Bernhard von Raesfeld

Bernhard von Raesfeld (born November 9, 1508 in the Hameren house near Billerbeck ; † April 18, 1574 in Münster ) was Prince-Bishop of the Diocese of Münster from December 4, 1557 to October 25, 1566 .

Coat of arms of those of Raesfeld

Seal of Bernhard von Raesfeld, Prince-Bishop of Münster (1560)

origin

Bernhard came from the Westphalian noble family Raesfeld . His parents, who were married since 1506, were the manor owner Arnd von Raesfeld zu Hameren (1479–1567) and Petronella von Merfeld zu Merfeld († 1534), who together had 20 children, including Bernhard's brothers Gottfried von Raesfeld (important cathedral dean ) and the canons Heinrich , Arnd , Bitter and Dietrich Franz . After the father was widowed, he had been living with his maid Adelheid Mensing for a long time before he married her in 1555, which also legitimized the seven children from this connection (possibly there were also children with another maid named Christine among them).

Spiritual career

Since Bernhard was not intended to be the heir of the Hameren manor , he embarked on a spiritual career. Traditionally, this happened with a son from the Raesfeld family in the Hochstift Münster , where ancestors and relatives already had excellent relationships with the cathedral chapter there . Bernhard von Raesfeld had already held a few offices as a canon or canon (e.g. cathedral waiter and provost of the St. Mauritz monastery and owner of the archdeaconate for Stadtlohn ) when he was on December 4, 1557 when the office of bishop was vacant 49 years ago was elected Prince-Bishop by the cathedral chapter of Münster .

Prince-Bishop of Munster

Only reluctantly, and only after he had rejected the election that had fallen on him, Bernhard accepted the prince's dignity, which he more favored, at the urgent encouragement of the cathedral capitals and the estates , who assured him that they would support him in the government as best as possible Burden held on. One of his first official acts as Prince-Bishop in 1558 was to confirm a court settlement, according to which the city of Münster was entitled to detain clergy who had committed criminal offenses until they were handed over to the bishop's jurisdiction , albeit only in mild detention . Among the diets of Augsburg Bernhard sent from 1559 to 1566 regularly his brother Gottfried von Raesfeld , an erudite canon and skillful diplomat . In 1561, Emperor Ferdinand I asked Prince-Bishop Bernhard to submit a report on the confirmation of their privileges requested by the City of Munster . Bernhard finally confirmed the privileges in 1566.

Threat to the Principality of Münster

In the summer of 1563, Duke Erich II of Braunschweig-Calenberg marched with an army against Münster and announced the feud from Prince-Bishop Bernhard von Bramsche on the pretext of backward payments . In vain did the citizens of Warendorf ask the bishop for help against the imminent attack by the duke. Of necessity, they opened the gates of the city to Erich on July 19 and paid 3000 guilders in arson . In the end, Bishop Bernhard was able to negotiate the Duke's withdrawal from the Münster city in exchange for a ransom of 32,000 guilders. At the time, however, the population was outraged by the willing payment of such a large sum without attempting to drive the duke away. But no one was more dissatisfied with this inglorious course than the bishop himself, but circumstances had compelled him to do so. It was only after the satisfied Duke Erich had left that Bishop Bernhard recruited 300 armed riders with the help of Alhard von Hörde, Commander of the Teutonic Order .

resignation

Reasons for resignation

The disappointing development of the church reform led Bernhard to think about resignation at an early stage . The cathedral chapter and Duke Wilhelm von Jülich-Kleve-Berg repeatedly asked him to remain in office. In 1563, after the attack by Duke Erich , Bernhard gave further reasons for his resignation that the estates and the cathedral chapter did not support him in his government as promised at the beginning. According to the existing order, the landscape had to bear the costs incurred in the event of war . The most recent attack by Duke Erich had shown, however, that the estates were not inclined to fulfill their duties in this regard, so that Bishop Bernhard had to bear the costs alone, which was a heavy burden on his household . In addition, the income from land taxes has fallen significantly in recent years, on the other hand, the court and government required more and more effort. In the end, Bernhard added that instead of the advice and assistance he had previously been promised, he only felt disagreement and repugnance among the estates, which prevented common welfare, disrupted good order and brought about the ruin of the state .

Resignation itself

Grave of Bishop Bernhard von Raesfeld in the chancel of the cathedral in Münster / Westphalia, Germany

As a consequence, Bishop Bernhard considered several successor candidates, and when the decision to resign was finally made, on February 13, 1565 Gottfried Gropper and Gottschalk Freher were commissioned to ask in Rome for the required licentia resignandi . On December 5, 1565, Bishop Bernhard laid down the conditions under which he wanted to resign. The death of Pope Pius IV on December 9, 1565 delayed the progress of the matter. On October 24, 1566, Prince-Bishop Bernhard released his officials and subjects from the oath, and the next day in Wolbeck , without having received the licentia resignandi ( incidentally, he had never received episcopal ordination), his office in the hands of the cathedral chapter of Munster down.

Last years

Bernhard withdrew to the cathedral curia granted to him at the cathedral immunity in Münster, where he also died on April 18, 1574. In Billerbeck , where his parents' house, the Hameren house, stands, he founded a poor house for six women and six men. Incidentally, like his father and like many canons of his time, he left children behind. Bishop Bernhard von Raesfeld was buried in the cathedral in Münster, as were his brothers Gottfried and Bitter later at his side.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.jokuhl.de/karl.htm Arnd von Raesfeld zu Hameren (* 1479) was like his older brother Johann (II.) Von Raesfeld zu Ostendorf a son of Goswin von Raesfeld zu Ostendorf and Hameren (1428– 1503), who in turn was a 22nd generation descendant of Charlemagne . Arnd's son, Bishop Bernhard von Raesfeld, was thus a descendant of Charlemagne in the 24th generation. Homepage of Joachim Kuhl. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
2. ↑ http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Haus_Hameren Website with family tree of the owners of Haus Hameren near Billerbeck. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
3. ↑ On them cf. u. a. Warnecke (1983) and Kohl (2003).

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl : The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 7, 3: The diocese (Germania sacra, new series, vol. 37, 3). Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-11-017592-4 , pp. 579-585.
• Wilhelm Kohl: The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 4, 2: The cathedral monastery of St. Paul in Münster (Germania sacra, new series, vol. 17, 2). Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-11-008508-9 , pp. 136-141.
• Hans-Jürgen Warnecke: The children of Bernhard von Raesfeld, Bishop of Münster (1557–1566). In: Contributions to Westphalian family research 1983, Vol. 41, pp. 326–334 ( online full text ).
• Heinrich August Erhard: History of Münster. Edited from the sources. Münster 1837, pp. 384-392.

Web links

• Entry on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Wilhelm Ketteler	Bishop of Munster 1557 - 1566	Johann II of Hoya