Bishop Egilbert (in office 1045-1065)

There is only very little known about the family background of Bishop Egilbert of Passau. We only know that he was related to Bishop Gundakar II von Eichstätt (in office 1057- 1075) and to archbishop Siegfried von Mainz (in office 1067-1084). Both came from northern Bavaria.

Egilbert’s pontificate took place during relatively stable times. Before becoming Bishop in Passau, Egilbert served the Empress Agnes, the mother of Emperor Henry IV. This gave him close ties to the royals, which he knew how to use. One should emphasize Egilbert’s efforts to raise the discipline of the monks living in Passau’s convents. It is furthermore interesting to mention that the first coinage in Passau is recorded during his pontificate. In addition Egilbert is responsible for creating a chain of churches along the Danube River. These became necessary because of the expanding population which started settling outside of the city walls.

1045	Egilbert becomes the twenty-first Bishop of Passau
1045-1065	During his pontificate, he calls priests and monks back into the newly constructed convent of Saint Florian.
11. 12. 1046	First witnessed document of a Passau Bishop with a seal ( decree about the “Tenth” in favour of Zelle Richmarch)
1049	Egilbert receives hunting and forestry rights from Emperor Heinrich III for the estates between the rivers Sarming and Tümlingen.
1050	Egilbert sanctifies the church of Saint Paul. Furthermore during his pontificate he sanctifies the following churches: Agapituskapelle, the churches in Ernstbrunn, Korn and Trainskirchen.
1052 + 1055	Through intercession of the Empress Agnes Egilbert receives diverse documents securing the church’s property to the Bishop from the Emperor Heinrich III.
1055	Egilbert receives an estate in Kettlasbrun from the Emperor.
5. 17. 1065	Death of Egilbert in Passau.

Boshof, Egon (Hg.); Hartinger,Walter (Hg.); Lanzinner, Maximilian (Hg.); Möseneder, Karl (Hg.); Wolff, Hartmut (Hg.), 1999: Geschichte der Stadt Passau, Band I, Regensburg (Verlag Friedrich Pustet), Seiten 73- 76
Boshof, Egon, 1992: Die Regesten der Bischöfe von Passau 731-1206, Band II, Nr. 321-345, München (C.H. Beck´sche Verlagsbuchhandlung), Seiten 93- 100
Leidl, August, 1978: Die Bischöfe von Passau 739-1968 in Kurzbiographien, Passau (Verlag des Vereins für Ostbayrische Heimatforschung), Seite 21
Mader, Franz, 1995: Tausend Passauer, Lexikon zur Stadtgeschichte, Passau (Neue Presse Verlags GmbH) S. 54

edited and translated by: Alexander Heimann
(16.8.2004/13.5.2005)