Christian of Prussia

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Christian von Prussia , also Christian von Lekno or Christian von Oliva (* around 1180, possibly in the Slavic predecessor settlement of Freienwalde, founded in 1250 in Western Pomerania , today Chociwel ; † December 4, 1245 in Marburg , Hesse (or possibly in Sulejów , Poland ) ) was the first bishop of Prussia . The nicknames ' von Prussia ', ' von Lekno ' and ' von Oliva ' derive from his main missionary area and from his stays as a monk in 1209-1210 in the Oliva Monastery and as an abbot in the Łękno Monastery , which was later moved to Wągrowiec ( Wongrowiec ) .

Life

As a teenager, Christian allegedly first entered the Cistercian monastery Kolbatz near Neumark in Western Pomerania , which was donated by the Szczecin castellan Wartislaw II . 1209-1210 he was assigned as an ordinary monk to the Oliva Monastery founded in 1185/86 in the Christian Duchy of Pomerellen . From that time on he tried to convert the pagan Prussians to the Christian faith.

At the request of Conrad of Mazovia , the Pope approved a crusade against the Prussians in 1209. In this context, the monk Christian worked as a convert from 1209 with some success among the Prussians. Around 1215 he was abbot of the Lekno monastery near Gnesen, which was occupied by German Cistercians . Christian was from Innocent III. In 1215 at the Lateran Council he was finally appointed Mission Bishop of Prussia, his permanent base was apparently the Oliva Monastery, located outside the mission area. In the course of the mission, first the Pomeranian and then the Mazovian princes gained political influence. Since 1217 this unequal treatment among the tribal associations of the Prussians led to violent reactions, which resulted in raids on Mazovian territory and occasionally also on Kuyavian and Greater Poland . The Kulmerland had been occupied by the Prussians. In order to conquer the area again, Christian asked Pope Honorius III. for approval of a crusade. This approved the crusade and in 1217 also gave it the power to found dioceses and to have cathedrals built. With papal approval, Konrad von Masowien, Leszek von Lesser Poland and Heinrich the Bearded von Schlesien led two crusades against the Prussians with German support in 1212-1222 and 1223 . In this way the Kulmerland on the right side of the Vistula could be regained and a defense system could be implemented, but the raids did not end. Christian took the opportunity to found the bishopric of Kulm in 1222. The bishop of Plock , to whose diocese the Kulmerland had been counted up to then, relinquished all his spiritual and secular rights to him for this purpose. The Polish princes, who regarded themselves as the rightful rulers of the country, transferred to him in 1222 a considerable number of localities including the lordly rights and, in the part they reserved for themselves, the tithe and half of the income. Pope Honorius III. confirmed this donation in 1223.

In 1224 the raids reached a new high point, also on the neighboring Mazovian region. This prompted Duke Konrad von Masowien to ask for help from the Teutonic Order , which at that time had considerably expanded its position of power under Hermann von Salza . When the negotiations with the order dragged on, Konrad founded his own knightly order in 1228, the Fratres militiae Christi , also known as the Dobrin brothers after their base in Dobrin . This order, also consisting mainly of Germans, began the fight against the pagans with the help of crusaders in 1230, but had only modest successes. In 1230 Christian gave all of his territories in the Kulmerland to the Teutonic Order. In 1231 Christian became bishop of the Kulm diocese. Christian intended to continue his missionary work in the Samland , but in 1233 he was imprisoned by the Prussians for five years. 1234 awarded Pope Gregory IX. Prussia owned by the Teutonic Order. The Order of the Knights Brothers von Dobrin, founded by Christian in 1228, was incorporated into the Teutonic Order in the same year.

