Gero, Archbishop of Cologne
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Gero (c. 900 – 29 June 976) was the Archbishop of Cologne from 969 until his death.
Gero originated from Thuringia. He and Thietmar, Margrave of Meissen, were the sons of Hidda, sister of Gero the Great, and Christian of Thuringia.[1] On 29 August 970, he and his brother donated part of their inheritance for the foundation of a monastery at Thankmarsfelden.[2] By 975 (probably in 971), this became a royal monastery and was moved (in 975) to Nienburg, a site in the founders' familial lands, where it would serve as a missionary base for work amongst the Slavs.[3]
In 969, Gero was elected Archbishop of Cologne by the cathedral chapter, but at first met with opposition from the Emperor Otto I. In 971, he was an ambassador in Constantinople to arrange the marriage of Theophanu to Otto's heir, Otto II. On that journey he also brought back some relics of Saint Pantaleon for the dedication of a new church in Cologne.
Gero died in 976 and was buried in the Cathedral of Cologne, where he left as his legacy the great Romanesque Gero Crucifix.
[edit] References
- Bernhardt, John W. (1993). Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[edit] Notes
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| Preceded by Volkmar |
Archbishop of Cologne 969–976 |
Succeeded by Warin |
