Victor II.
|
 |
born c. 1018, Swabia
died July 28, 1057, Arezzo, Tuscany [Italy]
original name Gebhard Of Dollnstein-hirschberg
Pope from 1055 to 1057.
Victor was of noble birth and was appointed bishop of Eichstätt in 1042. He eventually became chief adviser to the Holy Roman emperor Heinrich III. (1017-1056), who in 1054 nominated him as Pope St. Leo IX.'s successor. After his consecration on April 13, 1055, Victor joined Henry at Florence. There, in June, they held a council that condemned clerical marriages and simony. In similar synods at Lyon (1055) and Toulouse (1056), he expanded his clerical reform.
In 1056 he was summoned to the imperial court in Germany to attend Henry's death (October 5). As guardian of the emperor's infant son, Heinrich IV. (1050-1106), and as adviser to the empress regent Agnes, Victor wielded enormous power, which he employed tactfully to maintain peace throughout the empire and to strengthen the papacy against baronial aggressions.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
Web