Egbert (Munster)

Egbert († January 9, 1132 in Cologne ) was Bishop of Münster (1127–1132). In his short term in office he emerged as a promoter and reformer of the monasteries and monasteries in his diocese. He played a role as envoy in imperial politics.

origin

Egbert was with King Lothar III. related. Presumably he was the son of Margrave Egbert II of Meissen . After the death of his father, who had been deposed by Heinrich IV , he and his mother Oda von Weimar-Orlamünde came to the court of Lothar. The basis of Egbert's good relations with the future emperor probably dates from this period.

His spiritual career began in Cologne as a cathedral dean . Already at this time he showed sympathy for a reform of the church. He stood out as a proponent of reform monasteries.

Church reforms

After the death of Dietrich II of Münster , Egbert was installed by King Lothar as Bishop of Münster. Immediately after the beginning of his rule, he began reforming the women's monasteries and monasteries in the diocese. He forced the nuns who fled after the destruction of the Überwasser monastery in 1121 to return and to adopt a stricter rule than before.

Egbert had great sympathy for the Premonstratensian order . He confirmed the establishment of Varlar Abbey . He granted him the free choice of provost and bailiff . However, the provost remained committed to a vow of loyalty to the bishop. In addition, Egbert also reserved the investiture of the provosts. Egbert rededicated the church of Freckenhorst Abbey after its reconstruction in 1129. The reform of the women's monastery in Liesborn turned out to be difficult. This suffered from the destruction of 1121 and the ladies probably did not want a restoration under stricter rules. Egbert dissolved the monastery with the assurance of the lifelong maintenance of the ladies and presumably handed it over to Hildesheim Benedictines. He tried to improve the economic basis through generous land donations. In Münster Egbert did a lot to repair the damage to the cathedral from 1121. He provided a lead roof and the first glass windows. Further construction work failed due to his short term in office. Egbert himself was evidently well versed in the biblical writings, as he had a considerable share in the conversion of his Jewish financier Judas from Mainz.

Imperial politics

Egbert also played a not insignificant role in imperial politics. He stayed several times in King Lothar's entourage. He was present at the Council of Würzburg in 1130. This was where the schism at that time was discussed. Bernhard von Clairvaux praised Egbert, along with other bishops, as the advocate of Innocent II. Egbert also belonged to the embassy that brought Innocent II imperial recognition. Egbert was probably also present at Lothar's meeting with the Pope in Liège in 1131.

Egbert was commissioned to travel to Rome as envoy to negotiate with the antipope Anaclet II and with the representatives of the Roman people. He was to announce the imminent arrival of King Lothar and a large army in Rome. He traveled to Salzburg via Bohemia . There Egbert negotiated with Archbishop Konrad and other leading clergy in the region. Apparently this triggered fear among the Hungarians of an attack from the empire and attacks on the Marches in the east came from the Hungarian side. On Egbert's advice, an embassy traveled to Hungary, which succeeded in preventing Bela II from further attacks.

Egbert traveled to Cologne to attend the installation of the new Archbishop Bruno II von Berg . There he fell ill and died soon after. He was probably buried in the cathedral in Münster. There a street in the Erphoviertel was named after him.

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl : The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 7.1: The diocese. Berlin 1999. ( Germania sacra New Series, Vol. 27, 1) ISBN 978-3-11-016470-1 , pp. 95ff. Partial digitization

predecessor	Office	successor
Dietrich II.	Bishop of Munster 1127–1132	Werner von Steusslingen