Bertrada von Rosdorf

Bertrada von Rosdorf (* around 1220; † after 1279 in Kaufungen ) was abbess and imperial prelate of the imperial monastery of Kaufungen between 1268 and 1279.

Historical classification

Bertrada von Rosdorf was one of three daughters of Dominus Henricus de Rostorpe dictus Hassonis (nobleman Heinrich von Rosdorf, called the Hesse). Her sisters Adelheid and Wiltrud were nuns and canons in the Brunshausen monastery near Gandersheim. Her father managed the allodes of the Rosdorf family, which were located in northern Hesse and in the border area between (Lower) Saxony and Thuringia, hence his nickname "der Hesse". The other part of the Rosdorfer Allode in Hesse, increased by imperial and landgrave fiefs, was managed at the same time by Bertrada's uncle, Comes Morans Conrad von Hebel , from the Hessian branch line of Rosdorf, which had existed since 1144. Conrad von Hebel was deputy of the Landgrave of Hesse between 1248 and 1270 and as such held the title "comes moransi" of the county of Maden and was thus the highest judge of Hesse, which is why he was named "advocatus provincialis" or "iudicis proviciae" in some documents instead of count. referred to as. Conrad von Hebel's predecessor in office as Count von Gudensberg-Maden, Count Werner , had also been bailiffs of the Kaufungen Monastery. This office was passed on to the two families living on the Gudensberg, the Lords of Gudensberg and their blood relatives, the Wolf von Gudensberg, who shared the Kaufunger Vogtei at the time of Bertrada. Bertrada's cousin, Walburgis I von Rosdorf, was the wife of Eberhard Wolf von Gudensberg, one of Kaufungen's bailiffs.

Kaufungen Abbey was founded in 1017 by Empress Kunigunde of Luxembourg . Through her husband, Emperor Heinrich II , Kaufungen received the status of an imperial monastery. As a result, Kaufungen was directly imperial and enjoyed imperial freedoms and privileges; his abbesses were imperial prelates and had a seat and vote in the diet. According to the medieval foundation rules, a prerequisite for being allowed to hold the office of abbess was that the incumbent should, if possible, be with the family of the founder, i.e. H. should be related to the House of Luxembourg. If an applicant for the office could not show any family ties to the founder, the foundation qualification came into play. This regulation said that no other than noble persons were allowed to hold such an office. In the imperial monasteries, the canonesses had to prove 4 to 16, sometimes 32 noble ancestors in order to be accepted. Candidates for the office of abbess in a well-known monastery such as Kaufungen had to show 32 ancestors at Bertrada's time, including two imperial princes and two counts. Since Bertrada von Rosdorf was accepted as a canoness in Kaufungen before 1261, it has been proven that she or her family had the necessary amount of allodes, the status of noble lords, i.e. equality with counts and dukes, and with at least two imperial princes and two was related by blood to the count's houses.

Act as abbess

The document from 1261 proves Bertrada's existence like that of her sisters. The brothers and relatives of the late nobleman Heinrich von Rosdorf dictus Hassonis, nobleman Ludwig and Hermann von Rosdorf, as well as their respective brothers, along with their cousin and blood relative nobleman Dietrich von Hardenberg, expressly commit themselves to the dowry of their relatives Bertrada von Rosdorf, nun Kaufungen, which existed in three hooves of land and a vineyard to Urleben on the Unstrut, to guarantee the monastery and to protect and defend against every attacker.

In 1268, Count Burkhard von Brandenberg gave Abbess Bertrada von Rosdorf his ownership rights in Herleshausen, Wommen and Hain, but the Bailiwick reserves the right to do so, as did the Lords of Rosdorf about their original properties. Due to a document from 1271, mill interest is returned to the monastery and abbess Bertrada von Rosdorf.

In the deed of May 17, 1274 Bertrada's sisters, Adelheid and Wiltrud von Rosdorf, made a sale. On May 31, 1274, the two canons sell two hooves from their property in Opperhausen near Gandersheim.

In a total of three documents from 1279, first Count Albert, son of the late Count Burkhard von Brandenberg, then Landgrave Albert von Thuringia, waived the goods donated in 1271 in favor of Abbess Bertrada von Rosdorf.

