Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht

This article is about the secular principality ruled by the bishops of Utrecht in the Middle Ages. For the original spiritual jurisdiction of the bishops of Utrecht, see Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580).

State of the Holy Roman Empire (1024–1528)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht

Sticht Utrecht (Dutch)
Episcopatus Ultraiectensis (Latin)

1024–1528

Flag

Coat of arms

Bishopric of Utrecht c. 1350. Nedersticht is the smaller territory while Oversticht is the larger territory.

Status| State of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital| Utrecht
Common languages| Middle Dutch,
Medieval Latin,
Middle Low German
Religion

| Roman Catholicism (State religion)
Government| Ecclesiastical principality
Prince-bishop|

• (1024–1026)[a]

| Adalbold II of Utrecht

• (1524–1528)[b]

| Henry of the Palatinate
Historical era| Middle Ages

• Lower Lotharingia divided from Lotharingia

| 959

• Established

| 1024

• Investiture Controversy

| 1075–1122

• Concordat of Worms

| 1122

• Joined the Burgundian Circle

| 1512

• Guelders Wars

| 1502–1543

• Disestablished

| 1528

• Union of Utrecht signed

| 1579

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Lower Lotharingia

|

| Lordship of Utrecht |

|

Lordship of Overijssel |
Today part of| Netherlands

The Bishopric of Utrecht (Dutch: Sticht Utrecht; Latin: Episcopatus Ultraiectensis) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it was ruled by the bishops of Utrecht.

The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht is not to be confused with the Diocese of Utrecht, which covered a larger area. Over the areas outside the Prince-Bishopric, the bishop exercised only spiritual, not temporal, authority.

In 1528, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor secularized the Prince-Bishopric, depriving the bishop of its secular authority.

## History

[edit]

History of the Low Countries

Frisii |  | Belgae
| Cana–
nefates | Chamavi,
Tubantes | Gallia Belgica (55 BC–c. 5th AD)
Germania Inferior (83–c. 5th)
| Salian Franks |  | Batavi |  |  |
unpopulated
(4th–c. 5th) | Saxons | Salian Franks
(4th–c. 5th) |  |
Frisian Kingdom
(c. 6th–734) |  | Frankish Kingdom (481–843)—Carolingian Empire (800–843)
Austrasia (511–687)
|  |
Middle Francia (843–855) | West
Francia
(843–) |
Kingdom of Lotharingia (855– 959)
Duchy of Lower Lorraine (959–) |
Frisia |  |  |

Frisian
Freedom
(11–16th
century) |
County of
Holland
(880–1432) |
Bishopric of
Utrecht
(695–1456) |
Duchy of
Brabant
(1183–1430)

Duchy of
Guelders
(1046–1543) |
County of
Flanders
(862–1384) |
County of
Hainaut
(1071–1432)

County of
Namur
(981–1421) |
P.-Bish.
of Liège

(980–1794) |
Duchy of
Luxem-
bourg
(1059–1443)

Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482) |  |

Habsburg Netherlands (1482–1795)
(Seventeen Provinces after 1543)  |   |

Dutch Republic
(1581–1795) |
Spanish Netherlands
(1556–1714) |   |

Austrian Netherlands
(1714–1795) |  |

United States of Belgium
(1790) |
R. Liège
(1789–'91) |
|  |   |

Batavian Republic (1795–1806)
Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810) |
associated with French First Republic (1795–1804)
part of First French Empire (1804–1815)

Princip. of the Netherlands (1813–1815) |
Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830) |
Gr D. L.
(1815–)

Kingdom of the Netherlands (1839–) |
Kingdom of Belgium (1830–)
|  |
Gr D. of
Luxem-
bourg
(1890–)

### Background

[edit]

The Diocese of Utrecht was established in 695 when Saint Willibrord was consecrated bishop of the Frisians at Rome by Pope Sergius I. With the consent of the Frankish ruler, Pippin of Herstal, he settled in an old Roman fort in Utrecht. After Willibrord's death the diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the Frisians,[citation needed] and later on of the Vikings. Whether Willibrord could be called the first bishop of Utrecht is doubtful; as James Palmer points out, "there was no real concept of a well-defined bishopric until at least the days of Alberic (775–84)". And while Saint Boniface is referred to in his hagiographies as the successor of Willibrord (and, in turn, Gregory of Utrecht is referred to as the successor to Willibrord and Boniface), this does not necessarily mean "successor as bishop", but rather that they succeeded each other as missionaries to the Frisians.[1]

### Foundation

[edit]

Better times appeared during the reign of the Saxon emperors, who frequently summoned the Bishops of Utrecht to attend the imperial councils and diets. In 1024 the bishops were made Princes of the Holy Roman Empire and the new Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was formed. The secular territory over which it ruled was known as Sticht Utrecht or Het Sticht (a sticht was any piece of land governed by a bishop or abbot). This territory was divided into the Nedersticht (Lower Sticht, roughly corresponding to the present day province of Utrecht) and Oversticht (Upper Sticht, encompassing the present-day provinces of Overijssel, Drenthe, and part of Groningen).

