Albert von Buxthoeven

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Albert statue at Riga Cathedral

Albert von Buxthoeven (also Albert von Buxhoeveden, Buxhövden, Buxhöveden, Buxhöwde, Albert von Apeldern , * around 1165 in Bexhövede ; † January 17, 1229 in Riga ) was bishop of Livonia from 1199 to 1201 and bishop of Riga from 1201 to 1229 . He is one of the most important missionary bishops of the 13th century.

origin

Albert von Buxthoeven / Buxhövden / Bekeshovede (also Albert von Buxhoeveden , Buxhöveden, Buxhöwde; Albert von Appeldern is unlikely) was bishop of Riga from 1199 to 1229.

Albert comes from a ministerial family from the bishopric of Bremen . It has been proven that his mother Aleidis came from the respected family of the Utlede, who sat in Bremen, and was married twice, namely to one from Bekeshovede and one from Appeldern. The order of the marriages and from which of the two marriages Bishop Albert emerged has not yet been fully clarified. However, it is very likely that he comes from the von Buxhoeveden ministerial family, with headquarters in Bexhövede near Bremerhaven. There, before 1183, Geldmar , Albert and Lüder von Bexhövede founded the St. John the Baptist Church (Bexhövede) as a separate church , which was built between 1178 and 1184 and consecrated around 1180; It was first mentioned in a document in 1185.

He was first canon and head of the cathedral school in Bremen until he was ordained bishop of Livonia in 1199 by his uncle Hartwig II von Utlede , Archbishop of Bremen . He was followed by a number of brothers and half-brothers as crusaders to Livonia: Hermann , later bishop of Dorpat , Rotmar , provost in Dorpat, as well as Engelbert , provost of Riga, and the lay people Johannes "de Bikkeshovede" and Theodoricus de Ropa .

He helped the Latin Church in Livonia to enforce its claim to validity and founded the German colony in Livonia . The most important source regarding the life and work of Albert von Buxthoeven is Heinrich's Livonian Chronicle (Chronicon Livoniae), written by Heinrich von Lettland . The name Albert is often confused with the synonymous Adalbert or Albrecht . The earliest sources clearly use the Latin form Albertus .

From Heinrich's Livonian Chronicle
Latin German
LIBER TERCIUS. DE EPISCOPO ALBERTO THIRD BOOK. BY BISHOP ALBERT
Anno Domini M ° C ° XCVIII ° venerabilis Albertus, Bremensis canonicus, in episcopum consecratur. In the year of the Lord 1198, the venerable Albert, a canon in Bremen, was ordained bishop.

Work in Riga

In the middle of the year 1200 Albert reached as Bishop of Livonia with merchants, missionaries and an army of pilgrims, supported by one of Pope Innocent III. exhibited crusade bull , the mouth of the Dunes . Twenty kilometers away from this he founded Riga in 1201 and moved the bishopric from Üxküll there. From that point on he held the title of Bishop of Riga. During his mission , Albert was able to build on the preparatory work done by Meinhard von Segeberg . The city was laid out based on the model of Bremen. Therefore, to this day there are striking similarities and centuries-old common traditions between the two cities. The Roland in front of the Riga House of the Blackheads is a striking symbol of this.

In 1207 he was appointed imperial prince by King Philip of Swabia and enfeoffed with Livonia. The Order of the Brothers of the Sword , which he initiated in 1202, became his greatest competition for supremacy in Livonia. In the war against the Latvians in 1208 Albert involuntarily cooperated with the Danish king Waldemar II. The Estonians and the Livs were briefly subjugated between 1219 and 1227 and subordinated to the Danish king. However, a confederation in Livonia resisted the Danish claim and gained independence from the Danish Kingdom in 1222, and Waldemar II had to renounce Livonia.

