Norbert of Xanten, St.

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NORBERT OF XANTEN, ST.

Founder of the premonstratensians and archbishop of Magdeburg; b. Xanten, Duchy of Cleves, Germany,

c. 1080; d. Magdeburg, Germany, June 6, 1134. Norbert was a son of the lord of Gennep and was made a canon at nearby Xanten. He served at the courts of Frederick, archbishop of Cologne (d. 1131), and Emperor Henry V. Norbert accompanied Henry to Rome; and although he repented of his part in the humiliation of Pope paschal ii in 1111, he remained with the emperor. In 1115 a bolt of lightning felled Norbert from his horse, and considering it an invitation to a life of perfection, he retired to Fürstenberg, a cell near Xanten, where he spent three years (1115–1118) in a life of penance. Ordained a priest, he unsuccessfully attempted to reform the canons of Xanten, and his occasional preaching journeys caused him to be called before the Synod of Fritzlar in 1118. Norbert then distributed his possessions to the poor and, barefoot, made a trip to Saint-Gilles, where Pope Gelasius II authorized him to preach throughout the universal Church. During 1119 he wandered through northern France, Hainault, and Brabant, preaching peace and reconciliation by his life of poverty and simplicity as well as by his words. On the advice of Pope Callistus II and with the support of Bartholomew, bishop of Laon (d. 1157), Norbert established a monastery near Laon in the isolated valley of Prémontré in 1120. In the same year he assisted at the Council of Soissons, which condemned Peter abelard. Norbert also traveled to Cologne for relics and on his return journey made a second foundation at Floreffe near Namur. Since his itinerant preaching had attracted many followers to Prémontré, a decision on their way of life was necessary, and Norbert decided that they should follow the Rule of St. Augustine. The life was chiefly contemplative, though the ministry of preaching was not excluded, certainly not for Norbert himself. Many foundations were made throughout Europe in the next few years, and in 1125 Norbert set out for Rome, where Pope Honorius II confirmed the order.

King Lothair III was at that time defending his crown against the Hohenstaufen, and at the Diet of Speyer in 1126, Norbert preached a sermon on loyalty and obedience that won him Lothair's continuing support. At Speyer the canons of the cathedral of Magdeburg were to choose a new archbishop in Lothair's presence, thus following the form established by the Concordat of Worms (1122). They chose Norbert, whose unwillingness was overcome only by pressure from Lothair and the papal legates. In July of 1126 Norbert, still barefoot, entered Magdeburg and was consecrated. He attempted to recover the lands of the Church lost through nepotism or confiscation and also to reform the lives of the clergy, but his efforts tended only to aggravate the discontent and rebellion in his diocese.

Meanwhile, the order Norbert had left behind at Prémontré went through a crisis without his leadership. Norbert summoned the Premonstratensian leaders to Magdeburg and asked them to choose as his successor hugh of fosse, who was able to give the order direction and structure. Norbert expected to aid his reform efforts by introducing Premonstratensian canons into Magdeburg, but this as well as his other reforms resulted only in several assassination attempts and the archbishop's temporary exile.

Since the Archdiocese of Magdeburg was located on the eastern edge of the empire, part of Norbert's work as archbishop involved attempting to Christianize the Wends, who inhabited the territory east of the Elbe River. Norbert never experienced there the success that he knew from his preaching in France, Belgium, and Germany. His real accomplishment in the East was the establishment of the Premonstratensians in Magdeburg and its suffragan dioceses. These in turn were later successful in bringing about the conversion of the Wends.

In the schism of 1130, Norbert supported Innocent II's claim to the papacy and helped persuade the emperor to adhere to Innocent's cause. He accompanied Lothair's expedition to Italy (1132–33) against Anacletus II (Peter Pierleoni) and joined Bernard of Clairvaux in a vain attempt to win over Anacletus by persuasion. Although his preaching helped strengthen the resistance to imperial attempts to win back the right of investiture, Norbert continued to serve Lothair after the trip back to Germany, until illness forced him to return to Magdeburg. His fever lasted until Pentecost of 1134. He died on June 6 and was buried on June 11 at the Premonstratensian church in Magdeburg. In 1582 Gregory XIII authorized a liturgical cult for St. Norbert, and in 1627 his body was moved from Magdeburg to Strahov Abbey in Prague. In 1672 Clement X extended his feast to the universal Church.

Feast: June 6.

Bibliography: Contemporary lives are the Vita A, ed. r. wilmans, Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores, 12:663–703, and Vita B, Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne, 217 v. (Paris 1878–90) 170:1253–1344, f. petit, Norbert et l'origine des Prémontré (Paris 1981). w. m. grauwen, Norbertus, aartsbisschop van Maagdenburg, (1126–1134) (Brussels 1978) (German translation with revisions: Norbert, Erzbischof von Magdeburg (1126–1134) [Duisburg 1986]). Analecta Praemonstratensia has many excellent articles on Norbert by w. m. grauwen, from 48 (1972) until 72 (1996). k. elm, ed., Norbert von Xanten, Adliger— Ordenstifter— Kirchenfürst (Cologne 1984).