Hincmar of Laon

Who was Hincmar of Laon?

Hincmar, called the Younger, was the bishop of Laon from 858 until his death. He was a nephew on his mother's side of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims. He supported the rebel abbot Carloman in 871.

In the beginning of 858 the younger Hincmar was elevated by his uncle's favour to the see of Laon, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Reims. He received in addition an abbey and an office at the court of Charles the Bald. His ambitious, overbearing, and violent disposition soon brought him into conflict not only with the king, but with his uncle and metropolitan.

To free himself from the authority of Hincmar of Reims, he invoked the decretals of the Pseudo-Isidore. Charles then took from the younger Hincmar his abbey and his court office, and sequestrated the revenues of the diocese, but the latter measure aroused the protest of the elder Hincmar himself.

A reconciliation took place at the Diet of Pistres in 869. A new quarrel broke out at the Synod of Verberie and resulted in the imprisonment of Hincmar. He placed his diocese under interdict, but this was set aside by his uncle. He appealed to Pope Adrian II and laid before that pope severe accusations against his metropolitan and his king, based on a false statement of facts. This appeal, however, was not pursued with vigour.