Notker of Liège facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Notker of Liège
Prince-Bishop of Liège
A late 19th-century image of Notker of Liège, by Louis Gallait
Diocese	Liège
See	Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège
Elected	972
Predecessor	Eraclus
Successor	Baldrick II
Personal details
Born	940 Jonschwil, Second Kingdom of Burgundy (now in St Gallen, Switz.)
Died	10 April 1008 (aged 67–68)

Notker (also known as Notger) of Liège (Latin: Notgerus) was born around 940 and died on April 10, 1008 AD. He was a Benedictine monk and an important bishop. From 980 until his death, he was the first Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Liège, which is now in Belgium.

Life of Notker

Notker was born around 940. He probably came from a noble family in Swabia, a region in Germany. Records show he was a leader at the Saint Gall Abbey in Switzerland.

In 969, he became a special chaplain for the emperor in Italy. Three years later, in 972, Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor chose him to be the bishop of Liège. Liège was a church area connected to the Archbishop of Cologne.

In 980, Notker gained more power. He received control over the county of Huy. This meant he now had both religious and worldly power over the area. This made him the first Prince-Bishop of Liège.

Notker traveled to Rome for the crowning of Emperor Otto II. He also helped make a peace agreement between Emperor Henry II and the king of France. Notker was very loyal to Emperor Otto III. He went with Otto III to Rome and, after the emperor's death, brought his body back to Germany for burial in 1002.

Notker's Achievements

After gaining worldly power, Notker changed Liège. He turned the city, where the bishop lived, into the capital of a church-led state within the Holy Roman Empire. He was a great builder and leader.

• He built a new cathedral, Saint Lambert's.
• He built seven collegiate churches, including St. John's in Liège. This church was designed like the famous Aachen Cathedral.
• He also built two abbeys and a strong city wall to protect Liège.

Notker also made Liège famous for its schools. Students from all over Europe came to study there. He brought in a scholar named Leo the Calabrian, which allowed students to learn Greek. This made the school's lessons much wider.

Many important people were taught by Notker or at his schools. Some of them include Hubald, Wazo of Liège, Franco, Gunther of Salzburg, and Adalbald of Utrecht. People at the time believed Notker's achievements were greater than any leader before him.

He greatly improved the city's buildings, defenses, trade, and education. Because of his work, Liège was sometimes called the "Northern Athens."

Authorship and Writings

For a while, people thought Notker wrote a book called Latin: Gesta episcoporum Leodiensium, which means Deeds of the Bishops of Liège. However, it was actually written by Heriger of Lobbes under Notker's support.

A historian named Johannes Fried believes Notker, not another writer, wrote Latin: Vita sancti Adalberti episcopi Pragensis. This book is about the life of Adalbert of Prague and was written around the year 1000. This book is important because it contains the first known mention of Danzig/Gdansk, calling it Latin: urbs Gyddanyzc.

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  "Notker". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton. 
• Schoolmasters of the Tenth Century. Cora E.Lutz. Archon Books 1977.
• Notger de Liège at la civilisation au Xe siècle. Brussels. 1905.

See also

In Spanish: Notker de Lieja para niños