Bishopric of Toul

Bishopric of Toul Bistum Toul
365 - 1801
Capital Circle Bench	Toul Upper Rhenish Council of Princes
Established	365
Prince of the Empire	1048
Annexed to France	1552
Left the Empire	1648
Abolished	1801

The Bishopric of Toul is a Roman Catholic diocese based in Toul in Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. It was founded in 365 and was abolished in 1801.

The Bishopric of Toul (365 - 1801)

In 313 religious equality between Christianity and the pagan faith of the Roman Empire was established by the Edict of Milan. The papacy sent St Mansuetus to convert Gaul to Christianity some time after, and in 365 he established Toul as the seat of his diocese. Over the coming years Toul began to suffer repeated invasions and sackings during the Great Migrations, including a devastation by Atilla the Hun in 451. Later the city came under the threat of both the Alemanni and the Franks. At the Battle of Tolbiac in 496, the Franks under King Clovis I were victorious. Clovis converted to Christianity and the region came under the firm control of the Franks.

In the following centuries Toul was attached to Austrasia. The bishops received generous grants during this period, including those from Dagobert I (632), Charlemagne (804) and Arnulf (894). King Henry I the Fowler (919 - 936) confirmed the grants in 928. The city of Toul chafed under the rule of the bishops, and by the end of the 10th Century it was recognised as a Free Imperial City of the Empire, leading to 300 years of conflict with the bishops. In 1048 the Bishops obtained the title "Prince of the Empire". However conflicts arose in the chapter and by forces outside it to the elections of the bishops, so from 1278 the Popes personally appointed the Bishops of Toul until 1552, leading to a large number of Italians holding the episcopal see.

In 1552 the Three Bishoprics of Verdun, Metz and Toul were conquered by Anne, Duke of Montmorency for King Henry II although technically they remained part of the Holy Roman Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. In 1597 Duke Charles III of Lorraine attempted to abolish the see at Toul and establish a new one at Nancy. Pope Clement VIII instead granted the Bishopric primacy over Lorraine. In 1777 and 1778 the diocese of Toul was shrunk due to the establishment of the Bishoprics of Saint-Dié and Nancy. The diocese was abolished in 1801 to make Nancy the seat of a large see. Since 1824 the Bishops of Nancy have taken the title "Bishop of Nancy and Toul".

See Also:

• List of Bishops of Toul