Otto of Freising

Otto was born in Klosterneuburg as the fifth son of Leopold III, margrave of Austria, by his wife Agnes, daughter of Emperor Henry IV.[1] Having entered the Cistercian order, Otto convinced his father to found Heiligenkreuz Abbey in 1133, thus bringing literacy and sophisticated agriculture (including wine making) to the region that would become Vienna.This diocese, and indeed the whole of Bavaria, was then disturbed by the feud between the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen, and the church was in a deplorable condition; but a great improvement was brought about by the new bishop in both ecclesiastical and secular matters.The chronicle, which was held in very high regard by contemporaries, covers the years up until 1146, and from this date until 1209 it was continued by Otto, abbot of St Blasius (died 1223).[3] In the Chronica, Otto reports a meeting he had with Bishop Hugh of Jabala, who told him of a Nestorian Christian king in the east named Prester John.It is not confined to German affairs, as the author digresses to tell of the preaching of Bernard of Clairvaux, of his zeal against the heretics, and of the condemnation of Pierre Abélard; he also discourses on philosophy and theology.
Otto of Freising, as depicted on a 13th-century stained glass window in the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz, Austria
Painting of Otto of Freising by Hans Part in the Babenberger Stammbaum , ca. 1490, Stift Klosterneuburg . The bishop is looking at the cathedral and the city of Freising from the east bank of the Isar river .
Otto II (bishop of Freising)Cistercianbishop of FreisingSecond CrusadeJerusalemBavariaKlosterneuburgLeopold IIImargrave of AustriaEmperor Henry IVFrederick IHohenstaufenduke of SwabiaGerman kingConrad IIIJudith or ItaWilliam V of MontferratphilosophyAristotleprovostAustriaHeiligenkreuz AbbeyViennaMorimondBurgundyduchy of Bavariadiet of BesançonFreisingAugustineOrosiusSt BlasiusHugh of JabalaNestorian ChristianPrester JohnByzantinesFranciaEast FranciaAugustusPope Gregory VIIunexpected excommunicationHenry IVAntichristStift KlosterneuburgIsar riverRagewinRahewinBernard of ClairvauxPierre Abélardpublic domainChisholm, HughEncyclopædia BritannicaMierow, Charles ChristopherThe Latin Library