After his liberation from Prussian captivity in 1238, Christian opposed the Pope against the Teutonic Order for violating his rights as a bishop. In 1243 the papal legate Wilhelm von Modena divided the land between the Vistula and Memel into the four dioceses of Kulm , Warmia , Pomesania and Samland . The acquis was to be regulated in such a way that only a third of the secular government should go to the four dioceses, while the Teutonic Order received two thirds. Because he believed he was being taken advantage of, Christian did not want to recognize this division of power. When he followed the instruction of Pope Gregory IX. failed to comply with choosing one of the four bishoprics, he eventually fell out of favor even with the apostolic see. He eventually retired to the Polish monastery Sulejow, where he died in 1245. He played a decisive role in the Christianization of Old Prussia.

Christian Chronicle

In the early humanist regional historiography of the 16th century, Christian was assigned a chronicle, the initium of which, according to Simon Grunau , is said to have read Liber filiorum Belial cum fuis superstitionibus Bruticae factionis incipit cum moestitia cordis . It is said that the discovery of Prussia and its natives in the first century by astronomers from Bithynia and the conquest of Prussia by the natives of Gotland , who were expelled by the Goths, were described. While the historiography of the 16th century was hardly offended by this, Lucas David and Caspar Schütz began to doubt the authenticity of this chronicle. Its existence has been refuted by modern history, especially by Max Toeppen .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Johannes Voigt : History of Prussia, from the oldest times to the fall of the rule of the Teutonic Order , Volume 1: Die Zeit des Heidentums , Königsberg 1827, p. 430 ff. The indication of the place of birth Freienwalde was, however , by the historian Max Toeppen as "Fictitious" means; compare Sriptores rerum prussicarum I , Leipzig 1861, footnote 1) on p. 33 . The chronicler Franz Winter assumed that Christian's close relatives had their seat in Pomerania , see his “Excursus on Bishop Christian of Prussia” in the appendix to his work: The Cistercians of Northern Germany to the Appearance of the Begging Orders - A Contribution to the Church and Cultural History of the Middle Ages , Gotha 1868, pp. 304–305 .
  2. Christoph Hartknoch Prussian Churches Chronicle, Book 1
  3. Christian's alleged stay in Kolbatz Monastery was described by the historian Max Toeppen as "fictional"; compare Schriptores rerum prussicarum I , Leipzig 1861, footnote 1) on p. 33 .
  4. ^ Johann Adam Möhler: Church history ; Volume 2, Regensburg 1867, p. 340 ff .
  5. Ludwig Hahn: History of the Prussian Fatherland , 4th edition, Berlin 1858, p. 114 ff .
  6. ^ Franz Winter : The Cistercians of Northern Germany up to the Appearance of the Begging Orders - A Contribution to the Church and Cultural History of the German Middle Ages , Gotha 1868, pp. 263–294 and pp. 304–305 .
  7. Gotthold Rhode : Small History of Poland , 1st edition, Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1965, p. 49 ff.
  8. ^ Encyclopedia of Catholic theology and its auxiliary sciences (Heinrich Joseph Wetzer, ed.), Volume 2, Freiburg i. Br. 1848, p. 139 .
  9. Max Toeppen : Historisch-Comparative Geographie von Preußen , Gotha 1858, p. 111 ff .
  10. ^ Neue Deutsche Biographie (Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, ed.), Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, p. 230.
  11. ^ Ernst Friedrich Mooyer: Directories of the German bishops since the year 800 AD , Minden 1854, p. 32 .
  12. ^ Christian W. Niedner: Textbook of Christian Church History , Berlin 1866, p. 386, paragraph b) .
  13. Johannes Voigt: History of Prussia from the oldest times to the fall of the rule of the Teutonic Order , vol. 1–9, Königsberg 1827–1839, here vol. 9 p. 587 f. [still not completely replaced]
  14. ^ Arno Mentzel-Reuters: From the order chronicle to the national history. The development of the old Prussian regional historiography in the 16th century , in: Klaus Garber, Manfred Komorowski, Axel E. Walter (eds.): Cultural history of East Prussia in the early modern period (early modern period 56) Berlin 2001, pp. 581–638, esp. 623 -625, 632.