Wilhelm von Hohnstein

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William III. from Hohnstein

William III. von Hohnstein (also Honstein , Hohenstein ) (* around 1470 ; † June 29, 1541 in Zabern ) was bishop of Strasbourg from 1506 to 1541 . Although he tried to reform the church, but could not prevent the implementation of the Reformation, especially in the imperial city of Strasbourg .

Life

He came from the Thuringian family of the Counts of Hohnstein . He received his first education from his great uncle, Archbishop of Mainz Berthold von Henneberg . From 1486 to 1495 he studied in Erfurt , Padua and Freiburg im Breisgau . He studied law in particular, but also pursued humanistic studies. In Mainz he became a member of the cathedral chapter and initially obtained a number of other prebends through the protection of the archbishop . This included seats in the cathedral chapters in Cologne and Strasbourg. In 1499 he became cathedral curator and in 1505 vicar general in Mainz .

Strasbourg

In 1505 he applied for the bishopric in Strasbourg. He was only able to prevail in the cathedral chapter after hard disputes against the candidate of the Palatinate-Bavarian party. In 1507 he moved into Strasbourg. A report from Sebastian Brant has been preserved.

Partly influenced by Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg , Jakob Wimpfeling and other humanists from Alsace, Wilhelm strove for internal church reforms and a more moral way of life for the clergy . He did not question the foundations of church teaching. He ordered visitations and admonished the clergy in various letters to observe the rules of the priestly way of life. In particular, he opposed the numerous relationships between priests and women. Reforms were carried out in some of the monasteries and monasteries in his diocese. However, he soon found that his influence was insufficient to bring about a fundamental change. The collegiate monasteries Old and Young St. Peter in Strasbourg even turned to the Pope with success to defend against some of his reform measures. In contrast to older depictions, he was not really exemplary himself. He never confessed or preached during his time as bishop.

Bishop's court in Zabern ( Saverne )

In Alsace, and especially in Strasbourg, the Reformation found its way early and, with Martin Bucer and others, had excellent theologians and preachers. Bishop Wilhelm was fundamentally opposed to the Reformation, but did not fight it consistently. In numerous points he gave in to the pressure of the Reformation or accepted it, although the collegiate monasteries and parts of the cathedral chapter also rejected the Reformation. As early as 1523/24, the magistrate of the imperial city of Strasbourg regulated the ecclesiastical area in the Reformation sense. The bishop lacked the secular power to take action against the imperial city, which was independent of the bishopric of Strasbourg . He did not engage in religious discussions with the Reformed preachers in Strasbourg and clung to the dogmas of the old church. Outside the city of Strasbourg, as sovereign, he had more opportunities to stop the Reformation from taking hold. He redeemed a number of pledged properties in order to remove them from the city's grip and the influence of the Reformation preachers.

In terms of imperial politics, he was on the imperial side at the time of Maximilian I and Charles V. He was present at the Diets of 1507 in Constance , 1510 in Augsburg , 1512 in Cologne and Trier and 1521 in Worms . In the latter, he was appointed co-member in the Reich regiment. In 1522 he traveled to the Zurich Diet in order to pull the Swiss over to the imperial side. In the same year he also took part in the Reichstag in Nuremberg. On the other hand, he was represented at the Regensburg Convention in 1524.

In 1524 he had taken over the governorship for the absent Archbishop of Mainz, Albrecht von Brandenburg . In Mainz he was surprised by the outbreak of the Peasants' War in 1525. As a representative of the Archbishop in Aschaffenburg, he was forced to take refuge in the castle there and was forced to make concessions to the peasants before the uprising was put down. In his absence, parts of the peasants in Alsace rose up. They had one of their strongholds around his residence in Zabern , of all places. Duke Anton of Lorraine violently put down the uprising. Thousands of peasants were slaughtered in the "farmers battles near Lupstein".

Gravestone of Wilhelm von Hohnstein († 1541), Bishop of Strasbourg, in the parish church "Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité", Saverne

Hohnstein restored the old conditions and intensified his anti-Protestant efforts. At the same time he continued his church reform efforts. This was also done in the hope of containing the Reformation movement. In 1524 married priests were banned from church. But he could not prevent the Catholic mass from being abolished in Strasbourg in 1525. His attempt in 1525 to get the Catholic princes in Upper Germany to act together failed.

He took part in the Diets in Speyer in 1526 and 1529 and in Augsburg in 1530 . In 1531 he tried seriously for the office of coadjutor in Mainz , before he finally gave up because of the lack of sufficient financial means. In his diocese he cracked down on the Anabaptists in the 1530s . These had been expelled from Strasbourg in 1534 and had settled nearby. At the Colloquy at Hagenau in 1540 he took as one of the negotiators on princely side keen interest and was again on the part of supporters of the old church. In contrast, he was represented at the Regensburg Reichstag in 1541.

