Search

This paper addresses the early years of the Westphalian bishopric of Minden. Kölzer's edition of Louis the Pious's diplomas has shed new light on the founding era of the Saxon and Westphalian bishoprics, and the coming years will see a new understanding of the emergence of dioceses in these regions. Minden presents a special case in this respect, because early diplomatic evidence is lacking. This paper argues that the earliest royal diploma goes back to Charles III (876-887), and must have been nearly identical to his diploma for the bishopric of Paderborn from 887 September 21. The evidence of the necrologies is concentrated on the monastery of Fulda, and attestations of early bishops of Minden there are extremely meagre. Only Bishop Dietrich (853-880) is mentioned repeatedly during his lifetime as an attendee of royal meetings and synods. This paper also studies Louis the German's visit to Minden in 852, before turning to the problem of the alleged first bishop of Minden, Erkanbert († 830), who obviously did not act as a bishop 'of' Minden but rather as a (missionary) bishop 'in' Minden during the decades prior to the establishment of a geographically fixed bishopric of Minden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]