Bernhard II (Lippe)

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Monument to Bernhard II in Lippstadt by Albert Pehle

Bernhard II. Zur Lippe (* around 1140 possibly on the Hermelinghof in what is now the city of Lippstadt ; † 1224 in Mesothen ) was the founder of the Lippe rule and the planned cities of Lippstadt and Lemgo . He entered the Cistercian monastery Marienfeld after 1194 , became abbot of the Dünamünde monastery around 1210 and bishop of Selonia in 1218 .

Life

Bernhard II. Was the son of Hermann I and the nephew of Bernhard I , who were the first to be referred to as "Noble zur Lippe". In the course of his life he developed into one of the most important and influential Westphalian personalities of the Staufer period . All sovereign and special rights of the "Herren zur Lippe" are probably due to him.

The years before the Saxon War (1140–1177)

Before taking office in 1167, Bernhard II probably attended the cathedral school in Hildesheim (there are no precise sources on this), where he later worked as canon . The education he received at this school surpassed that of other nobles of his time. In 1163 he was called back to Lippe after the death of his older brother Heinrich. He received a knightly training commensurate with his status, probably partly at the court of Henry the Lion in Braunschweig , and was knighted .

He took over the reign in Lippe after the death of his father Hermann I and his brother Bernhard I in the army of Emperor Friedrich I outside Rome . At that time, the property already consisted of the family's original property near today's city of Lippstadt and large parts of the Lippe region. In 1167 he married Heilwig, Countess von Are , who belonged to the Rhenish nobility and was related to the house of the Hohenstaufen. His wife's uncle, Friedrich von Ahre , was Bishop of Münster (1152–1168) at the time and became a good friend of the young noble lord. About Friedrich von Ahre and his cousin, Herrmann von Ahre , the abbot of the Cappenberg monastery , there were relatively close connections with the Archbishop of Cologne , Philip I von Heinsberg , who was Bernhard's liege lord .

The Saxon War

The period from 1177 to 1181 was marked by the Saxon War , in which the differences of opinion between Duke of Saxony Heinrich the Lion and Archbishop Philipp von Heinsberg from Cologne culminated. Despite his close ties and the geographical proximity to Cologne, Bernhard II fought together with his cousin Widukind von Rheda as a follower of Henry the Lion in Westphalia and thus attracted the hostility of his liege lord and most of the other aristocrats of Westphalia. In the course of the war Bernhard II became one of Henry the Lion's closest companions. At the same time, however, he also maintained good relations with the new bishop of Münster, Hermann II , who was a close advisor to Emperor Barbarossa from around 1180 during his term of office (1173 to 1202) and thus an important advisor to Bernhard II after the end of the war Became an intermediary.

From 1179 on, Bernhard II destroyed the properties of the Archbishop of Cologne in the immediate vicinity. In particular, Medebach , which was currently under construction , was destroyed. The city of Soest was able to repel an attack due to the newly built city walls. Following this, Bernhard's troops turned in support of the Saxon army under the leadership of Count Gunzelin von Schwerin in northern Westphalia against a united army of the princes allied with the Cologne, the bishop of Osnabrück and the counts of Tecklenburg and Ravensburg , who were the counts of Arnsberg and the Counts of Schwalenberg came to the rescue. The winner of this battle on the Halerfeld , ten kilometers from Osnabrück, was the Saxon army.

Lipperode castle ruins

After this battle, however, the center of the holdings of Bernhard II, the former market district near the Lippefurt (today Nicolaiviertel in Lippstadt) and the former Nicolaikirche and its castle were destroyed in the course of an advance by the Cologne against the followers of Heinrich in 1177. Bernhard II himself was expelled and fled to the court of Henry the Lion. It was through him that Bernhard II got to know the basics of town planning, especially hydraulic engineering. He collected his impressions in Braunschweig and Hildesheim , later also during the defense and expansion of the town of Neuhaldensleben near Magdeburg . Until 1181 he defended the Duke's fortress in Haldensleben , which was besieged by the troops of Emperor Barbarossa. He had to give up this fortress when the opponents dammed the river Ohre and flooded the fortress. Bernhard II and his entourage were free to leave.

The years between 1181 and 1184

Heinrich the Lion was ostracized at the Gelnhausen Court in 1180 and had to leave Germany. From this point on, the tradition of the life of Bernhard II breaks off and does not start again until 1184. Deviating from the current representation, according to which Bernhard II has returned to the Lippe, the historian Paul Leidinger assumes that Bernhard II accompanied the Duke of Saxony into exile at the English royal court in Normandy . According to Leidinger, he did not return from there until 1184 and met the Archbishop of Cologne and new Duke of Westphalia Philipp von Heinsberg on his court day in Cologne .

