Altfrid

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Modern statue of St. Altfrid in front of the Essen Cathedral Treasury. In his hand, Altfrid holds a model of the first Essen minster based on medieval donor pictures
Altfrid's signature as Bishop of Hildesheim, 864
Entrance page of a gospel book written around 800 , which Altfrid may have given the Essen monastery as basic liturgical equipment . Essen Cathedral Treasury Hs. 1
Historic Altfrid shrine from 1892 in the Essen Cathedral Treasury , included in the exhibition Gold vor Schwarz
The Essen Necrolog, opened on the page with Altfrid's entry (top right)

Saint Altfrid (* around 800 ; † August 15, 874 ) was an important person at the end of the 9th century as Bishop of Hildesheim , founder of the Essen Monastery as the nucleus of the city of Essen and close adviser to the East Franconian King Ludwig the German .

Life

There is no contemporary or even timely vita about Altfrid . Its first recorded mention dates from October 3, 852. On this day he took part in a council in Mainz as Bishop of Hildesheim . Nothing is certain about Altfrid's birth, family origins and education, but some things can be inferred from other certificates.

Since Altfrid died "rich in days" in 874 according to the Hildesheim Chronicle, it is assumed that he reached a relatively old age, so that a birth around 800 or shortly after this year can be assumed. He was very likely of noble Saxon descent; Altfrid's family owned property in the Harz foreland and the manor Asnithi ( Essen ). According to recent findings, it is rather doubtful that he belonged to the later imperial family of the Liudolfinger , as the Liudolfinger only gained influence in the Essen monastery after Altfrid's death. It is more likely that the family associations were miscarried. The attainment of the office of bishop suggests that Altfrid had received an extensive education, probably in a Saxon monastery. The later historiography of the Corvey monastery claims Altfrid as a convent member; this could be true. Since Altfrid's handwritten signature in Carolingian minuscule is known, in which researchers believe they recognize a regional writing style cultivated in the western part of the empire, and some manuscripts that Altfrid handed over to the Essen monastery as the founding equipment were clearly created in the western part of the empire, training in the West accepted.

In 851 Altfrid became the successor of Bishop Ebo in Hildesheim, who died on March 20 of this year , whereby Ludwig the German asserted his influence. Altfrid's extraordinary measure was that he had all the ordinations donated by his predecessor repeated in order to avoid any canonical dispute about their validity - Ebo had been deposed and reinstalled several times as Archbishop of Reims. In 864 Altfrid transferred relics of St. Marsus of Auxerre to an unknown location in Saxony , possibly the Corvey Abbey ; Altfrid's sermon on the arrival of the relics has been preserved. Altfrid also laid the foundation stone for a new cathedral in 852 , a three-aisled, cruciform basilica with a crossing and transept, which was completed in 872 and consecrated on November 1, 872 in the presence of four bishops and the Abbot of Corvey.

Even before his appointment as bishop, Altfrid had helped found several religiously constituted women's communities. In 845/47 he acquired relics of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Rome . On this trip he possibly accompanied Liudolf and his wife Oda, who in 846 on a trip to Rome requested papal protection for the establishment of the women's community in Gandersheim , dispensation for the appointment of their daughter Hathumod as abbess and relics. Altfrid also supported the Saxon Count Ricdag in founding the women's community in Lamspringe by procuring relics of St. Hadrian from Rome. According to Hildesheim tradition, Altfrid also founded a Benedictine monastery on its own land in the Harz foreland, of which neither the location nor the duration of its existence are known. Altfrid's other foundation, which he undertook on his own estate, Asthnide am Hellweg , became more important. Essen was not founded by Altfrid alone, but presumably by his entire family. The first abbess of Essen was his relative Gerswith, who was later declared to be a sister of Altfrid without there being any evidence. The second abbess from Essen, Gerswith II, was also one of Altfrid's relatives. As in Hildesheim, Altfrid had a church built in Essen. The floor plan of this Carolingian collegiate church is still shown today by the nave and transept of the Essen Minster . In this church, Altfrid was buried according to his wishes, the Altfrid tomb from the Gothic period is today in the east crypt named after him.

diplomat

Altfrid, who is described in a letter from Bishop Hinkmar of Reims as a clever and sober thinker and gifted with eloquence, was a close confidante of Ludwig the German, and from 860 one of the decisive negotiators in the power struggles between the parts of the crumbling Franconian Empire . In 860 Altfrid took part in the meeting between Ludwig the German and Karl the Bald in the St. Kastor Basilica in Koblenz , where the two kings agreed a partial peace. In the following years, Altfrid traveled extensively: in the early summer of 862 he was attested in Asselt an der Maas, later in Compiegne and Savonnières, in 864 in Pitres, 865 in Thousey an der Maas and finally in 867 in Metz. Altfrid had a decisive influence on the design of the Treaty of Meersen , with which Lorraine was divided between western and eastern France on August 9, 870 .

Aftermath

Altfrid was especially venerated at his grave in Essen. At the turn of the millennium miracles were reported at his grave, which made the worship flourish; The healing effect of a spring not far from the Essen Minster was also attributed to his intercession. After the fire in the cathedral church in the 13th century, a Gothic stone sarcophagus was created for his bones. Altfrid's annual memory was the most festive in the memorial service of the Essen monastery. Nevertheless, Altfrid was not a canonized saint, and with the secularization of the monastery in 1803, the worship of Altfrid decreased, only to become stronger again only in the Kulturkampf . After the establishment of the Diocese of Essen in 1958, the first Ruhr bishop asked Rome for confirmation of the church celebration of the feast day of St. Altfrid, which was granted in 1965. Altfrid has been venerated as a saint since 1965; his feast day is August 16 .

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : St. Altfrid  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Ebo (ebbo) Bishop of Hildesheim
851–874 		Markward
personal data
SURNAME Altfrid
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Hildesheim
DATE OF BIRTH around 800
DATE OF DEATH August 15, 874