth was retained (Paul of Fulda 1913, p. 12).

The Vita Erhardi also upholds humility and obedience, which are intimately connected in the Rule of St Benedict (Rule of St Benedict Prologue: 1–2, V: 8–9, 14, VII: 34–35; Kramer et al. 2022, p. 15; Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel 2007, pp. 77, 197, 246–47).8 Paul made sure to mention that Erhard’s life conformed to canonical expectations and clerical ideals that would have been prevalent in the later eleventh century, thus showing obedience to former councils. For example, ‘after having ascended to the rank of priesthood, he furthermore ascended to the highest rank of the heavenly ladder’ (Paul of Fulda 1913, p. 11). On the one hand, this might be an allusion to the ‘ladder of humility’ as found in chapter VII of the Rule of Benedict. At the same time, it also refers to the canons which stated that those ordained, particularly to the episcopate, should progress through each of the orders and not skip the lower ministries (Paul of Fulda 1913, p. 11; Burchard of Worms 1880, col. 626). Hildulf’s sending Erhard to Bavaria was another way to assert that Ehrard’s episcopal authority was valid. Considering that he was a missionary bishop, there were neither faithful or clergy to elect him, yet Hildulf’s presence seems to give some credence to Erhard’s missionary efforts in Bavaria and indicates that he was not driven by his ego. This could also be a means for Paul to assert the increasing belief that episcopal elections should not rely on royal and lay involvement.

The Vita S. Wolfkangi also highlights its protagonist’s adherence to the monastic life and shows how the monastic life could still be lived outside of cloister, thus setting him as an example to all clerics, especially bishops. Wolfgang entered the monastery of Reichenau at an early age, before furthering his studies at Hirsau and Würzburg. He was then sent to Trier before Bishop Pilgrim of Passau appointed him as bishop of Regensburg (Otloh 1841, p. 531). Pilgrim chose Wolfgang because of his ascetic practices, which were considered a sign of his orthodoxy. After becoming a bishop, Wolfgang kept the monastic habit and is shown to have retained monastic practices (Jestice 1997, pp. 1–6; Otloh 1841, p. 532). He promoted monasticism by establishing an abbot and the customary of Gorze, the particular monastery of the bishops of Metz, at Saint Emmeram’s; he also gave the Rule of Benedict to the canonesses at Niedermünster, asserting the superiority of the monastic life to the canonical (Otloh 1841, p. 534; Hallinger 1951, pp. 136–37).

Bruno’s own interests and emulation of monastic ideals has led to the confusion on his status as a canon or a monk, yet works like the Vita S. Wolfkangi indicate how that could happen. As with St Deodatus and St Erhard whose lives were written at this time, the ideal was to maintain the essentials of the monastic life outside the cloister (Vita Sancti Deodati 1867). Gerard’s ascetic, monk-like qualities gave him credibility in this regard, and Bruno’s association with monks and monastic foundations did the same. There is a clear understanding throughout the Vita S. Wolfkangi that monastic life is the superior spiritual life, and the ideal to which all serious Christians should aspire. Besides Otloh of Sankt-Emmeram, there are also numerous clerics who took up monastic life after the canonical, such as Norbert of Saint-Èvre, who was sent by the Toulois to request Bruno as their bishop (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 116).

3.4. Respect for the Papal Office

Finally, the vitae from Toul display a devotion to St Peter and a certain respect for the office of pope. Both Gerard and Bruno of Toul went often on pilgrimage to Rome to venerate Peter’s tomb. On one of Gerard’s visits, Widric recounts how the bishop of Toul attempted to correct abuses while trying to say Mass at St Peter’s tomb: the Lotharingian bishop knew better than the Roman clerics, who were eating in the basilica (Widric of Saint-Èvre 1841, p. 496). Dreams of both Gerard and Bruno hint towards a closeness with St Peter. Gerard dreamed of Gauzelin of Toul (his immediate predecessor) with St Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna and traditionally known as one of St Peter’s earliest disciples in Rome. Bruno’s dream of St Peter in the cathedral at Worms shows St Peter affirming Bruno’s holiness (Vita Leonis IX papae: Die Touler Vita Leos IX 2007, p. 174). By placing these episodes in their vitae, the authors show a concern for devotion to the Roman see and give expression to the importance of St Peter and the papacy as seen in the collections of canon law.9

The Vita Prolixior S. Mansueti also suggests how the Toulois might have thought about the papal office. Adso’s explanation of the Leuci’s conversion emphasises importance of the missionary role of St Peter and his successors. The first paragraph deals exclusively with Peter and his journey to Rome, establishing papal authority (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 639). Adso informs his readers that Peter left Antioch and ‘went to Rome, the Lady of all peoples and the capital of the world’, because it was his mission to bring together all the various nations into the Church (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 639). This signified the belief in the Pope’s role in maintaining unity and ensuring that ‘the sound religion of Christianity would increase according to God’ (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 639). The idea of proper religion and orthodoxy was prominent in the rhetoric of tenth-century monastic reformers, and continued to be important in the rhetoric of those who sought change in the Church in the later eleventh century as well. This was directly connected to the heresy of simony and the need to purify the Church.

Mansuy and his successors derived their authority from St Peter, and these apostolic roots of the diocese affirmed their authenticity. It is from St Peter himself, who was ‘elected and preordained the leader, to receive the keys of heaven, and merited to obtain the government of the universal Church’, that Mansuy was sent to Belgica Prima (Adso of Montier-en-Der 1867, col. 639). It is impossible that Mansuy was actually sent by St Peter himself, but this could refer to either Pope Liberius (r. 352–366) or Pope Damasus I (r. 366–384). If, as Schlochtermeyer’s work has observed, the gesta of the period were written or redacted in light of the Investiture Controversy, the bishopric’s firm foundation on St Peter’s authority and Mansuy’s aid to Chief Leo of the Leuci indicates the role of the Church that stands besides lay rulers (Patzold 2005, p. 357). In the spiritual realm, it was Peter’s prerogative to send missionaries to certain territories and endow them with authority. Other gesta also connect their founding to St Peter (Barrow 2006, p. 207). The first bishop of Metz, Clement, was said to have been sent by Peter, and his name might have been meant to recall Pope Clement I (r. 88–99), who was said to have been ordained by St Peter himself (Gesta episcoporum Tullensium 1861, pp. 534–34).

4. Conclusions

The rich culture of the German Kingdom in the eleventh century expressed its values and ideals in ritual veneration and hagiographic texts. These means worked side by side to support and promote what nobles and ecclesiastics believed was the right order of society and the ways that bishops, abbots, clerics, and monks should act to maintain that order. The ritual veneration of relics indicates that the culture valued the physical presence of their saints and believed that the relics had some power in themselves to bring about order and peace.

The vitae of those saints whose relics were venerated helped to further promote the saints’ power and the values they upheld in their lives, at least according to the hagiographies. Among numerous characteristics of eleventh-century vitae, this paper examined the importance placed on connections to sainted predecessors and contemporary saints as a means to assert the sanctity and authority of the episcopal office; the expectation that bishops would defend and provide for their people both spiritually and physically; the importance of monastic life and ascetical attributes; and respect for Rome and the office of the pope. These four characteristics of eleventh-century vitae indicate not only the values of that society but also how contemporary bishops were given models from the past on which to pastern their own ministry. This helped to shape the culture even more. The similarities and connections between the vitae of Toul and Regensburg help us to understand how local cultures were formed and molded through the exchange of ideas that came by sharing relics and literature.