Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, had a seat and a vote in the Imperial Diet. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège should not be confused with the Diocese of Liège, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the usual responsibilities of a bishop.
Prince-Bishopric of Liège | |||||||||
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| 980–1789 1791–1792 1793–1795 | |||||||||
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The Prince-Bishopric of Liège around 1350. | |||||||||
| Status | Ecclesiastic state of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Liège | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latin and Old French, becoming Francien (French), Walloon and German | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||
| Government | Elective principality | ||||||||
| Prince-Bishop | |||||||||
• 340s–384 | Saint Servatius (first bishop, at Tongeren) | ||||||||
• approximately 670–700 | Saint Lambert (at Maastricht) | ||||||||
• 972–1008 | Notger (first prince-bishop) | ||||||||
• 1792–1794 | François-Antoine-Marie de Méan (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Creation of diocese | 340s | ||||||||
• Secular powers obtained | 980 | ||||||||
• Purchased Lordship of Bouillon | 1096 | ||||||||
• Annexed County of Loon | 1366 | ||||||||
• Acquired County of Horne | 1568 | ||||||||
| 1789–1791 | |||||||||
| 1795 | |||||||||
• Concordat accepts dissolution of Bishopric | 10 September 1801 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Belgium France Germany Netherlands | ||||||||
| History of Belgium |
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The bishops of Liège acquired their status as prince-bishops between 980 and 985 when Bishop Notker of Liège, who had been the bishop since 972, received secular control of the County of Huy from Emperor Otto II.
From 1500, the prince-bishopric belonged to the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. Its territory included most of the present Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg, and some exclaves in other parts of Belgium and the Netherlands.
It briefly became a republic (the Republic of Liège) from 1789 to 1791, before reverting to a prince-bishopric in 1791. The role of the bishop as prince permanently ended when the state was annexed by France in 1795. In 1815 the territories it had held became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in 1830 they were within the part of that kingdom which split off to become Belgium.
The principality ruled by the bishops of Liège was never part of the Seventeen Provinces or the Spanish and Austrian Southern Netherlands, but from the 16th century onwards its politics were strongly influenced by the dukes of Burgundy and later the Habsburgs.
In 1559 its 1,636 parishes were grouped into eight archdeaconries, and twenty-eight councils, chrétientés (deaneries). The most important cities (bonnes villes) of the bishopric were: Liège, Beringen, Bilzen, Borgloon, Bree, Châtelet, Ciney, Couvin, Dinant, Fosses-la-Ville, Hamont, Hasselt, Herk-de-Stad, Huy, Maaseik, Peer, Sint-Truiden, Stokkem, Thuin, Tongeren, Verviers, Visé and Waremme.
The city of Maastricht fell under the joint jurisdiction of the prince-bishop of Liège and the duke of Brabant (later the States-General of the United Provinces). The second city of the prince-bishopric thus kept its special status throughout the ancien régime.