BURCHARD OF BASEL. - Bishop, b. around 1040, d., it seems, at Basel on 12 April 1107. Son of Ulrich, count of Féni, he was a canon of Eichstätt and then a chamberlain of Sigfrid, archbishop of Mainz. In 1072 he became bishop of Basel. In 1076, after the outbreak of hostilities between Gregory VII and Henry IV, he took part in the assembly that voted the deposition of the Pope and was part of the embassy sent to Italy to win over the Roman bishops as well to the imperial cause. Struck, like all the supporters of Henry IV, by excommunication, he too obtained the pardon of Gregory VII at Canossa and then followed Henry IV again into Germany, assisting him during the war he undertook against Rudolf of Swabia and obtaining in compensation from Henry IV the county of Herkingen for the church of Basel. Having remained faithful to Henry IV even after the second bull of excommunication of 7 March 1080, he was present at the election of the antipope Clement III, which took place in Rome on 21 March 1084. Having returned to Germany, he subscribed to the deposition of Gregory VII and to the confirmation of the antipope. He also received from Henry IV the lordship of Ribeauviller in Alsace and the abbey of Pfäfers.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Annalista Sassone, in MGH, Script., VI (1884), pp. 542-777; Gallia christiana, XV, Paris 1860, coll. 438-40; L. Vautrey, Histoire des évêques de Bâle, I, Einsiedeln 1884, pp. 120-32.

Emma Santovino

@incollection{ec3_burcardo_di_basilea, author = {Santovito, Emma}, title = {Burcardo di Basilea}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {224}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/burcardo-di-basilea} }

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Burchard of Basel

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