Christian was of the family of and ruled the small county of
Bucha. He entered the church under the patronage of
Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia, who helped him to the position of cathedral provost of
Merseburg. In 1160, with the murder of the Archbishop
Arnold of Mainz, Mainz was placed under an interdict. Some of the cathedral's canons fled to
Frankfurt and there elected Christian archbishop. Others, however, elected
Rudolf of Zähringen. The
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, however, convened the
Synod of Lodi and had
Pope Victor IV depose both candidates and raise
Conrad of Wittelsbach to the episcopal seat on 20 June 1161.
First trip into Italy Christian became provost of
Mainz Cathedral in 1162, as well as in
Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, and accompanied the emperor on his Italian expedition of 1163. In 1165, Conrad of Wittelsbach refused to recognise the imperial antipope,
Paschal III. Frederick and Paschal immediately appointed Christian to the bishopric and he was recognised throughout the empire, but not by
Pope Alexander III. The
Diet of Würzburg was held, proclaiming Frederick's intentions. Christian marched into
Latium, harassed the Romans, procured a treaty whereby they would recognise Paschal, and sacked
Anagni. In 1167, Frederick set out to impose Paschal in the
Lateran by force, and Christian accompanied him. On 4 March, he was consecrated priest and the next day, bishop. Christian then set out on the warpath. He ferociously repressed
Narni for opposing the emperor and Paschal. Then, in May, the Romans amassed a large army of 40,000 and besieged
Tusculum, where the imperialist
Count Raino called in the forces of
Rainald of Dassel, the
archbishop of Cologne and archchancellor of Italy. Help was then requested from Christian, then in
Ancona. With 1,300 Germans and Brabantines, and the men of
Robert II of Bassunvilla, Christian encamped beside
Monte Porzio outside the city. The Romans spurned all attempts by Christian at diplomatic resolution and attacked. The momentous
Battle of Monte Porzio took place on May 29. The Roman and Papal troops were defeated, Tusculum preserved, and the road opened to Rome. The emperor and his antipope entered Rome, but the onset of
malarial weather cut down 2,000 men, including Rainald of Dassel. Christian was appointed archchancellor of Italy in his place. The next year, he assisted the Romans in razing
Albano.
Diplomat After returning to Germany, where he made one of only two visits of his career to Mainz, he mediated between Frederick and the
Saxon duke Henry the Lion. In 1168, he was in
Rouen, mediating between
Henry II of England and
Louis VII of France. It was Christian's idea to crown Frederick's son
Henry as
King of the Romans at
Bamberg in June 1169. He also tried to end the
Great Schism between Eastern and Western churches, which brought him to
Greece in 1170 as an ambassador of the
Holy Roman Emperor. In 1177, he was one of the chief negotiators of the
Treaty of Venice between Emperor and Pope, in which the Emperor formally acknowledged Alexander as pope and abandoned his own antipope, Callistus III. He thus received the recognition of Alexander III and received the
pallium.
Second trip into Italy Not only a diplomat, in 1171, Christian had accompanied Frederick into Italy again. He attacked all cities aligned with Alexander. Allied with
Venice, he
besieged Ancona in 1173, but was forced to retreat; the widow
Stamira, later accounted an Italian national heroine, had an important role in the city's resistance. In 1174, he sacked
Terni and in 1176,
Fermo. On 12 March 1178, Christian escorted the pope into Rome. He then besieged
Viterbo, where the
Antipope Callistus III was staying. He forced his surrender to Alexander and the subjection of the city, which had begged the assistance of
Conrad of Montferrat. In March 1179, he took part in the
Third Lateran Council, which reversed all the acts of Paschal III. He then turned to defend Viterbo from Conrad, whom he captured and who then captured him at
Camerino in September and held him prisoner for fifteen months in the castle of
San Flaviano, then in
Rocca Venere, and finally in
Acquapendente. According to the Byzantine historian
Niketas Choniates, Conrad benefited from the financial support of the Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos and was prepared to send his captive to Constantinople as a hostage, but Manuel finally refused the suggestion. After Christian's liberation he continued in Viterbo, even taking in the pope, who had left Rome. In 1181, when
Pope Lucius III likewise fled the city, Christian came to his assistance at Tusculum, which the Romans were besieging. He defeated the Romans twice and saved the pope and the city once again. He caught the same malarial fever which had killed 2,000 after Monte Porzio, though
Roger of Hoveden suggests he drank from a poisoned fountain. He died at Tusculum and was buried there. Conrad of Wittelsbach was again made archbishop of Mainz. Christian was a diplomat and a soldier, never a prelate, throughout his life. His legacy and character are summed up by
Gregorovius: . ==Notes==