Adolf von Altena

Adolf von Altena (* around 1157 ; † April 15, 1220 in Neuss ) was Archbishop of Cologne as Adolf I from 1193 to 1205 and from 1212 to 1216 .

Life

Adolf was born around 1157 as the second son of Count Eberhard von Berg-Altena from the first Bergisch Counts Berg-Altena and his wife Adelheid von Arnsberg .

Around 1177 he became canon in Cologne . In 1183 he became cathedral dean , in 1191 cathedral provost and in 1193 after the abdication of his uncle Bruno III. von Berg Archbishop of Cologne. He was ordained bishop in March 1194 by Hermann II von Katzenelnbogen , Prince-Bishop of Münster.

In 1194 he arranged for the release of King Richard I of England , whom he received shortly afterwards (early February 1194) in Cologne. He was an avowed opponent of the inheritance plans of Emperor Heinrich VI. and rejected the wish of Henry VI at Christmas 1195. after the election of his son Friedrich as king. He gave up his resistance in August 1197 through the follow-up treatment of the elector who had been elected in the meantime by the other electors in Boppard . After the death of Henry VI. However, Adolf declared the election of a king null and void, as he was not baptized and the emperor had put pressure on the princes.

In the ensuing controversy for the throne between Staufers and Guelphs, he crowned Guelph Otto von Braunschweig in Aachen on July 12, 1198 as the German king . A little later, Pope Innocent III confirmed . Otto, who had an interest in weakening the Hohenstaufen and thus breaking their power (especially in Italy), chose Otto. Otto's appearance soon led to a distancing, so that Adolf established contact with Philipp von Schwaben in the course of 1204 . Various political assurances and a not inconsiderable sum of money then did the rest. The archbishop changed sides and on January 6, 1205 also crowned Staufer Philipp von Schwaben, who was competing for the royal dignity, as German king, who in 1198 was only crowned in the Mainz Cathedral , but with real imperial insignia (especially the real imperial crown ) had been.

The Pope, who had reserved the king's question for himself, was irritated by the rumor of the change of sides and asked Adolf himself for a report. Since Adolf did not want to sacrifice his hard-won right to the casting vote in the election of the king to a papal presentation, he did not respond to the papal request. In doing so, however, he greatly overestimated its importance.

On June 19, 1205 he was for this by Pope Innocent III. the spell occupied and declared deposed. As early as July, a new archbishop was elected in Cologne. Since the Rhineland was still in the Staufer line, his successor could hardly prevail against him, so that a schism arose in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

In 1207, Adolf von Altena was in Rome, where he was litigating his successor and fighting for his reinstatement as archbishop - without success. It was not until the assassination of Philip of Swabia (June 21, 1208) and the change in the political situation that resulted in submission to the Pope and recognition of his successor for himself and his followers, for which, however, he received an annual pension of 250 marks.

Chance washed Adolf once more to the head of the archdiocese when Dietrich I von Hengebach was deposed by the papal legate and he was commissioned to head the diocese in March 1212. If he initially thought this was a reinstatement, he soon realized that it was only a provisional line. In fact, however, the archbishopric was once again in a schism, especially since Adolf and Dietrich von Hengebach were now fighting with the Pope about re-establishment. The verdict was passed in 1216 and the bishopric was again elected in Cologne. The new Archbishop succeeded him as Provost, Engelbert von Berg . He was one of his relatives and had always supported him during the schism, also by bringing goods from the cathedral chapter into his hand.

Until his death in 1220, Adolf was repeatedly active as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

literature

Herbert Grundmann : Adolf I .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 82 f. ( Digitized version ).
Wilhelm Janssen : The Archdiocese of Cologne in the late Middle Ages 1191–1515. First part (history of the Archdiocese of Cologne, second volume). Bachem, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-7616-1149-8 .
Hugo Stehkämper : The Archbishop of Cologne Adolf von Altena and the German election (1195–1205). In: Theodor Schieder (Hrsg.): Contributions to the history of medieval German royalty. Oldenbourg, Munich 1973, pp. 5-83.
Hugo Stehkämper: Adolf I. von Altena . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , Sp. 159–161.
Alfred Winkelmann: Adolf I. (Archbishop of Cologne) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, pp. 115-117.

Web links

Christians on the Rhine

Remarks

↑ Hugo Stehkämper: The Cologne Archbishop Adolf von Altena and the German election (1195–1205) , in: Theodor Schieder (Ed.): Contributions to the history of medieval German royalty , historical magazine, supplement NF 2, 1973, p. 5– 83.

predecessor	Office	successor
Bruno III from mountain	Archbishop of Cologne 1193–1205	Bruno IV of Sayn
Dietrich I. von Hengebach	Archbishop of Cologne 1212–1216	Engelbert I. von Berg

personal data
SURNAME	Adolf von Altena
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Adolf I of Cologne; Adolf I of Altena
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Archbishop of Cologne
DATE OF BIRTH	12th Century
DATE OF DEATH	April 15, 1220
Place of death	Neuss

[1] Hugo Stehkämper: The Cologne Archbishop Adolf von Altena and the German election (1195–1205) , in: Theodor Schieder (Ed.): Contributions to the history of medieval German royalty , historical magazine, supplement NF 2, 1973, p. 5– 83.