Pilgrim I (archbishop of Salzburg) facts for kids

Pilgrim I (died 8 October 923) was an important Bavarian nobleman and church leader. He served as the archbishop of Salzburg from 907 until his death. He was also in charge of the royal chapel and the office that wrote official documents for King Conrad I from 911 to 918.

Early Life and Church Role

Pilgrim came from important old Bavarian families, the Aribonid and Sighardinger groups. Members of these families had held important church positions, like the bishopric of Freising, in the past.

Pilgrim was already a church official when, in 889, King Arnulf of Germany gave him a large forest called the Zillertal. This area remained under the control of the rulers of Salzburg for many centuries. Pilgrim kept good relationships with the Carolingian royal family, who ruled at the time.

When Theotmar, the archbishop of Salzburg, died during the battle of Pressburg in July 907, Pilgrim was chosen to take his place on 7 September. He was officially made archbishop by 22 October. He likely got this important job during a difficult time because he was close to the royal court.

However, the Hungarian victory at Pressburg meant that Salzburg lost an important area where it had been spreading Christianity. Because of this, Pilgrim received special gifts and lands from the king to make up for the loss.

Becoming Archbishop of Salzburg

In 908, King Louis IV gave Pilgrim a royal estate called Salzburghofen. This gift included control over the important old saltworks at Reichenhall. Salt was very valuable back then!

The nuns from the convent at Altmünster, who had probably been forced to leave their home because of the Hungarians, also came under the protection of Pilgrim, along with Margrave Aribo of Austria and King Louis.

Pilgrim's Influence and Challenges

In 911, Conrad I became the new German king. He was the first king who was not from the Carolingian family. King Conrad appointed Pilgrim as his chief chaplain and chief secretary. This meant Pilgrim had a very important role in the king's court.

In September 916, Pilgrim attended a big meeting of bishops from the entire kingdom at Hohenaltheim. At this meeting, the bishops decided to support the king and speak out against the rebellions of Duke Arnulf of Bavaria and Duke Erchanger of Swabia. They also decided to bring the German church closer to the Papacy (the Pope in Rome). As a result, Duke Arnulf went into exile in Hungary, and Pilgrim took charge of Bavaria while he was away.

After King Conrad died in 918, Arnulf returned. The Bavarian nobles seemed to choose him as their king, opposing Conrad's successor, Henry I. In 921, Henry and Arnulf reached an agreement. Henry recognized Arnulf's right to rule Bavaria almost independently, and in return, Arnulf recognized Henry as the true king. This agreement meant that Arnulf could appoint bishops in Bavaria, which greatly reduced Pilgrim's power. He was no longer the king's chief chaplain with influence across the whole kingdom. Instead, he became mainly the head of the church just within Bavaria.

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