Altwin (Brixen)

Altwin von Brixen († March 7, 1097 in Brixen ) was Bishop of Brixen from 1049 to 1097 . During his tenure, the territorial formation of the diocese was largely completed.

Live and act

Altwin was presumably ordained bishop at a young age, which can be deduced from his almost 50-year tenure. He must have been provost of the cathedral in Salzburg before. Pope Damasus II. Appointed him in 1048 to the presbyter cardinalis , his titular church is not known.

The Brixen bishops' catalog shows that Emperor Heinrich III. allegedly sold the bishopric to the bishop for 100 marks; in addition, the transfer from Verona is subordinated to him. Altwin accompanied the emperor when he moved to Italy via the Brenner Pass in 1055 . Heinrich III showed himself for this service. generous. He gave Altwin a property in Styria . The bishop had a fortification built there and the Schwanberg Castle, which might already exist at the time, expanded.

After Heinrich III. died in October 1056, his underage son Henry IV took over the throne. It was not long before Altwin went to the court to have the areas of the Brixen monastery confirmed there. From now on he is to be found more and more often near the Empress widow and the young king.

In 1063 Altwin accompanied Henry IV on his campaign against Hungary. As a reward this time he got two mountains in Carniola . Two years later, Heinrich IV gave him the right to protect a previous imperial abbey, the Polling monastery near Weilheim .

Altwin took part in the Prince's Day in Salzburg in 1073 as well as in the war against the Saxons in 1075. The following year the conflict between the imperial and papacy intensified. The Synod of Worms removed Pope Gregory VII from his office. This brought Altwin great advantages for the diocese. The emperor wanted loyal clerics on his side and he rewarded this financially. So it happened that Brixen received the Meierhof in Schlanders , possessions in Passeier and 30 other estates in 1077 .

Since Altwin was a loyal supporter of the emperor and a sharp opponent of the pope during the investiture controversy, he made it possible for a synod to be held in Brixen on June 25 and 26, 1080. Nine German and 21 Italian bishops took part in this Brixen Council. There Pope Gregory VII was declared deposed and the installation of the Archbishop of Ravenna into the papacy as Clement III. decided.

In 1091 the Bishop of Brixen stayed in the Emperor's army camp in Verona . There Heinrich IV granted him the county rights of Engelbert von Spanheim in the Pustertal on September 2nd of the same year . These included a. also the area of ​​the later city of Bruneck . Altwin thus became the emperor's fief and territorial lord.

In the following year Altwin was expelled from the bishop's castle and imprisoned by Duke Welf , who was loyal to the Pope because of his uncompromising attitude. But he was able to free himself from captivity and flee to Heinrich IV. Meanwhile, the duke had Altwin replaced by Burkhard as the new bishop. Four years later, Henry IV became reconciled with Duke Welf. Altwin then tried to take over his diocese again.

More than 300 traditional notes , which also document the development of the episcopal administration, testify to Altwin's assertiveness .

Web links

• Altwin (presbyter cardinalis of an unknown title). In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed June 1, 2017.
• Altwin von Brixen on the history of Tyrol

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Martin Bitschnau , Hannes Obermair (ed.): Tiroler Urkundenbuch, II. Department: The documents on the history of the Inn, Eisack and Pustertal valleys . tape 1 : Up to the year 1140. Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 978-3-7030-0469-8 , p. 201 .
2. ^ Liturgical devices ( memento of August 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on hofburg.it
3. ↑ History of the City of Bruneck on gemeinde.bruneck.bz.it ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ History of the city of Bruneck on bruneck.it
5. ^ Oswald Redlich : The traditional books of the Brixen monastery from the tenth to the fourteenth century (Acta Tirolensia 1). Wagner: Innsbruck 1886, p. 30ff, no. 73–402.