Bishopric of Liège
The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present Belgium. It was headed by the Prince-Bishop of Liège. Its territory included most of the present Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg, and some exclaves in other parts of Belgium and the Netherlands. The capital was Liège.
The bishop of Liège received secular powers over part of the diocese of Liège in the 10th century. The bishopric was expanded with the county of Bouillon in 1096 (ceded to France in 1678), the county of Loon (in French: Looz) in 1366 and the county of Horne (near Weert, Netherlands) in 1568. The bishopric of Liège was not part of the Seventeen Provinces or the Southern Netherlands, but its politics were influenced by the dukes of Burgundy and later the Habsburgs.
The bishopric was dissolved in 1795, when it was conquered by France. Its territory was divided over the départements Meuse-Inférieure and Ourte.
The most important cities (bonnes villes) of the bishopric were Liège, Beringen, Bilzen, Borgloon, Bree, Châtelet, Ciney, Couvin, Dinant, Fosses-la-Ville, Hamont, Hasselt, Herk-de-Stad, Huy, Maaseik, Peer, Sint-Truiden, Stokkem, Thuin, Tongeren, Verviers, Visé and Waremme.
The city Maastricht fell under the joint jurisdiction of the Prince-Bishop of Liège and the Duke of Brabant (later the Estates-General of the United Provinces).
Bishops of Liège
- Maternus (c. 315)
- Servatius of Tongern (342-384)
- Aravatius
- Falko (c. 498-c. 512)
- Domitian (?-560)
- Ebergisus
- Saint Monulph (549-588, founder of the Church of Liège)
- Saint Gondulph (589-614)
- Saint Ebregise (614-627)
- Saint John I Agnus (627-647)
- Saint Amand (647-650)
- Saint Remaclus (652-662)
- Saint Theodard (662-669)
- Saint Lambert (669-705 or later; patron saint of the diocese)
- Saint Hubert (705 or before-727; patron saint of the city)
- Floribert (727-736 ou 738)
- Fulcaire (736 ou 738-769)
- Agilfride (769-787)
- Gerbert (787-809)
- Walcaud (809-831)
- Erard (831-838 or 840)
- Hartgard (838 or 840-857)
- Franco (858-901)
- Stephen (901-920)
- Richer (920-945)
- Hugh I (945-947)
- Farabert (947-953)
- Rathier (953-955)
- Baldrick I (955-959)
- Eraclus (959-971)
Prince-bishops of Liège
- Notger (972-1008; founder of the Principality of Liège)
- Baldrick II (1008-1018)
- Wolbodo (1018-1021)
- Durand (1021-1025)
- Reginard (1025-1037)
- Nithard (1037-1042)
- Wazo (1042-1048)
- Theodwin (1048-1075)
- Henry I of Verdun (1075-1091)
- Otbert (1091-1119)
- Frederick of Namur (1119-1121)
- Albero I of Louvain (1122-1128)
- Alexander I (1128-1135)
- Albero II of Chiny-Namur (1135-1145)
- Henry II of Leez]] (1145-1164)
- Alexander II (1164-1167)
- Ralph of Zähringen (1167-1191)
- Saint Albert of Louvain (1191-1192)
- Lothaire of Hochstaden (1192-1193)
- Simon of Limbourg (1193-1195)
- Albert of Cuyck (1195-1200)
- Hugh of Pierrepont (1200-1229)
- John of Eppes (1229-1238)
- William of Savoy (1238-1239)
- Robert of Thourotte (1240-1246)
- Henry of Guelders (1247-1274)
- John of Enghien (1274-1281)
- John of Flanders (1282-1291)
- Hugh of Chalon (1295-1301)
- Adolph of Waldeck (1301-1302)
- Thibaut of Bar (1302-1312)
- Adolph of La Marck (1313-1344)
- Englebert of La Marck (1345-1364)
- John of Arckel (1364-1378)
- Arnold of Hornes (1378-1389)
- John of Bavaria (1389-1418)
- John of Walenrode (1418-1419)
- John of Heinsberg (1419-1455)
- Louis of Bourbon (1456-1482)
- John of Hornes (1484-1505)
- Erard of La Marck (1505-1538)
- Corneille of Berghes (1538-1544)
- George of Austria (1544-1557)
- Robert of Berghes (1557-1564)
- Gerard of Grœsbeek (1564-1580)
- Ernest of Bavaria (1581-1612)
- Ferdinand of Bavaria (1612-1650)
- Maximilian-Henry of Bavaria (1650-1688)
- Jean-Louis of Elderen (1688-1694)
- Joseph-Clement of Bavaria (1694-1723)
- Georges-Louis de Berghes (1724-1743)
- Jean-Théodore de Bavière (1744-1763)
- Charles-Nicolas d'Oultremont (1763-1771)
- François-Charles de Velbruck (1772-1784)
- César-Constantin-François de Hœnsbrœck (1784-1792)
- François-Antoine-Marie de Méan (August 18, 1792-November 28, 1792)
- vacancy (November 29, 1792-April 20, 1793)
- François-Antoine-Marie de Méan (April 21, 1793-July 20, 1794)
Bishops of Liège
- vacancy (1793-1802)
- Jean-Évangéliste Zäpfel (1802-1808)
- vacancy (1808-1829)
- Corneille Richard Antoine von Bommel (1829-1852)
- Theodor Joseph de Montpellier (1852-1879)
- Victor Joseph Douterloux (1879-1901)
- Martin-Hubert Rutten (1902-1927)
- Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs (1927-1961)
- Guillaume Marie van Zuylen (1961-1986)
- Albert Houssiau (1986-2001)
- Aloysius Jousten (2001-present)
Categories: History of Belgium | Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe