Bertho II of Leibolz

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Depiction of the murder of Bertho II (by C. Sonnetzer)

Bertho II von Leibolz († March 18, 1271 in Fulda ), dismissively called Abbot Fingerhut because of his small figure , was prince abbot of the Fulda monastery from 1261 to 1271 . Before Bertho II became abbot in the imperial princes, he held the post of provost on the Petersberg .

Abbatiat 1261-1271

Bertho II. Was elected Prince Abbot of Fulda in 1261 after the death of Heinrich IV. Von Erthal . During the so-called interregnum of the Abbey of Fulda ruled that in many parts of the empire and also in the sphere of feuds . Feudal nobles and ministerials strove to gain more independence from the abbey.

Like his predecessor Henry IV, Bertho II fought vigorously against robber barons . He allied himself with the Thuringian Landgrave Heinrich von Meißen against the robber barons, who had not even shrunk from attacks on the pilgrims of St. James . As a result, he had Breitenbach fortified near Hersfeld, Geisa in the Thuringian Rhön and Lauterbach in the Vogelsberg . Lauterbach was then a Fulda bastion and on March 16, 1266 received town rights and a castle with a Fulda occupation.

Wartenberg Castle
Eisenbach Castle
Osterburg Castle
Ebersburg Castle

He also destroyed or conquered 15 castles of his opponents between the Rhön and Vogelsberg , including:

The castle of the Lords of Blankenwald, a sideline of the Lords of Schlitz, was considered one of the most feared robber barons' nests in the Fulda region in the 13th century. Bertho II had the castle stormed and razed in 1264. Remains of the former castle can still be seen today.
The monastery bailiff, Count Gottfried V von Ziegenhain , sought to enlarge his territory at the expense of the abbey area and rose up against the abbot in 1265 together with his subordinates, including the lords of Wartenberg . With the help of an army of peasants, Bertho II succeeded, Defeat Count Gottfried and the rebellious nobles and destroy Wartenberg Castle in the process. He dictated a strict peace. In the contract with the von Wartenberg brothers of March 16, 1266, he gave the village of Lauterbach town charter in order to counterbalance the Wartenbergers. The abbot had a city wall and a new castle built in Lauterbach for protection. Wartenberg Castle, however, was never allowed to be rebuilt because it was too close to the abbey.
The castle apex moth of the Lords of Schlitz in the valley of the Schlitz was destroyed by the abbot of Fulda in 1265 and not rebuilt.
The castle was destroyed by Bertho II in 1269, but rebuilt within ten years by the feudal knights Eisenbach. After the Eisenbach family died out, the Riedesel , barons of Eisenbach, hereditary marshals of Hesse, received the fiefdom in 1429.
In 1270 Bertho II had the Ebersburg and two other castles destroyed due to ongoing robberies . The knight Hermann von Ebersberg called von Weyhers came into captivity. Bertho II had him publicly executed by Gerlach kitchen master despite the promise of safe conduct on the Fulda market square. For this act, the knighthood swore deadly revenge on the abbot.
Since Bischofsheim with its castle was developed as a solid bulwark in the 12th century, the Osterburg is said to have lost its importance. The castle, whose owners were constantly feuding with Abbot Bertho II, was probably also destroyed around 1270 when Bischofsheim was destroyed by the abbot of Fulda.
Seeburg Castle was probably built as a tower castle by the Lords of Schlitz (probably as the Vogteiburg of the Vogtei-Fulda) in the 12th century.
As early as the 12th century, the Fulda Monastery built Rockenstuhl Castle on the mountain of the same name and gave it as a fief to the Ministerial von Rockenstuhl, first mentioned in 1185 . After some of the castle men conspired against the monastery in 1265 and holed up in the castle, Bertho II had the castle besieged and conquered. In 1271 the castle was destroyed. The manorial building on the Rockenstuhl was apparently soon rebuilt and came into the possession of the Counts of Henneberg as a fief .

assassination

Osterburger Ganerbe and a large part of the Buchon and Rhön nobility were in dispute with Bertho over the repayment of property from the Fulda Monastery, which, according to the knights, were based on forged documents. The outrage about this and about the execution of Hermann von Ebersberg as well as other unreasonable demands finally culminated in the fact that Bertho II. On March 18, 1271 with the participation of the Buchon knight Giso von Steinau in the Fulda Jakobskapelle built by Bertho in the old Abtsburg during the celebration of Holy Mass was killed. The perpetrators beat Bertho down and beheaded him. Then they fled to Steinau (near Fulda). According to tradition, each of the 26 knights involved struck once. Many of the murderers did not survive long. The following Prince Abbot Bertho III. von Mackenzell had them tracked down and they were "massacred" in the church in Kirchhasel .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Walter Heinemeyer: Chronica Fuldensis: D. Darmstädter Fragments d. Fulda Chronicle. Böhlau, 1976, ISBN 3-412-03275-1 , p. 131.
  2. ↑ ruin Rockstuhl in Rhon lexicon
  3. ↑ Savigny Foundation / H. Böhlau: Journal of the Savigny Foundation for Legal History . 1948, p. 225.
  4. ↑ Johannes Schmidt: It happened at Christmas 1271. In: Schlitzer Bote. December 24, 2003, archived from the original on January 7, 2014 ; accessed on November 24, 2017 .
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich IV of Erthal Prince Abbot of Fulda
1261–1271 		Bertho III. by Mackenzell
personal data
SURNAME Bertho II of Leibolz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abbot thimble
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince Abbot of the Fulda Monastery
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1271
Place of death Fulda