Magnus von Füssen

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The Holy Magnus of Füssen probably lived as a hermit in the 8th century in feet . In the tradition of the Abbey of St. Mang (around 840–1802 / 1803) Magnus is considered to be the founder of the monastery and the first abbot .

Although the historical person Magnus is difficult to grasp, the history of the impact of the man who is venerated as a saint and miracle worker is still varied over a period of more than a thousand years in the field of art and popular piety, especially in the Allgäu and Tyrol , Upper Swabia and Switzerland comprehensible. His veneration is also expressed in the title Apostle of the Allgäu . The Magnusfest is celebrated on September 6th .

Magnus figure on the high altar of the parish church of St. Gallus in Scheidegg

Historical figure

Almost nothing historically certain is known of Magnus. The oldest written evidence is a biography, the "Vita S. Magni", which was probably written around 895 by an anonymous author. A copy of the “Urvita” from the beginning of the 10th century is in Codex 265 in the Einsiedeln Abbey Library .

In the older research literature, the vita is critically questioned as a historical source and the life path is traced from it: According to this, Magnus was probably born in 699 near St. Gallen and came to Füssen in 746 for missionary work, where he died in 772 after 26 years of service .

In contrast, in the latest research literature, this vita is interpreted as a literary work, as a symbolic legend, which describes the striving of the sacred to perfection. The vita is no longer used as a historical factual report.

“The only sure thing is that he lived. Presumably he was a local hermit in the Füssen area, (...) who died sometime on September 6th, probably in the 8th century. "

Stefan Vatter, on the other hand, points out in his current monograph on Magnus that, based on the information in the oldest Magnus vita and the way of life described in it, Magnus was an Irish -Scottish monk from St. Gallen. Magnus, along with the Irish Scottish monks Gallus and Columban, is considered to be one of the three "Allgäu quiet". In a motorway chapel built in 2000 on the A 96 at the Winterberg rest area near Leutkirch in the Allgäu, the three Allgäu people were depicted in a bronze sculpture . In general, scientific and literary works on Magnus are controversial. Rather, the Christianization of the Allgäu by Magnus is interpreted as a legend.

The year Magnus died is no longer recorded. In local tradition, 750 has become the year of death. Other sources cite September 6, 772: he proposed Tozzo (in office 772 to 778) as Bishop of Augsburg. Bishop Tozzo presided over the funeral of Magnus.

Vita S. Magni

The importance of Vita S. Magni was vividly raised by Dorothea Walz . The striving to follow Christ and to achieve perfection pervades the spirit of this life description and is expressed in a precisely defined order, symbolized in number combinations.

The chapter division contains the key for a deeper understanding of the Vita, which consists of 28 chapters. In the Middle Ages, the number 28 was considered a “numerus perfectus”, a perfect number , as the sum of its divisors (1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28) results in the number 28. Chapters 1 to 25 describe the earthly life of Magnus, the three last events and the miracles after his death. First of all, in the first 8 chapters, Magnus is described as the Irish prince who was dedicated to St. Columban follows as a pupil, described, the next 8 chapters describe him as a pupil of St. Gallus . After these 16 chapters of the student life, which ends with his departure from St. Gallen and the healing of the blind in Bregenz , Magnus is presented as a perfect master in the following 9 chapters. He defeats the snake Boa in Kempten , defeats the dragon in Roßhaupten , destroys the river and mountain spirits in the Lech Valley at the place called "fauces" (gullet, throat) = feet, and establishes a cell and an oratory here . And again, a special combination of numbers is associated with the order scheme of these 25 chapters, namely the division of a square number into two square numbers (25 = 16 + 9), as in the Pythagorean theorem .

After Magnus' death, his cell was destroyed. The Augsburg Bishop Simpert had this rebuilt and the church and monastery built under his successors. Bishop Lanto now had a search for the Magnus tomb. As the Vita further reports, the grave was discovered, signaled by a miracle effect, and the undamaged body of Magnus was raised, a clear sign of his holiness and brilliant legitimation for the newly founded Benedictine monastery. This monastery foundation can be set around 830/840.

Adoration of saints

Magnus was a saint of the Benedictine order and so his veneration can be found especially in Benedictine monasteries. In the alpine region he was revered as the patron saint and emergency helper against mice, caterpillar and white grubs. The legend of Magnus partially takes over the pre-Christian worship of holy places, e.g. B. the apple tree near Schwangau / Waltenhofen; the shell stone at the Lusalten / Lechfall becomes the “ Magnus step ”. The St. Mang staff was given special miraculous powers. This was often requested from the Füssen monastery for pest control .