Albert planned a uniformly governed Christian state in Livonia, which should be based on the Holy Roman Empire . Estonia should be reserved for the Danes. In order to realize this plan, Albert recruited many pilgrims and colonists in the empire with exceptional frequency during his time. The plan failed, however, as Albert was not appointed archbishop and the Curia sought a balance of power between him and the Order of the Brothers of the Sword . We are informed about Albert and his work primarily through the Livonian chronicle of Heinrich von Lettland , Arnold's Chronica Slavorum and a few documents.

Aftermath

Albert von Buxthoeven went down in history as one of the most important missionary bishops of his time. He was particularly distinguished by the fact that he convinced thousands of volunteers to go with him as a crusader to the East Baltic to proselytize the Livs there by word or sword. He made a name for himself through his rhetorical talent as an advertising preacher and his efforts to establish and expand a rule and to conquer territories.

Albert was venerated as a saint in Riga until the Reformation . In 1999, coins with his image were minted in honor of him and the 800th anniversary of his installation as bishop.

No image has survived. The monument in Riga is a fantasy. A copy half as large is in the Lüneburg Brömsehaus of the German-Baltic Society .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. Heinrich Laakmann: Albert I. In: New German Biography. Berlin 1953, p. 130.
  2. ↑ Cf. Manfred Hellmann: Albert I., Bishop of Riga . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , column 285 f.
  3. ↑ Cf. Manfred Hellmann: The beginnings of Christian mission in the Baltic countries. In: Studies of the Beginning of the Mission in Livonia. Edited by dems. Sigmaringen 1989, pp. 7-36, here p. 28.
  4. ↑ Cf. Manfred Hellmann: The beginnings of Christian mission in the Baltic countries. In: Studies of the Beginning of the Mission in Livonia. Ed. V. dems. Sigmaringen 1989, pp. 7-36, here p. 28.
  5. ↑ His siblings from the first marriage of their mother Aleidis (stepsister of Archbishop Hartwig II) named themselves after the town of Bexhövede , while the siblings from the second marriage were named after the town of Appeltern . Because the early sources only mention the name Albert , assignments exist as both Buxthoeven and Appeldern . (Leonid Arbusow: Outline of the history of Liv, Estonia and Courland . Jonck and Poliewsky publishing house, Riga 1908).
  6. ↑ Henricus Lettus: Livonian Chronicle. Ed. V. Albert Bauer. Darmstadt 1959.
  7. ↑ Name `` Albertus '' quoted from the oldest source : Leonid Arbusow: Heinrichs Livländische Chronik, 2nd edition, Hanover, 1955.
  8. ↑ Heinrich changes the year on March 25th of our calendar, therefore today's sources call the year 1199.
  9. ↑ Cf. Gisela Gnegel-Waitschies: Bishop Albert of Riga. A Bremen canon as prince of the church in the east (1199–1229). Northern and Eastern European History Studies. Vol. 2. Hamburg 1958. p. 56.
  10. ↑ a b cf. Hellmann: Albert I., Sp. 285f.
  11. ↑ Cf. Friedrich Benninghoven: The Order of the Brothers of the Swords : Fratres milicie Christi de Livonia ; Böhlau, Cologne, 1965
  12. ↑ Cf. Gnegel-Waitschies: Bishop Albert von Riga, p. 9.
  13. ↑ Cf. Gnegel-Waitschies: Bishop Albert von Riga, pp. 45–55.
  14. ↑ See Laakmann: Albert I., p. 130; Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Albert von Buxhövden. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon. Vol. 1. Hamm 1975, Col. 81.
predecessor Office successor
Berthold Schulte Archbishop of Riga
1199–1229 		Nikolaus von Nauen
personal data
SURNAME Albert von Buxthoeven
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albert von Buxhoeveden; Albert von Buxhövden; Albert von Buxhöveden; Albert von Buxhöwde; Albert of Apeldern
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Riga
DATE OF BIRTH around 1165
PLACE OF BIRTH Bexhövede
DATE OF DEATH January 17, 1229
Place of death Riga