Udo, Archbishop of Trier, dies in 1078…

Udo, Archbishop of Trier, dies in 1078 while besieging Tübingen with an imperial army.

Earlier known as Udo of Nellenburg, he was born in Tübingen, Swabia, as the eldest son of Count Eberhard of Nellenburg.

After the murder of Archbishop Cuno I of Trier, a foreigner, in early June 1066, the cathedral chapter had elected Udo, one of their number to replace him; Udo received priestly consecration in 1067.

A leading German voice in the campaign of Pope Alexander II against simony, Udo had become involved in the campaign against lay investiture being waged by Pope Gregory VII against the Emperor Henry IV beginning in 1075.

Regarded as a mediator in the dispute, he has been unable to maintain the peace but still works at a resolution.

He had negotiated a reconciliation between emperor and pope in August 1077 and maintained his own good terms with the Holy See, receiving a letter from the pope in March 1078 asking him to work further for the establishment of peace.

He will eventually be buried in Trier Cathedral.