DROGO. — Bishop of Metz, papal vicar. Natural son of Charlemagne, born on 17 June 801, forced by Louis the Pious in 818 to enter the ecclesiastical state, he was ordained priest in 822 and created Bishop of Metz. Reconciled with Louis, he became his archchaplain with the title of archbishop and remained faithful to him in both good and adverse fortune. It was he who had Louis’ body brought from Ingelheim to Metz, where he wished it to be honorably buried. A supporter of the imperial idea, he immediately sided with Lothar (MGH, Concilia aevi Karolini, II, p. 792), who appointed him companion and advisor to his son Louis, sent to govern Italy (844). It was precisely at that time that Pope Sergius II (844–847) had been elected without imperial consent. D. accompanied Louis to Rome, recognized Sergius; but he required him to swear loyalty to the Emperor and obtained the office of papal vicar over all territories beyond the Alps, as had already been the case with St. Boniface and St. Chrodegang (Jaffé-Wattenbach, 2586, 2607, 2608). It seems that this delegation practically amounted to a mere title: no mention is made of it in the Synod of Thionville in October 844, although it was presided over by D. himself (MGH, Capitularia regum Francorum, II, p. 113), and the Council of Ver, in December of the same year, deferred discussion on the validity of this title to another council (MGH, ibid., II, pp. 382–87).
He ordained St. Ansgar, apostle of the Danes, Bishop of Hamburg (831); he was abbot of Gorze, Luxeuil, and St-Trond. He died in November or December of 855 or 856. Between 825 and 855, he had a Sacramentarium Drogonis prepared (Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, ms. lat. 9428), which is one of the most significant paleographic monuments of the Carolingian Renaissance.