ARNONE, archbishop of Salisbury. — Born c. 746 in Bavaria, died at Salisbury on 24 January 821. After completing his studies at Freising and being ordained priest, in 776 he became a Benedictine at St-Amand, where he was elected abbot in 782. He came into close contact with Charlemagne and his court, especially with the learned friends Alcuin and Angilbert. Appointed archbishop of Salzburg in 785, he brought his diocese to the height of its power and extent. After the Avar wars, he launched a grand missionary effort among the Slavic peoples of Carinthia and Pannonia, extending the diocesan boundaries as far as the Drava (made the boundary with Aquileia in 811 by Charlemagne) and the Hungarian plains. He was an excellent administrator and promoter of sacred learning and the arts.
As Charlemagne’s trusted agent, he often carried out political missions as well: in 799 he escorted Leo III back to Rome, was present at Charlemagne’s coronation, and was among the signatories of his will in 811. In 790 he received a solemn confirmation of his diocese’s lands, and in 798 he was granted the pallium, having been raised to metropolitan status over Bavaria. In 799 he held the first provincial synod, whose statutes provide valuable material for the history of the region (v. MGH, Leges, III; Concil., II, 1, 212). Between 788 and 790 he commissioned the famous *Indiculum Arnonis*, later expanded into the *Breves Notitiae*, a list of the church’s properties in Salzburg—an important document (ed. W. Hauthaler, *Salzburger Urkundenbuch*, I, 1–29). His library of 150 codices, still preserved, was renowned. He also fostered annalistic writing: the *Annales Iuvavenses minores* and *maiores* date from this period (cf. H. Widmann, *Geschichte Salzburgs*, I, pp. 110 ff.).