#29 Hildebold and Charlemagne – a lifelong friendship

#29 Hildebold and Charlemagne – a lifelong friendship – The History of Cologne

A fateful encounter at the end of the 8th century. A young priest named Hildebold is celebrating mass in a small village church just outside the city of Cologne. A huntsman enters the church and is immediately taken by the priest's modesty and piety. What Hildebold does not know, however. This man is not a hunter. He is Charlemagne. Why does the King of the Franks disguise himself as a hunter here in Cologne? You will find out in this episode.

A fateful encounter at the end of the 8th century. A young priest named Hildebold is celebrating mass in a small village church just outside the city of Cologne. A huntsman enters the church and is immediately taken by the priest’s modesty and piety. What Hildebold does not know, however. This man is not a hunter. He is Charlemagne. Why does the King of the Franks disguise himself as a hunter here in Cologne? You will find out in this episode.

Charlemagne and Kunibert of Cologne become best friends in the 780s. With the king’s help Hildebold gets appointed as the new bishop of Cologne. Together they reform the Frankish Empire. The so-called Carolingian Renaissance would reform the Frankish Empire and the whole of Western Europe forever.

#95 The 1275 Friendship Treaty: Siegfried von Westerburg and Cologne’s New Gothic City Seal – The History of Cologne

In 1275, Cologne entered an unexpected agreement that reshaped its relationship with one of the most powerful men in the empire: the new Archbishop of Cologne. At the same time, the city received a remarkable new Gothic seal—an object that tells us more about medieval identity, politics, and ambition than any charter ever could. How did all this come together? And why did it matter so much? Join us as we follow the early moves in a story that will echo all the way to Worringen.