View source for Wilbrand of Oldenburg

{{more citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type        = Bishop
| honorific-prefix =
| name        = Wilbrand of Oldenburg
| title       = Bishop of Utrecht
| image       = SA 5043-Anno 1227. De graaf van Gelre en de heer van Amstel in het Domkapittel van Utrecht.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Wilbrand of Olderburg is visited by the lords of Guelders and Amstel after their release after the [[Battle of Ane]]
| church      = [[Catholic Church]]
| archdiocese =
| diocese     = [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Archdiocese of Utrecht]]
| see         =
| term        = 1227–1233
| predecessor =
| successor   =
<!--   Orders   -->
| ordination     =
| ordained_by    =
| consecration   =
| consecrated_by =
| cardinal       =
| rank           =
<!--   Personal details   -->
| birth_date    = Before 1180
| birth_place   =
| death_date    = 26 July 1233
| death_place   =
| previous_post =
| nationality   =
}}
'''Wilbrand of Oldenburg''' (before 1180 - [[Zwolle]], 26 July 1233) was a bishop of [[Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn|Paderborn]] and of [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Utrecht]].
==Family==
Wilbrand was the son of Henry II,<ref name=TF>[https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315271545-8/wilbrand-oldenburg-journey-syria-lesser-armenia-cyprus-holy-land-1211%E2%80%931212-new-edition-denys-pringle Taylor Francis website, Abstract of ''Wilbrand of Oldenburg’s Journey to Syria, Lesser Armenia, Cyprus, and the Holy Land (1211-1212)'']</ref> Count of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen, and Beatrix of Hallermund, daughter of [[Wilbrand I, Count of Loccum-Hallermund]]. His uncle [[Gerhard of Oldenburg]] was bishop of [[Osnabrück]] from 1192 to 1216 and archbishop of [[Archdiocese of Bremen|Bremen]] from 1216 to 1219. Wilbrand was also related to the count of [[County of Holland|Holland]] and [[Guelders]].
Wilbrand's older brothers Burchard of Wildenbrug and Henry III, Count of Oldenburg were killed in [[Stedinger Crusade|a crusade against the Stedingers]]. His other brother Engelmar was provost at Munster.
{{anchor|Itinerary}}
==Life==
From 1211 to 1212 Wilbrand was Canon of [[Hildesheim]], where he was ordered by [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] to prepare the [[Fifth Crusade]] to the [[Holy Land]]. He travelled throughout the region<ref>[https://cvar.severis.org/en/explore/our-blog/what-i-saw/wilbrand-count-of-oldenburg-reached-cyprus-in-1211-and-visited-stavrovouni/ CVAR website, ''What I Saw: Wilbrand, Count of Oldenburg, reached Cyprus in 1211 and visited Stavrovouni'', dated November 11, 2022]</ref><ref>[https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Beirut Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage website, ''Beirut'']</ref> and reported about this<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=61OjyWngtdsC&dq=Wilbrand+of+Oldenburg+Bishop&pg=PA133 Google Books website, ''The Matter of Araby in Medieval England'', by Dorothee Metlitzki, page 133 (1977)]</ref> in his ''Itinerary of the Holy Land'' ({{langx|la|Itinerarium Terrae Sanctae}}), an important historical source on the crusades and crusader castles. He was supported in this task by the grandmaster of the [[Teutonic Knights]], [[Hermann von Salza]].
Afterwards Wilbrand was made provost in Hildesheim and of the St. Nicholas church in [[Magdeburg]]. The next years Wilbrand spent a lot of time in Italy as envoy of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]].
In 1225 Wilbrand was consecrated as bishop of Paderborn, where he successfully pacified the rebellious nobility. In 1226 he was temporarily given governance of the bishoprics of [[Bishopric of Münster|Münster]] and [[Bishopric of Osnabrück|Osnabrück]], after their bishops had been deposed as a result of their complicity in the murder of [[Engelbert II of Berg]], Archbishop of Cologne.
In 1227 Wilbrand was moved by pope [[Gregory IX]] to the [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Bishopric of Utrecht]] because of his military experience, in order to replace bishop [[Otto II of Lippe|Otto van Lippe]], who had died at the [[Battle of Ane]].
After a failed attempt to gain control of [[Coevorden]] with support from the [[Frisians]] in the Frisian-Drenths War, Wilbrand defeated the Drenths at [[Peize]]. Wilbrand invited the Drenth commander [[Rudolph II van Coevorden]] to castle [[Hardenberg]] for negotiations. But upon Rudolph's arrival he was taken prisoner, and subsequently executed by means of the [[breaking wheel]]. Afterwards his body was impaled on a stake and shown to the crowd.
Wilbrand had built the castle of [[Hardenberg]] himself to replace the vulnerable town of Nijenstede to serve as protection against the Drenths. In 1230 the bishop gave [[city rights]] to [[Zwolle]] as a reward for their support in strengthening the castle.
Wilbrand was interred in the St. Servaas-abbey in Utrecht.<ref name=TF />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|
| title = [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Bishop of Utrecht]]
| years=1227–1233
| before = [[Otto II of Lippe]]
| after = [[Otto III van Holland]]
}}
{{end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Medieval travelogues of Palestine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldenburg, Wilbrand Van}}
[[Category:1233 deaths]]
[[Category:Prince-bishops of Utrecht]]
[[Category:13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Christians of the Fifth Crusade]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]