Ebbo

Who was Ebbo?

Ebbo was archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German serf on the royal demesne of Charlemagne. He was educated at his court and became the librarian and councillor of Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, son of Charlemagne. When Louis became emperor, he appointed Ebbo to the see of Rheims, then vacant after the death of Wulfaire.

He was an important figure in the spread of Christianity in the north of Europe. At the insistence of Louis, in 822, he went to Rome and asked Pope Pascal I to become the papal legate to the North. He was licensed to preach to the Danes and he and Halitgar, bishop of Cambrai, and Willerich, bishop of Bremen, went there in 823. He made short subsequient trips, but all with little success. Saint Ansgar was more successful a few years later.

When Louis's sons by his first marriage to Ermengarde of Hesbaye rebelled in 830, Ebbo remained loyal. But in 833 he joined the insurrection and on 13 November presided over the synod in the Church of Saint Mary in Soissons which deposed Louis and forced him to publicly confess many crimes, none of which he had, in fact, committed. As a reward, Lothair gave Ebbo the Abbey of Saint Vaast.