In 1122, with the Concordat of Worms, the Emperor's right of investiture was annulled, and the cathedral chapter received the right to elect the bishop. It was, however, soon obligated to share this right with the four other collegiate chapters in the city. The Counts of Holland and Guelders, between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the filling of the episcopal see. This often led to disputes and consequently the Holy See frequently interfered in the election. After the middle of the 14th century the popes repeatedly appointed the bishop directly without regard to the five chapters.

It was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle, until 1548 when it joined the Burgundian Circle as part of the Habsburg Netherlands.

In 1527, the Bishop sold his territories, and thus his secular authority, to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the principality became an integral part of the Habsburg dominions. The chapters transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V and his government, a measure to which Pope Clement VII gave his consent, under political pressure after the Sack of Rome.

### Dissolution

[edit]

The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was conquered by Habsburg troops in 1528. The southwestern Nedersticht core territory around the city of Utrecht became the Lordship of Utrecht, whilst the southern part of the Oversticht was transformed into the Lordship of Overijssel. The northern parts were annexed in 1536 as the County of Drenthe.

## Prince-bishops

[edit]

This is a list of prince-bishops only. For a full list of bishops and archbishops of Utrecht, see List of bishops and archbishops of Utrecht.

* Adalbold II (1010–1026)
* Bernold (1026/7–1054)
* William I (1054–1076)
* Conrad (1076–1099)
* Burchard (1100–1112)
* Godbald (1114–1127)
* Andreas van Cuijk (1127/8–1139)
* Hartbert (1139–1150)
* Herman van Horne (1151–1156)
* Godfrey van Rhenen (1156–1178)
* Baldwin II van Holland (1178–1196)
* Arnold I van Isenburg (1196–1197)
* Dirk I van Holland (1197)
* Dirk II van Are (van Ahr) (1197/8–1212)
* Otto I van Gelre (1212–1215)
* Otto II van Lippe (1216–1227)
* Wilbrand van Oldenburg (1227–1233)
* Otto III van Holland (1233–1249)
* Gozewijn van Amstel (van Randerath) (1249–1250)
* Henry I van Vianden (1250/2–1267)
* John I of Nassau (1267–1290)
* John II van Sierck (1290–1296)
* Willem II Berthout (1296–1301)
* Guy van Avennes (1301–1317)
* Frederik II van Sierck (1317–1322)
* Jacob van Oudshoorn (1322)
* Jan III van Diest (1322–1340)
* Jan IV van Arkel (1342–1364)
* Jan V van Virneburg (1364–1371)
* Arnold II of Horne (1371–1379)
* Floris van Wevelinkhoven (1379–1393)
* Frederik III van Blankenheim (1393–1423)
* Rudolf van Diepholt (1423–1455)
* Zweder van Culemborg (1425–1433)
* Walraven van Meurs (1434–1448)
* Gijsbrecht van Brederode (1455–1456)
* David of Burgundy (1456–1496)
* Frederick IV of Baden (1496–1517)
* Philip of Burgundy (1517–1524)
* Henry of the Palatinate (1524–1529)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Adalbold II of Utrecht was bishop of the Diocese of Utrecht from 1010.
2. ^ Henry of the Palatinate remained bishop of the Diocese of Utrecht until 1529.

## References

[edit]

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding articles in Dutch and German. (January 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

* View a machine-translated version of the Dutch article.
* Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
* Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 220 articles in the main category, and specifying`|topic=` will aid in categorization.
* Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
* You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is `Content in this edit is translated from the existing Dutch Wikipedia article at [[:nl:Sticht Utrecht]]; see its history for attribution.`
* You may also add the template `{{Translated|nl|Sticht Utrecht}}` to the talk page.
* For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

|

1. ^ Palmer, James T. (2009). Anglo-Saxons in a Frankish World (690-900). Studies in the Early Middle Ages. Vol. 19\. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 163–66\. ISBN 9782503519111.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Ring, Trudy; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul, eds. (1995). "Utrecht". International dictionary of historic places. Vol. 2\. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 761\. ISBN 188496401X.

* Gosses, Izaak H. (1909). "De Bisschop van Utrecht, het Domkapittel en de Groninger Prefect". Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis en Oudheidkunde (in Dutch). ser.4 v.7. 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff: 25–135\. hdl:2027/mdp.39015026699788. OCLC 560305125. Retrieved 2014-09-15.

## External links

[edit]

* Apostolisch vicarissen van de Hollandse Zending (in Dutch)
* Budde, Paul. "Hamaland, Bishopric (Sticht) Utrecht incl. Oversticht (Drente, Overijssel)". PaulBuddeHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2014-01-18.

