Bartholomäus Froewein

The epitaph of Bartholomäus Fröwein

Bartholomäus Fröwein (also Bartholomäus Frowein ; * in Nuremberg ; † July 25, 1430 in Ebrach ) was abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Ebrach from 1426 to 1430 . Before that he held the post of Dean of the Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna .

Life

Professor in Vienna

Bartholomäus Fröwein was born in the 14th century in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg. Nothing is known about his exact date of birth, and the sources are also silent about the parents of the future abbot. Bartholomäus entered the Cistercian monastery in Ebrach in the Steigerwald as a professed professorship between 1360 and 1370, in order to study the Holy Scriptures there. First he began his training here before moving to the Cistercian study house of the University of Vienna.

The student Fröwein is recorded for the first time in Vienna in 1385, possibly the theologian Konrad von Ebrach recommended him, who himself had given lectures at the high school. In 1402 he obtained a theological license , which enabled Bartholomew to give lectures himself. He probably carried out this activity in his old monastery in Ebrach, as well as at the young University of Würzburg , where he was appointed by Bishop Johann I von Egloffstein between 1402 and 1411 .

After the preliminary dissolution of the Franconian University, Bartholomäus Fröwein returned to Vienna from Würzburg . He again became a member of the theological faculty and, after further studies, received his doctorate on June 20, 1413 as a doctor of theology. Soon afterwards he took over the management of the College of St. Nicholas the Cistercians at the University of Vienna and held a number of lectures on dogmatics in this position .

With the convocation of the Council of Constance in 1414, the Ebrach monastery and its abbot Heinrich III. Urged Heppe to attend the meeting. Bartholomäus Fröwein was probably not part of this Franconian delegation, but traveled to the church meeting as a representative of the University of Vienna. On April 17, 1415 he became a member of the new committee that should judge the preacher Jan Hus . Together with the other professors of the committee, he decided to burn the Bohemian as a heretic.

In 1416 Fröwein returned to Vienna to preach a sermon in St. Stephen's Cathedral . In this he affirmed the hope of overcoming the long-standing church division. Older authors assumed that the scholar undertook a trip to the Holy Land together with the bishop of Worms or Trier after the council in Constance . In 1419, 1420 and 1424, however, Bartholomäus Fröwein is recorded as dean of the theological faculty, which makes such a long journey unlikely.

In addition to his work in the Dean's office, Bartholomew also held the position of provisional for the faculty. While as dean he had to settle several disputes, as a provisional he was responsible for the financial resources of the faculty. At the end of 1426, Bartholomäus Fröwein was elected their new abbot by the Ebrach monks. The Roman Curia , however, initially declared the election null and void and then appointed the professor as abbot himself on March 14, 1427.

Abbot in Ebrach Monastery

The consecration of the new abbot was carried out by the prelate of the Heilsbronn subsidiary , Arnold Waibler. However, Fröwein still had to raise a high curia tax of 800 guilders, for which he obliged some aristocrats from the near and far to pay. Among other things, Cosmas and Lorenz von Medici participated in the settlement of the debts. On September 19, 1427, the university organized a farewell party for the new abbot, but it is unclear whether Bartholomew drove south again for this.

As abbot, Bartholomäus Fröwein had to take part in the annual general chapter of the Cistercian order. In 1429 the Ebrach monastery was often on the agenda here. Abbot Bartholomew also had to pay a lot of money to the diocese of Würzburg in 1428 , which wanted to improve its persecution of heretics. In 1429, Bishop Johann II von Brunn asked for 2,600 florins to collect money for the feuds against the nobles in the area.

When Pope Martin V called for the Council of Basel in 1429, the Ebrach monastery also followed the call. Bartholomäus Fröwein sent two conventuals, Albert Kirchenloher and the later abbot Hermann von Kottenheim . The 22nd abbot of Ebrach Monastery, Bartholomäus Fröwein, died on July 25, 1430 and was buried in the monastery church. Its epitaph is now in the south transept.

literature

• Georg Denzler: Bartholomäus Fröwein, Abbot of Ebrach († 1430) . In: Zimmermann, Gerd (ed.): Festschrift Ebrach 1127-1977 . Volkach 1977. pp. 11-28.
• Adelhard Kaspar: Chronicle of the Ebrach Abbey . Münsterschwarzach 1971.
• Carl Ruland:  Bartholomaeus . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 109 f.

Web links

Commons : Bartholomäus Fröwein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Denzler, Georg: Bartholomäus Fröwein. P. 154.
2. ↑ Kaspar, Adelhard: Chronicle of the Ebrach Abbey. P. 86.
3. ↑ Denzler, Georg: Bartholomäus Fröwein . P. 159.
4. ↑ Denzler, Georg: Bartholomäus Fröwein . P. 163.

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry III. Heppe	Abbot of Ebrach 1426-1430	Hermann III. from Kottenheim