Rodulf (archbishop of Bourges)

Rodulf (French: Saint Raoul; died 21 June 866) was the archbishop of Bourges from 840 until his death. He is remembered as a skillful diplomat and a proponent of ecclesiastical reform. As a saint, his feast has been celebrated on 21 June.

Rodulf's family was prominent in the region of Angoumois and he himself possessed lands in the Limousin. He was named after his father, the count of Turenne (died 844), and he had four brothers and two sisters as well as an unnamed sibling. He entered the monastery of Solignac as a novice in 823.

During the conflict between King Pippin II of Aquitaine and King Charles of West Francia over the inheritance of the Aquitanian kingdom, Rodulf maintained good relations with both claimants, although it is probable that his father fought in the war and is possible that Rodulf himself did as well. Contemporary documents describe him as a "faithful follower" (fidelis) of King Pippin. In late 840 Rodulf was elected as archbishop of Bourges, Since Pippin led an expedition north against Charles' forces in Poitou in September, it generally thought that he was the driving force behind the election of Rodulf and that he successfully extended his authority into the Berri (the region around Bourges), which was as far north as it would ever go. One of Pippin's two surviving royal charters is a confirmation to the new archbishop. Yet if the appointment of Rodulf was political on the one hand, the capitulation (capitula) which he signed upon his election "shows that [he] was in the vanguard of the Carolingian reform movement." Shortly after becoming archbishop, Rodulf bought a large piece of land from a certain Boso for 1,500 solidi.

By early May 844, Rodulf had recognised Charles as king in Aquitaine. In that month he visited Charles while the latter was besieging Toulouse and received a charter from him at Charles's headquarters in the monastery of Saint-Sernin. Rodulf attended the council of Ver in December that year. According to the Translatio sancti Germani, Rodulf and Bishop Ebroin of Poitiers played the leading rôles in the negotiations to reconcile Charles and Pippin in the winter of 844–45. Rodulf hosted a conference at the monastery of Fleury in June 845, where Pippin swore fealty to Charles and Charles gave Pippin lordship over most of Aquitaine (the regions of Poitou, Saintonge and Aunis excepted). Later that same month, Rodulf attended the great synod at Meaux with archbishops Wenilo of Sens and Hincmar of Reims. As a reward for his work, Charles granted Rodulf control over Fleury's resources in October 846.

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