The three documents are the last in which Bertrada von Rosdorf is mentioned alive, so that it can be assumed that she died after 1279, but certainly before 1284, the year in which her successor Luckardis first documents as abbess.

Rating

Kaufungen's documents have only been preserved to a very limited extent. Even Hermann von Roques , when compiling the document books around 1900, had to look for the Kaufunger documents from numerous other publications. Especially the early phase of Kaufungen, which led to the subordination to the diocese of Speyer in 1089 , contributed to the loss of the early documents. Bertrada von Rosdorf's term of office was marked by the struggle to regain the original freedom and independence as well as the rejection of external appropriation. After Count Werner and the Gisonen died out , the monastery lacked a powerful protector as a lawyer. The only regionally important bailiffs from the House of Gudensberg did not have the necessary power and means to effectively protect themselves and the monastery from the ever increasing grip of the Landgraves of Hesse and the Dukes of Braunschweig-Göttingen. It seems that Bertrada von Rosdorf was able to do a lot for the good of her monastery on a small scale, which is particularly evident in the successful work of her successor Luckardis, who was able to appear much more self-confident and who led the monastery back into a brief renaissance of its importance.

literature

• Herrmann von Roques (ed.): Document book of the Kaufungen monastery in Hessen. 1st volume, Drewis & Schönhoven, Kassel 1900
• Journal of the Association for Hessian History Vol. 11, 1834
• Writings of the Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies, Vol. 12, 1935
• CW Ledderhose: Kleine Schriften Vol. 2, 1787

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Westphalian Document Book IV., No. 532
2. ↑ Document book of Hardehausen Monastery 1257 "sigillorum domini Conradi nobilis viri de Hevelde iudicis provincie"
3. ^ Johann Georg Krünitz : Economic-Technological Encyclopedia. P. 283, 1838
4. ^ Document book Kaufungen I, No. 50 as summarized information, complete document from Gudenus Sylloge I, No. 317, as well as Codicillus Diplomatum Parthenonis Beurensis Eichsfeldis No. 6: IN nomine Domini amen. Nos Ludewicus de Rossorf, et fratres nostri nos etiam Hermannus de Rossorf et fratres nostri: Presencium testimonio litterarum Dn. Prepositum & Conventum monastrii de Buren warentamus in tribus mansis & parva vinca, sitis in Vrleiben, super quibxis inter Prepositum et Conventum memora tos, ex parte una et nos, ас quondam coheredes nostros ex altera, olim questio vertebarar. Arbitrio tandem bonorum virorum lopitapenitus, ecdlesisa. Recognos cimusctiam, publice protestantes, quod de prediclis bonis warandiam ipsis prestare debemus, cum super hoc nos duxerint requirendos, et quotiens id eis suerit oportunum. Obligantes nichilomimus presenti pagina nos eisdem, ad amputandum dum questionem, si qua eis a quocumquc, per quem distum monasterium poterit gravari, et expresle a tribus filiabus quondam Dom. Heinrici dicti Haßonis, quarum una in Koufungen, alie due in secundaría ecclesia Gandersheim moniales existunt, poterit in posterum suboriri. In huius autem nostre recognicionis et obligationis testimonium et munimen omnes nos Dom. Ludewici de Roßtorf, & Dom. Theoderici de Hardenberg sigillis presens scriptum secimus commuairi. Testes autem huius obligationis sunt: ​​D. Heinricus, de Reinhusen, D. Wernherus, de Gerrode: Abbates. D. Bertoldus, de Munningerode, et D. Albertus, de Bernshusen: ecclesiarum Rectores. 'Johannes de Bodenstein. Theodericus de Hardenberg. Cunradus et Hermannus de Indagine fratres. Gunzelinus, dictus Roßencranz, Bruno de Imminigerode: Milites, et alii quam plures. Date anno Domini MCCLXI, circa festum B. Mychahelis .
5. ^ Document book Kaufungen I, No. 51
6. ^ Document book Kaufungen I, No. 52
7. ^ Document book Eichsfeld I, No. 421, p. 251
8. ↑ Document book of Brunshausen Monastery, No. 17
9. ^ Document book Kaufungen I, No. 53/54/55