Hohnstein was a patron of music, art and literature. So he got z. B. Hans Baldung to his court. He built a library ("Liberey") and bought the book collection of the humanist Jakob Spiegel . He had the St. Martin's Chapel built at the Strasbourg Cathedral .

He died seriously ill from gout in his residence in Zabern.

Witch hunt

The humanist Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg gave 26 fasting sermons filled with witchcraft in Strasbourg in 1508. Between 1515 and 1535 there was a wave of witch persecution in Strasbourg . The information on the number of victims is uncertain.

Presence of imperial estates at the Reichstag

From the register of 1521 one can undoubtedly conclude that Wilhelm von Hohnheim appeared regularly as Prince-Bishop on the ecclesiastical bench of the Imperial Council of Princes, in contrast to the free imperial cities of the League of Ten , which were often represented by an envoy. He personally signed the Reichs Farewell and came with councilors and envoys. Only in the ten years before his death did he renounce the representation of the Reich, presumably for health reasons.

  • In Worms 1521 he had two advisors at his side: his chancellor Dr. Eitelhans Rechburger and Bernhard Göler from Ravensburg.
  • In Nuremberg in 1522 and 1523 he also performed with Dr. Rechburger on.
  • In Nuremberg in 1524 he had Dr. Simon Ribeisen represented.
  • In Augsburg 1525–26 he neither attended the meetings nor sent an envoy, which apparently happened to many imperial estates.
  • In Speyer in 1526 he sat again on the Reichstag together with his chancellor Dr. Rechburger. The clerk of the city of Strasbourg, Wendelin von Sankt-Johann, was also present and, like Dr. Rechburger also records records for the Reichstag in Speyer.
  • He was not present in Regensburg in 1527 and did not send anyone to represent him.
  • In Speyer in 1529 he came personally with Jakob von Oberkirch, Dr. Eitelhans Rechburger and Johann Bock.
  • In Augsburg in 1530 he appeared again alone with his chancellor Rechburger.
  • In Regensburg in 1532 he was represented by Bishop Philipp von Speyer.
  • In Regensburg in 1541 he did not come to the Reichstag and was let by Dr. Christoph Welsinger represented. Dr. Incidentally, Welsinger will be the loyal companion of Wilhelm's successor Erasmus Schenk von Limpurg at the next Reichstag

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Blickle: The Reformation in the Empire. Stuttgart 1992, p. 33.
  2. ↑ Gerhard Simon: Humanism and Denomination. Berlin, 1980 p. 75
  3. ↑ Sources and studies on the history of the witch madness and the witch hunt in the Middle Ages Joseph Hansen, Johannes Franck, Georg Olms Verlag 1901, page 284
  4. ↑ Lyndal Roper : Witch Mania. Story of a persecution ; Munich: CH Beck, 2007, p. 212; ISBN 978-3-406-54047-9
  5. ↑ R. and S. AULINGER Schweinzer-BURIAN, Habsburgische and reichsständische presence in the diets of Charles V. (1521-1555) in the mirror of Reichsmatrikel 1521 , A prosopographic detection; in: F. Hederer, C. König, KN Marth, C. Milz (eds.), Spaces of action. Facets of Political Communication in the Early Modern Era. Festschrift for Albrecht P. Luttenberger on his 65th birthday (Munich 2011), pp. 109–164.
  6. ↑ ibid. Table p. 11
  7. ↑ ibid. Table p. 11
  8. ↑ Dr. Ribeisen was also the representative of the bishop at the Reichsregiment in Esslingen 1521-23 in: Hans von der Planitz, Ernst Wülcker , Hans Virck, Reports from the Reichsregiment in Nürnberg 1521-23 , Georg Holms Verlag, p. 633.
  9. ↑ ibid. Table p. 43
  10. ↑ ibid. Table p. 43
  11. ↑ Rosemarie Aulinger, The Reichstag in Augsburg 1525, the Reichstag in Speyer 1526, Der Fürstentag zu Esslingen 1526 , Vol. 5–6, Oldenbourg Verlag, 2011 - 995 pages: No. 121 Die Relation von Eitelhans Rechburger . Dr. Eitelhans Rechburger, Chancellor of Bishop Wilhelm von Straßburg, wrote protocols for the Reichstag in Speyer June 25th-17th. August 1526.
  12. ↑ ibid. No. 122
  13. ↑ R. AULINGER and S. SCHWEINZER-BURIAN, Habsburg and imperial presence at the imperial diets of Emperor Charles V (1521-1555) as reflected in the imperial register of 1521 , table p. 64
  14. ↑ ibid. Table p. 64
  15. ↑ ibid. Table p. 64
  16. ↑ ibid. Table p. 91
  17. ↑ ibid. Table p. 91

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Wilhelm von Hohnstein
ALTERNATIVE NAMES William III. from Hohnstein
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Strasbourg
DATE OF BIRTH around 1470
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1541
Place of death Babble