Hugh of Chalon (bishop of Auxerre)

Hugh of Chalon (French: Hugues de Chalon; c. 975 – 4 November 1039) was the Count of Chalon and Bishop of Auxerre.[1]

Life

Auxerre Crypte

Hugh was the only son of Lambert of Chalon and his wife Adela (Adelais, Adelaide),[2] and was made a canon of the Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire in Autun.

Upon the death of his father in 978, Hugh became Count of Chalon.[2] Hugh's sister or rather half-sister Gerberga was married to Henry I, Duke of Burgundy. In 999, at the request of Duke Henry, Hugh was named Bishop of Auxerre.

The Benedictine house at Paray-le-Monial had been founded in 973 by Hugh's parents. By 999 it was in need of reform, and Count Hugh gave it to Cluny as a priory.

The large crypt of the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d'Auxerre was built between 1023 and 1030,[3] when he rebuilt the earlier Romanesque structure. The crypt was immense, with three naves and six traverses. It also featured a new architectural element, a disambulatory, a passage which permitted pilgrims to circulate and visit the tombs in the crypt without disturbing the religious services attended by the clergy.[4]

Some time between 1023 and 1036, the bishop made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.[5]

His successor was his sororal nephew, Count Theobald of Chalon, son of Hugh's sister Matilda (French: Mathilde).[6]

References

  1. ^ Bouchard 1987, p. 60.
  2. ^ a b Bouchard 1987, p. 308.
  3. ^ Cioffi, Paul L., "Cathédrale Saint-Étienne" Georgetown University
  4. ^ Lours, Mathieu . Dictionnaire des Cathédrales. Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot. (2018), p. 67 ISBN 978-2755-807653
  5. ^ Richard, Jean. The Crusades, C.1071-c.1291 United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 1999. p. 17
  6. ^ Bouchard 1987, p. 312.

Sources

  • Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1987). Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198. Cornell University Press.