Andreas von Meyendorff

Andreas von Meyendorff (* 1522 ; † 1583 ) was lord of the castle Ummendorf , pioneer of the Reformation in the Magdeburg Börde and a student of Martin Luther .

Life

Von Meyendorff studied theology, law and history at the University of Leipzig . Although his uncle Georg von Meyendorff was a Catholic canon in Magdeburg and turned against the Reformation, von Meyendorff, who had also learned from Luther, became a staunch supporter of the new doctrine.

In 1545 he became lord of the castle at Ummendorf . In addition to managing the castle, he was also responsible for the administration of justice in the area, including in Eilsleben and Ovelgünne . He campaigned for the implementation of his confession and as early as 1553 appointed a Protestant pastor, Wolfgang Kropf, to Ummendorf.

The classically educated Andreas von Meyendorff maintained contact with well-known Protestant theologians such as Matthias Flacius , called Illyricus and Martin Chemnitz . In the time of the fragmentation of the evangelical doctrine after Luther's death he worked with Joachim von Alvensleben with the support of theologians in 1563 the Confessio , in which he tried to settle the existing theological disputes. The work is seen as a forerunner of the concord formula .

In 1573/74 he granted Tilemann Hesshus and Johannes Wigand asylum at his castle.

In 1554, Andreas von Meyendorff had a hospital built in Eilsleben. A foundation he set up in this context was active for several centuries. In the years from 1556 to 1566 he carried out a comprehensive renovation of the Ummendorf village church . The renovation of the castle in the Renaissance style, which began in 1535, was completed by 1581. In 1564 he founded a sexton school. School attendance became compulsory for boys in Ummendorf and was free of charge. In 1576 he added an octagonal tower room to the castle tower, which still exists today.

He died at the age of 61 in 1583. An epitaph is in the village church of Ummendorf.

Andreas von Meyendorff in literature

In the historical novel "On the wings of the dawn" by Gunther Hirschligau , published in 2000 by Dr. Ziethen Verlag, Oschersleben, is a fictional character of Andreas von Meyendorff, who is based on the historical person.

literature

• Fritz Schwerin: Five noblemen from the previous days: Daniel von der Schulenburg on Altenhausen 1538 - 1594: Jacob von der Schulenburg on Angern, 1515 - 1576. Joachim von Alvensleben on Erxleben, 1514 - 1588. Andreas von Meyendorff on Ummendorf, 1522 - 1583 Ludolf von Alvensleben auf Hundisburg, 1511 - 1596. Compiled from the funeral sermons given on the same and other sources. Halle: Fricke 1859 digitized
• Bock, local history of the Neuhaldensleben district , Neuhaldensleben 1920, commission publisher E. Zabel Neuhaldensleben, page 196