Bertram of Metz

Bertram, born Berthold^[a] (died 6 April 1212), was a Saxon nobleman, jurist and prelate of the Holy Roman Empire. Praised by contemporaries for his education, his expertise was in Roman law. He was the elected archbishop of Bremen from 1178 until 1179 and the bishop of Metz from 1180 until his death. He was in general a strong supporter of the Staufer emperors, although he was forced into internal exile and temporarily dispossessed of his diocese in 1187–1189. He supported the Staufer in the German throne dispute after 1198.

In 1199, Bertram suppressed a heretical movement in Metz, probably Waldensian, through book burning. His several efforts to strengthen his control of the city government brought him into conflict with the citizens from 1203 onward. In 1206, he joined a war against the County of Bar and lost. In 1209, he put down riots and won a decisive victory over the citizenry. His health declined in the last two years of his life. In the late medieval and early modern periods, he was regarded as one of the architects of the republic of Metz [fr].

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