Miracle book by Dettelbach

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The miracle book of Dettelbach (short title of the original Beneficia Vetera Et Nova Divae Virginis Dettelbacensis , short title of the translation of the All Souls Day Virgin Mary Old and New miracle signs happened to Dettelbach ) is a collection of miracle reports that in connection with the pilgrimage to the church Maria im Sand near the Lower Franconian town of Dettelbach . It was written in 1607 by the auxiliary bishop in Würzburg, Eucharius Sang . One edition is exhibited in the Pilger & Wallfahrer Museum and is one of Bavaria's 100 home treasures .

Origin and history

The creation of the book is connected with the pilgrimage to the church Maria im Sand. In 1505, the day laborer Nikolaus Lemmerer from Melkendorf was the first to make a pilgrimage to a wayside shrine in the vineyards in the east of Dettelbach. He was badly wounded during a church feast and vowed to go to the wayside shrine with the pietà if he should recover. Lemmerer's wounds healed and he fulfilled his vow. After he had covered the approximately 65 kilometers to Dettelbach, Lemmerer fell asleep at the feet of the stick and was commissioned in a dream to report the miracle to the Dettelbach council.

In the period that followed, important theologians of their time began to report on the miracles at Dettelbach. Johannes Trithemius , the abbot of the Würzburg Schottenkloster , was the first to compile the miracles in a two-volume work. After the beginning of the Reformation , the pilgrimage to the wayside shrine, which had meanwhile been converted into a wooden chapel, was almost completely extinguished. Only the efforts of the Würzburg prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn saved the pilgrimage destination. In 1585 he visited Dettelbach himself.

The pilgrimage was strengthened again through the personal support of the top Würzburg clergyman. The commitment of the Prince-Bishop's sister, Magdalena Fuchs von Dornheim, also contributed to this. She donated masses and had money distributed to poor pilgrims. As an accompanying measure, regional authors also began to report on the pilgrimage. In 1602, for example, a book by the Stadtschwarzacher pastor and humanist Sigismund Wermerskirch (er) was published.

Much more significant, however, was the work of the Eucharius Sang, published in 1607, which is called the Miracle Book by Dettelbach. Eucharius Sang was appointed auxiliary bishop in Würzburg by Bishop Julius Echter in 1597 and was a professor at the University of Würzburg . In addition, he worked as a writer. The Dettelbacher Miracle Book is considered his main work and was translated into German by Johann Vietor only one year after its publication.

Several editions of the Miracle Book have survived. In Dettelbach itself, a version is on display as an exhibit in the Pilger & Wallfahrer Museum. The University Library of Regensburg also has a copy.

content

The structure of the Miracle Book by Dettelbach corresponds to other comparable works. Wrapped in little fabulous stories, a total of 75 miracles that occurred at the wayside shrine are listed. Sang put the focus on the place of grace Dettelbach, but he also expanded his story. He goes into detail about the importance of the worship of Our Lady in the diocese of Würzburg and was thus part of the political agenda of Prince-Bishop Julius Echter. Sang mainly focuses on the period between 1505 and 1511.

The general sequence of the miracle episodes is shown using an example (from the translated version). The 19th chapter in the book of miracles reads: "A child so fallen in a fountain / was saved with life." In 1597 the child of a family from Effeldorf near Dettelbach fell into a fountain . The mother prayed to Our Lady of Dettelbach and the child was not only saved, but also recovered from his injuries. After the story, Sang added other incidents that should also have happened in the area.

literature

  • Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and for Heimat (Ed.): 100 Heimatschätze. Hidden insights into Bavarian museums . Lindenberg im Allgäu 2019.
  • Veronika Heilmannseder: The spiritual council of the diocese of Würzburg under Friedrich von Wirsberg (1558–1573) and Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (1573–1617) (= sources and research on the history of the diocese and bishopric of Würzburg volume LXXIII). Wuerzburg 2014.
  • Hans Pörnbacher (Ed.): Bavarian Library: Texts from twelve centuries. Volume 2: The literature of the baroque. Munich 1986.
  • Reinhard Worschech: Maria help, it's time. From the story of the pilgrimage to “Mary in the Sand”. In: Karl Heinrich Brückner, Peter Ruderich, Anke Ruppert, Reinhard Worschech: Maria help, it's time. From the story of the pilgrimage to “Maria im Sand” Dettelbach. Dettelbach 2005. pp. 7-21.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Worschech, Reinhard: Maria help, it's time. P. 8 f.
  2. ↑ Veronika Heilmannseder: The Spiritual Council of the Diocese of Würzburg. P. 428.
  3. ↑ Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and Home (Ed.): 100 Heimatschätze . P. 181.
  4. ↑ Veronika Heilmannseder: The Spiritual Council of the Diocese of Würzburg. P. 428.
  5. ↑ Hans Pörnbacher (Ed.): Bavarian Library. Pp. 1089-1093.