“The blessings with the Magnuss stick were usually performed by the curator of the Füssen monastery. He rode to the place where a blessing was desired. There the priest was shown through the hallway. At four stations he stuck the Magnus stick in the field, sang the beginning of the Gospel, read the exorcism and gave the blessing with the stick. It took about half a day to walk around the corridor . ”(Epple, Alois: in exhibition catalog 2000) After a journey through the Adige River in 1643, a Füssen priest noted:“ Wherever the Holy Staff went to the pious abbot, the grapes were spared from mold for seven years, and where it was swung over the fields blessing with prayers, all pests had to give way. "

In the Age of Enlightenment , however, this popular practice was branded as superstition and after secularization was banned by government decree, the Magnuss rod was confiscated in 1804. In 1822 he was brought back to Füssen. Processions with the Magnus stick still take place in Füssen on Magnus Day (September 6th) and Pentecost Tuesday .

Magnus representations (a selection)

The oldest representation of St. Magnus is in the crypt of the former monastery church of the Füssen monastery
St. Mang fountain in Kempten by Georg Wrba, Magnus is portrayed as a Christian Siegfried .

In religious art, Magnus is identified by various attributes . As the abbot of a Benedictine monastery, he wears a cup , pectoral cross and crook . The tamed bear stands for taming and harnessing dangerous natural forces. In the course of the Counter-Reformation the dragon, which according to legend, Magnus defeated in the gorge near Roßhaupten, became his central attribute - a symbol of the Counter-Reformation Church against paganism and heresy.

Book illumination

  • Munich, Bavarian State Library clm 3913: Initial O with the oldest picture of St. Magnus, around 960.
  • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France Ms. lat. 10867: Count Dietrich asks St. Magnus for intercession with God, around 1000.
  • Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek , Cod. Hist. 2 ° 415: Miniature from the Zwiefalten martyrology : Magnus follows Gallus, around 1138–1147 and Magnus with bear, around 1162.
  • St. Gallen, Abbey Library HS 565: Magnus heals a blind man in Bregenz, around 1135.
  • Augsburg, University Library Cod.I.2.4 ° 21: Endpaper to the vita The founder of the monastery and the fortunes of his monastery, 12th century.
  • Berlin, State Library of Prussian Cultural Heritage , Ms. germ. Quart. 42: The hll. Magnus, Agapitus and Bernhard, from the prayer book of Maria von Geldern, Utrecht, around 1415/25.
  • St. Gallen, Abbey Library Cod. 602: 14 illustrations for the legend of Magnus, around 1451.

plastic

  • Füssen: City Museum: Sculpture from the late Gothic former choir altar of St. Mang, 1463.
  • Füssen: city fountain
  • Gagers, municipality of Lana (South Tyrol), Magnus Chapel: Magnus enthroned, sculpture from the early Baroque high altar of St. Mang Füssen, Bartholomäus Steinle, 1619.
  • Füssen, St. Mang parish church, Magnus chapel: marble figure of Magnus enthroned, Anton Sturm, before 1717.
  • Gossenzugen, Magnus Chapel: Magnus altar staged as a grotto, JJ Christian and Johann M. Feichtmayr, 1749.
  • Birnau, pilgrimage church: Dragonslayer, JA Feichtmayr, around 1750.
  • Ettal, Benedictine Abbey Church: Dragonslayer, JB Straub, around 1762.
  • Kempten, St. Mang-Brunnen : bronze figure, Georg Wrba, 1905.
  • Kempten, St.-Mang-Brücke : Bridge figure St. Magnus and St. Lorenz, Karl Hoefelmayr, 1952.
  • Füssen, Magnusbrunnen: bronze sculpture, Alois Vogler, 1968.
  • Landeck / Tirol, Perjen parish church, statues of St. Magnus and St. Gallus in the chancel.

Frescoes

  • Füssen, parish church of St. Mang, crypt: Magnus follows Gallus; Reichenau School, around 980.
  • Füssen, parish church St. Mang: fresco cycle The life of St. Magnus, Johann Jakob Herkomer and Franz Georg Hermann, 1709 - around 1720.
  • Bad Schussenried, former Premonstratensian monastery church St. Mang: Magnus cycle, Johann Zick, 1746.
  • Unterrammingen, parish church St. Mang: ceiling fresco four scenes from the life of St. Magnus, Johann Baptist Enderle, 1769.
  • Geislatsried, St. Magnus Church: ceiling painting of St. Magnus preaches the gospel to the residents of the Allgäu, Franz Osterried , 1861/62.
  • Dienhausen, community of Denklingen, branch church St. Mang: Ceiling painting: The Augsburg bishop Wikterp meets St. Magnus in Epfach and gives him the mission order for the Allgäu; created in 1898, artist unknown.