Leidinger justifies his presentation of the story by the fact that there are sources about Widukind von Rheda for the time in question, who had never separated from Bernhard II. Above all, the document establishing the Marienfeld Monastery indicates the separation of the two friends. In addition, a relief from the Marienkirche in Lippstadt obviously shows Bernhard II on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , which he is said to have undertaken together with Henry the Lion.

The return of Bernhard II and the founding of Lippstadt

At the time of Bernhard II's return, the former market district on the Lippe had probably already been rebuilt. Although Bernhard had always fought alongside Henry the Lion in the past battles, he was granted the privilege, which was very rare at the time, of being allowed to build a city in the center of his possessions with the permission of Emperor Barbarossa. These were returned to him in the course of clarifications with Philipp von Heinsberg.

Perhaps Bernhard II met Barbarossa at Pentecost 1184 at the Imperial Festival in Mainz . The entire aristocracy of the country gathered with their retinue for the feast of the swordsmen 's sons; According to various sources, between 20,000 and 70,000 people are said to have gathered. After a storm, however, the festival was canceled on Whit Monday, and the emperor withdrew with his entourage to Gelnhausen . According to a tradition of the poet Justinus Lippiensis , who later reflected the life of Bernhard II in his work named Lippiflorum ( Lippische Rose , after the rose in arms of the Lord of the Lippe), Bernhard II was also at this festival. He is said to have attracted the emperor's attention to his noble demeanor and to have been asked by him to express a wish. Bernhard's wish was to be allowed to build a city on the Lippe, and Barbarossa is said to have granted him this wish. This story is portrayed in a somewhat flowery manner, but there is little doubt about the imperial permission to found the city. It was probably thanks to the emperor's advisor, Bishop Hermann II of Munster, that this happened, and he was probably also significantly involved in the mediation with the Archbishop of Cologne.

Lippe (Braun / Hagenberg 1588)
Falkenburg ruins (Detmold)

Bernhard II subsequently founded the city of Lippe (today Lippstadt in the Soest district ) as the first planned city in Westphalia in 1185 (according to other sources as early as 1184) . Following their example, he founded Lemgo in 1190 as the second town in the state of Lippe. During this time, Bernhard II was also involved in founding the Marienfeld Monastery (founded in 1185).

His friend Widukind von Rheda took part in the Third Crusade with Emperor Barbarossa in 1189 and died there. As Widukind's heir, Bernhard received rulership over Rheda, and the bailiwick of the monasteries Liesborn and Freckenhorst was transferred to him.

Around 1192 Bernhard II obtained permission to build the Falkenburg am Falkenberg within the episcopal forest area, whereby all rights were divided between the bishopric of Paderborn and himself. By a disease incapable of governing become handed Bernhard 1194 the rule to his son Hermann II. (* 1170) and then went as a monk in the Cistercian monastery founded by him in 1185 Marienfeld. Around 1210 he became abbot in Dünamünde and finally from 1218 to 1224 Bishop of Selonia in the Baltic States . At the end of April 1224, Bernhard II died, probably in Selburg , the capital of his diocese, or in Mesoythen. He was buried in the Dünamünde monastery .

The legend of God's punishment

According to tradition, Bernhard is said to have done a great deal of injustice to his subjects by robbing and burning during his rule. For this God punished him with lameness on both feet. The repentant Bernhard then humbly placed himself in the care and care of Cistercian monks and, because of his healing, also became a Cistercian monk.

The mantle anecdote

Modern banter singers tell the mantle anecdote from Bernhard from Lipperland. According to this, Bernhard should have come too late to a party. Since there were no more seats available, Bernhard and his entourage sat on their coats. After the meeting was over, they left their coats on. When asked why they left the coats lying around, he replied that it was not customary in Lipperland to take the seating furniture with you. The next day he is said to have been given seating by the emperor (Barbarossa) himself.

progeny

Bernhard's marriage to Heilwig von Are-Hochstaden (* 1150, † 1196), daughter of Count Otto von Are-Hochstaden, had the following children:

swell

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Rothert , Der Hermelinghof, Die Urquelle von Lippstadt, in: Mitt. Zur Lippischen Geschichte 20 (1951), pp. 5-8.
  2. ^ Cf. Karl Eduard Napiersky : Monumenta Livoniae Antiquae , Eduard von Frantzen's Buchhandlung, 1835, Volume 1, p. 86
  3. ^ According to Johannes Laudage: Friedrich Barbarossa (1152-1190). A biography. Edited by Lars Hageneier / Matthias Schrör. Regensburg 2009, p. 157 f., It was the Würzburger Hoftag from 1168.
predecessor Office successor
Hermann I. Herr zur Lippe
1168–1196 		Hermann II.
Widukind from Rheda Lord of Rheda
1191–1196 		Hermann II.
personal data
SURNAME Bernhard II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bernhard zur Lippe; Bernhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first regent of the state of Lippe, son of Hermann I.
DATE OF BIRTH around 1140
PLACE OF BIRTH Lipperode Castle
DATE OF DEATH April 1224
Place of death Mesoths