* v
* t
* e

Netherlands articles

Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

History|

* Germanic tribes
* Roman Era
* Frisii, Chamavi, Batavi, Cananefates
* Migration Period
* Saxons, Frisians, Franks
* Dorestad, Utrecht
* Development urban centers
* Frisian Kingdom
* Frankish Kingdom
* Middle Francia
* Lower Lorraine
* Flanders, Holland, Frisian Freedom
* Brabant, Guelders
* Holy Roman Empire
* Burgundian Netherlands
* Habsburg Netherlands
* Renaissance
* Seventeen Provinces
* Spanish Netherlands
* Eighty Years' War
* Dutch Republic
* Golden Age
* Batavian Revolution
* Batavian Republic
* Kingdom of Holland
* Incorporation
* Principality
* United Kingdom
* World War II
* Nazi invasion
* Dutch Liberation Day
* Proclamation of Indonesian Independence
* Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
* Same-sex marriage
* Great Recession
* European debt crisis
* Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
* Coronavirus pandemic

Geography|

* Birds
* Cities
* Delta Works
* Earthquakes
* Extreme points
* Flood control
* Gas field
* Islands
* Lakes
* Mammals
* Mountains and hills
* Regions
* Rivers
* Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta
* Volcanoes
* World Heritage Sites
* Zuiderzee Works

Politics|

* Abortion
* Cabinet
* Climate change
* Constitution
* Corruption
* Demographics
* Drug policy
* Education
* Elections
* Euthanasia
* Health care
* Homelessness
* Foreign relations
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Immigration
* Law
* Enforcement
* Law Firms
* Monarch
* Municipalities
* Provinces
* Republicanism
* Parliament
* Political parties
* Prime Minister
* Military
* Water boards

Economy|

* AEX index
* Central bank
* Energy
* Euronext
* Polder model
* Taxation
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Trade unions

Transport|

* Cycling
* Public transport
* Rail transport
* Road transport

Culture|

* Architecture
* Art
* Cannabis
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Wine
* Customs and etiquette
* Decorations and medals
* Irreligion
* Languages
* Literature
* Media
* Music
* Orders of knighthood
* People
* Pornography
* Prostitution
* Public holidays
* Religion
* Sport
* Symbols
* Anthem
* Coat of arms
* Flag
* Lion
* Terminology

* Outline

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (1500–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire

Prince-bishops|

* Cambrai (until 1678)
* Corvey1
* Liège
* Minden2
* Münster
* Osnabrück
* Paderborn
* Utrecht (until 1548)
* Verden (until 1648)

The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (red) within the Holy Roman Empire (white) after 1548

Prince-abbots|

* Corvey2
* Essen
* Herford
* Kornelimünster
* Stavelot–Malmedy
* Thorn
* Werden

Secular|

* Arenberg
* Cleves with Mark
* East Frisia1
* Jülich–Berg
* Guelders (until 1548)
* Luxemburg (until 1548)
* Minden1
* Moers1
* Nassau-Dillenburg1
* Verden1

Counts / Lords|

| From 1500|

* Bentheim
* Bronkhorst (until 1719)
* Diepholz
* Drenthe (until 1548)
* East Frisia (until 1667)
* Groningen (until 1548)
* Guelders (until 1548)
* Horne3 (until 1614)
* Hoya
* Lingen3
* Lippe
* Manderscheid (until 1546)
* Moers (until 1541)
* Nassau
* Diez
* Hadamar
* Dillenburg (until 1664)
* Oldenburg
* Overijssel (until 1548)
* Pyrmont
* Ravensberg3
* Reichenstein
* Rietberg
* Salm-Reifferscheid
* Sayn
* Schaumburg
* Tecklenburg
* Virneburg
* Wied
* Winneburg and Beilstein
* Zutphen (until 1548)

|

From 1792|

* Anholt
* Blankenheim and Gerolstein
* Gemen
* Gimborn
* Gronsfeld
* Hallermund
* Holzappel
* Kerpen-Lommersum
* Myllendonk
* Reckheim
* Schleiden
* Wickrath
* Wittem
* Utrecht (until 1548)

Status
uncertain|

* Delmenhorst
* Fagnolle
* Schaumburg
* Hesse
* Lippe
* Spiegelberg
* Steinfurt

Cities|

* Aachen
* Cologne
* Dortmund
* Duisburg?
* Herford?
* Verden (until 1648)
* Warburg?

1 from 1648     2 until 1648     3 without seat in Imperial Diet     ? status uncertain

Circles est. 1500: Bavarian, Swabian, Upper Rhenish, Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Franconian, (Lower) Saxon

* Circles est. 1512: Austrian, Burgundian, Upper Saxon, Electoral Rhenish
*   Unencircled territories

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template