In the early twelfth century, Martin, archbishop of Gniezno, was trapped in the church at Spycimierz by a surprise Pomeranian attack. What happened next may come as a surprise to those whose ideas about medieval bishops have been shaped by the stories of martyrs such as Thomas Becket. Fearful of death, the archbishop, along with every other cleric present, hid. The chroniclers who recorded this incident tried to justify his actions: one pointed out that the clergy had no weapons with which to defend themselves, and boasted that Archbishop Martin “did not hesitate to climb, a tremulous old man, where even a young man would fear to” (43). Another stressed that it was the archbishop's actions (including prohibiting idolatry) that had provoked the attack. By escaping, he was simply outwitting his enemies and emulating Jesus, who had hidden when he was stoned by the Jews; it was for the good of both church and state that he should survive.
For the historian, however, it is tempting to see this story as rare evidence of the very human emotions of a long-dead man; perhaps it is even possible to read this story as proof of a cowardly nature? It is in this light that the incident is considered in Episcopal Power and Personality in Medieval Europe, 900–1480. Edited by Peter Coss, Chris Dennis, Melissa Julian-Jones, and Angelo Silvestri, the essay collection, which began life as (although it is not simply the proceedings of) a conference on the same subject, held in Cardiff in 2015. Uncovering the personalities of men who lived many centuries ago is, as Coss et al. (and several of the contributors) acknowledge, an extremely challenging task. It is accomplished here with varying degrees of success.
The fourteen essays that make up the volume cover a wide chronological and geographical range; indeed, one of the great strengths of the book is that it will introduce many English-speaking readers to mainland European bishops with whom they were previously unfamiliar. Radosław Kotecki and Jacek Maciejewski, for example, consider the notion of episcopal courage in relation to several twelfth-century Polish bishops; Sara Ellis Nilsson examines how non-saintly bishops are presented in Scandinavian hagiographies; and Andrea Vanina Neyra analyses a negative account of the episcopate of Giselher of Merseburg (971–81). There are also new perspectives on better-known individuals, among them Thomas Becket (whom Ian Bass compares to Thomas Cantilupe of Hereford) and William of Tyre (whose historical writings are re-examined by Andrew Buck). In their respective essays, Christine Axen, writing on Zoen Tencarari of Avignon (1241–1261) and Jack Cunningham, writing on Robert Grosseteste of Lincoln (1235–1253), offer compelling reevaluations of these bishops’ seemingly harsh rule in the context of their intellectual endeavors.
The broad scope of the volume also highlights the many matters with which a bishop had to concern himself. Secular concerns are well represented: Brian Pavlac's study of Albero of Trier introduces a bishop best known for his military exploits; Sam Janssens highlights the role of bishops in the Peace councils held in the early eleventh-century archdiocese of Reims; and Antonio Antonetti discusses the politically shrewd (and fiercely anti-Norman) Bishop William II of Troia (1106–1141). Unfortunately, political activity could wreck a prelate's reputation, as several members of the early thirteenth-century English episcopate discovered: Paul Webster convincingly argues that the careers of men such as Hugh de Nonant need reevaluating, the opinions of both medieval and modern historians having been prejudiced by their association with King John.
Other contributors focus on the ecclesiastical sphere. Around the year 1200, three Castilian bishops attempted to reform the charters of their respective chapters; Kyle Lincoln suggests that their individual ideas and priorities may be reflected in their varied approaches to this task. Focused on Spain, Mercedes López-Mayán considers the liturgical manuscripts produced for Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, archbishop of Toledo (1446–1182), complete with high-quality reproductions of key folios. Several centuries earlier, Gerard of Csanád (977–1046), the subject of Mónika Belucz's essay, was a monk and a missionary before he became a bishop; notably for his piety, his saintly reputation was ensured when he was martyred during a pagan revolt.
Gerard's fatal encounter provides a striking counterpoint to Archbishop Martin's escapade; perhaps, we might be tempted to wonder, their different fates hint at two very different personalities? Medieval history being what it is, this collection can offer only such tantalizing possibilities, and the reader gets a far stronger sense of the officeholder than of the man behind the miter. Nevertheless, for scholars of the medieval episcopate (a group that, happily, seems to have grown considerably in number in recent years), it offers significant insights into the challenges involved in being a medieval bishop and the many different ways in which an individual might approach this task.
