Hermann Zoestius

Hermann Zoestius (* after 1380 in Münster , † around 1445 in Marienfeld ) was a monk in the Marienfeld monastery . Due to his knowledge of astronomy and time measurement, Zoestius was invited by the Abbot General of the Cistercians in Citeaux to the Council of Basel (1431–1449) to participate in the calendar reform .

Life

There is evidence that Zoestius was born in Münster after 1380 and attended the collegiate school there. He was taught by the cathedral dean Menso and the auxiliary bishop Heinrich von Minden, among others .

Already before 1414 Zoestius entered the Cistercian monastery Marienfeld and in 1414 became confessor of the nuns of St. Giles in Münster. In the same year he took part in the opening event of the Council of Constance (1414-1418) and enriched it with a poem. Like other Marienfeld monks before him, Zoestius went to study in Prague , where he acquired extensive knowledge of astronomy, timekeeping, Holy Scripture, canon law and philosophy. In the 1420s Zoestius wrote a large part of his writings, especially the Chronicle of the Marienfeld Monastery from its foundation from 1185 to 1422. From 1431 to 1437 Zoestius took part in the Council of Basel , in 1443 he left Basel and returned to Marienfeld.

Around 1445 he fell ill with the plague and died in Marienfeld. He was buried in the Aegidii churchyard in Münster. The necrology of the Marienfeld monastery honors Zoestius as magnus astronomus .

Council of Basel

At the invitation of the Cistercian Abbot General , Jean VIII. Picart d'Aulnay (Eng. Johannes Picart) in Citeaux , Zoestius took part in the Council of Basel. The abbot knew about his knowledge of astronomy and time measurement, and so the costs of his stay in Basel were borne by the general chapter .

In 1432 Zoestius made a proposal for calendar reform to the Basel Council . In his statement there, he also referred to the considerations of Reinher von Paderborn . His writings De potestate ecclesiae et populi (1436) and De vocibus definitivis in conciliis generalibus (1436) showed that he was a staunch supporter of the ideas of this council . However, the calendar reform was ultimately not implemented.

Works

Hermann Zoestius wrote many writings, most of them from 1420 to 1430. Only about 10 writings are still preserved today. Here is a selection of his works:

• De fermento et azimo (around 1414)
• Chronicon Campi S. Mariae - History of the Marienfeld Monastery until 1422
• De correctione calendarii , 1432
• De potestate ecclesiae et populi , 1436
• De vocibus definitivis in conciliis generalibus , 1436
• Life of Bishop Otto II von Hoya
• Sermones de festis XXV
• Novus modus translationis corporum sanctorum
• De laude sancti Benedicti et filiorum suorum
• Evangelium ex quatuor unum (a concordance)

He also wrote some legends of saints.

literature

• Friedrich Zurbonsen: Hermann Zoestius and his historically political writings. Based on handwritten sources from the 15th century , Warendorf, 1884
• Wattenbach, W .: About Hermann von Marienfeld from Münster , session reports of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin 1884, IX, pp. 93-109 (so cplt.), Berlin 1884
• Tönsmeyer, Josef: Hermann Zoestius von Marienfeld, a representative of the conciliar theory at the Council of Basel , Westfälische Zeitschrift. Journal of Patriotic History and Archeology 87, 1930
• Walter Werland: Marienfelder Chronik. On the history of the Cistercian abbey and the Marienfeld community , 1968
• Helmut Flachenecker , Wilhelm Kohl: Germania Sacra: Historical-statistical description of the church of the old empire. de Gruyter, 2002, ISBN 978-3-11-017514-1 .

Web links

• Zoestius, Hermann in the repertory "Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marienfelder Chronik, p. 146
2. ↑ Werner Herold: Biography Reinher of Paderborn , at School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland
3. ↑ http://users.skynet.be/am012324/studium/oneil/bibper20.htm