painting

  • Kempten, Keckkapelle : panel painting Magnus fights dragons and vermin, 1495.
  • Füssen, State Gallery in the High Castle: Panel paintings Legend of St. Magnus, Stephan Mair (?), Around 1570.
  • Füssen, Museum der Stadt: Behind the glass painting He will build a house for my name, 1711.
  • Seedorf (Canton Uri), St. Lazarus Monastery Church: Abbot Magnus, 1733.
  • Füssen, Museum der Stadt: Draft of an altar sheet Magnus asks the Holy Trinity for protection from the dragon Thomas Christian Winck, 1794.
  • Buchenberg, Parish Rettenberg, pilgrimage chapel to St. Magnus: Votive tablets Magnus as a helper in need, 18./19. Century.
  • Willisau, Holy Blood Chapel: Magnuswasser, Anton Amberger, 1854.
  • Fluh, Bregenz, St. Wendelin : panel painting Magnus fights dragons and vermin, 1876.

Goldsmith work

  • Wangen, Stadtpfarrkirche St. Martin: Magnus staff with reliquary made of white silver in the form of an abbot's staff, around 1500.
  • Füssen, parish church of St. Mang: Magnus staff with a Magnus statuette made of silver, 1572.
  • Bad Schussenried, monastery museum: Magnusstab reliquary, late Gothic and 1720.
  • Zwiefalten, Münster vicarage: Magnus staff with statuette, around 1680.

graphic

  • Füssen, City Museum: woodcut, Magnus soothes the bear, first incunabulum: The Holy Life, summer part by Günther Zainer, 1472.
  • Hartmann Schedel, Weltchronik: Woodcut, Der Magnustanz von Kölbigk, Michael Wolgemuth, 1493.
  • Augsburg, State and City Library: copper engraving, Magnus, a St. Gallen saint, Pierre Wuilleret / Wolfgang Kilian , 1630.

Stained glass

  • Füssen, the city's museum: former choir window from St. Mang, Magnus the dragon slayer, Kgl. Glasmalereianstalt Munich, 1870.

literature

  • Eduard Gebele: Saint Magnus von Füssen . Munich, Univ., Diss., 1953
  • Gerold Meyer von Knonau :  Magnus von Füssen . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 74 f.
  • Gebhard Spahr: Saint Magnus. Life, legend, worship . (= Allgäu homeland books; 75). Verlag für Heimatpflege, Kempten 1970
  • Dorothea Walz: In the footsteps of the masters. The vita of St. Magnus von Füssen . Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-7047-0
  • Manfred Weitlauff :  Magnus von Füssen (St. Mang). In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-428-00196-6 , p. 670 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Elisabeth Wintergerst: "Places of the Goddess & Magnus legend" Matriarchal traces in Füssen and the surrounding area, self-published by the author, Füssen, 2009
  • Magnus - dragon, bear and pilgrim staff. 1250 years apostle of the Allgäu . Kunstverlag Fink, Lindenberg 2000, ISBN 3-933784-69-7 (exhibition catalog)
  • Klaus Wankmiller: In the footsteps of St. Magnus in Tirol - Part I: Ranggen: The parish church of St. Magnus in Ranggen and the frescoes by Franz Anton Zeiller , in: Alt Füssen - Yearbook of the Historical Association of Alt Füssen (2012), pp. 114–144.
  • Stefan Vatter: St. Magnus. Apostles of the Allgäu: life, work and meaning. Kunstverlag Fink, Lindenberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89870-657-5

Web links

Commons : Magnus von Füssen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dorothea Walz: In the footsteps of the masters. The vita of St. Magnus von Füssen. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-7047-0
  2. ^ Stefan Vatter: St. Magnus. Apostles of the Allgäu: life, work and meaning. Kunstverlag Fink, Lindenberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89870-657-5
  3. ↑ In addition: Magnusstab - "protective magic" of the church against vermin. In: Margarete Ruff: Magic practices as a way of life. Magic in everyday life from the Middle Ages to today. Frankfurt 2003, p. 106ff
  4. ↑ Gunther-Maria Ehlers: "St. Magnus in the chancel of the Perjener parish church". In: Parish homepage Perjen. Retrieved on February 2, 2018 (German).
personal data
SURNAME Magnus von Füssen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES St. Mang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Holy and legendary founder of the Abbey of St. Mang
DATE OF BIRTH 8th century
DATE OF DEATH 8th century or 9th century