Christoph Ebran from Wildenberg

Christoph Ebran von Wildenberg (* 15th century; † January 16, 1491 in Mühldorf am Inn ), also called Cristofferus Ebran de Wildenberg , was provost at Salzburg Cathedral and last counter-archbishop of the Archdiocese of Salzburg in the 15th century .

Life

Christoph Ebran von Wildenberg came from the Lower Bavarian "tournament aristocracy", ie a noble family admitted to knight tournaments and was the son of Ulrich Ebran von Wildenberg († 1455) and his second wife, a born von Gumppenberg. The family was traditionally in courtly service with the Wittelsbachers and had its roots in the two castles Wildenberg near Abensberg / Lower Bavaria and Scherneck. Like his five brothers, he probably grew up at the court of Ludwig the Rich in Landshut . Christoph Ebran studied in Ingolstadt and was ordained canon of Salzburg under Archbishop Burkhard II von Weißpriach . As such ("domicellus") it was first mentioned in a document in June 1465. When Bernhard von Rohrs was elected as the new archbishop (1466), Ebran was already a priest and cathedral capitular.

Wildenberg had a total of five brothers: (Johann) Hans Ebran von Wildenberg , the firstborn from the father's second marriage, was a soldier, judge, court educator and historian in Burghausen and Landshut. Sebastian apparently died early, and his brother Jobst did not get very old either. Peter von Wildenberg inherited the Lower Bavarian family seat, Heinrich is said to have been a "hardworking tournament".

Provost and Counter Archbishop

On November 10, 1478, Christoph Ebran von Wildenberg was elected Provost of Salzburg Cathedral, this Bavarian presumably being elected to this position with the intention of being a counterweight to Emperor Friedrich III. to build. This is related to the attempts of the emperor to influence the occupation of the Archdiocese of Salzburg. As early as 1478, the emperor had persuaded the ruling Archbishop Bernhard von Rohr to resign in writing. As the successor to Rohrs he wanted to install Johann Beckenschlager , who had fled to the emperor with an enormous fortune. However, since the cathedral priest was usually the chosen successor to the bishop's seat in Salzburg, the aim here was to prevent the emperor from exerting influence. Due to the discussions with the archbishop, the provost was able to get Bernhard von Rohr to withdraw his resignation. In addition, the estates had urged the archbishop to remain in office. The latter then actually withdrew the promise made to the emperor.

The emperor could not be satisfied with this situation and because of his promise to Johann Beckenschlager to take over the archbishopric. He issued a trade ban against Salzburg and all income of the archbishopric from the Lower Austrian possessions was also blocked. Bernhard von Rohr again began to expand the Hohensalzburg Fortress in 1479 and had an escape route in the direction of Nonntal and Riedenburg built. This route was secured militarily in 1481 by building a fortification by the cathedral provost. The expansion of Mauterndorf Castle is also attributed to the cathedral provost.

In the summer of 1479 a Salzburg embassy led by Christoph Ebran negotiated with the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus to conclude an assistance pact because of the threat from the Ottoman Empire ("the Turks") . The latter undertook a contract to protect Salzburg against the Turks and all other attackers; In return, the archbishopric castles and palaces in Styria and Carinthia were given to the Hungarian king . In 1479 and 1480, respectively, the Salzburg state parliament and the cathedral chapter approved the protective alliance with the Hungarian king. This, in turn, did not please Corvinus' opponent, Emperor Friedrich III. He began to occupy individual Salzburg castles. In February 1480, the open battle between the imperial mercenaries and the troops of the archbishopric and the Hungarian king began. Ebran suffered a severe defeat against the Habsburgs in 1481; as a result he subordinated the Mauterndorf fortress to the Hungarians.

Friedrich III. but realized that the Salzburg Archbishop was mainly supported by his Provost. Other Salzburg clergy, such as Abbot Rupert V. Keutzl from St. Peter's Abbey , were worn down by the suspension of income from Austrian estates. The citizens of Salzburg also suffered from the trade ban. The emperor specifically offered them trade benefits in order to win them over to his side. Ultimately, the emperor managed to get the Salzburg citizens on his side. In this context, the imperial order to destroy the new fortifications of the archbishop and the newly laid path into the Nonntal, including the construction of the provost of the cathedral. Negotiations in May 1481 led to an agreement with Bernhard von Rohr, who was now ready to accept Johann Beckenschlager as coadjutor and as his successor. Christoph Ebran therefore handed over his Weingarten estate to the Archbishop. In return, Ebran received Halmberg Castle near Waging . He also achieved that the Canon Ludwig Ebmer , who had taken part in the negotiations with Corvinus, was appointed provost of St. Zeno near Reichenhall.

At a Salzburg state parliament in September 1481, the estates were ready to make a comparison with the emperor. He had understood how to attract the citizens to his side through several privileges (including the great council letter of November 8, 1481) and also the monastery of St. Peter. Bernhard von Rohr and the Kaiser decided in the Vienna Treaty of November 19, 1481 that Salzburg should be handed over to Johann Beckenschlager and his own financial compensation. He then resigned on grounds of "incapacity, age and stupidity". The emperor reserved further rights (supreme bailiff of the archbishopric, no alliances, especially with Bavaria, dignity of provost to a Habsburg canon).

In addition, Ebran was to be deposed as provost of the cathedral, because he had "behaved disgustingly" towards the emperor. In 1485 Pope Innocent VIII placed Christoph von Ebran, his comrades-in-arms and servants under the protection of the Holy See and forbade Johann Beckenschlager from any jurisdiction over the Provost. In Salzburg, Ebran reached a settlement in 1487 with the abbot of St. Peter's Abbey, which secured the free choice of burial site in Salzburg, which had been controversial for 40 years.

These political developments in turn brought Mathias Corvinus on the scene, who had concluded an existing pact with the diocese and the citizens. He threatened the Salzburgers that they would deprive them of the Lungau possessions if they made the Habsburg favorite as bishop. Since the rumor arose that Beckenschlager wanted to force his recognition by force, the cathedral provost and the cathedral chapter moved to Mühldorf am Inn, at that time a Salzburg enclave in the Duchy of Bavaria. But the canons were ready to recognize Beckenschlager on the condition of a settlement with the Hungarians.

During Beckenschlager's absence, Christoph Ebran, as governor of the Austrian states, succeeded in winning the cathedral chapter on his side in 1486 and after the death of Bernhard von Rohr, with the support of George the Rich, he was elected bishop by a majority of the cathedral chapter. Thus a schism began again in the archdiocese. The Pope subsequently declared Ebran's election to be invalid, he was excommunicated from the Pope on November 1, 1487 as counter-archbishop and also deposed as Provost of the Cathedral on December 12.

In 1489, after Beckenschlager's death, another bishopric was elected, and the emperor had sold the bishop's chair to his godchild Friedrich von Schaunberg before the election. The canons of Ebran had fallen away after a settlement with the emperor, Corvinus had died in April 1490 and the Bavarian dukes had withdrawn their support. Ebran died in Mühldorf in 1491, leaving behind a heavy burden of debt.

Despite accusations flaring up again and again, Ebran was buried in Salzburg Cathedral, and his successor, later Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach , was only installed as provost after his death. All of these are indications that Christoph Ebran von Wildenberg was highly valued in the Salzburg region.

literature

• Peter F. Kramml: Salzburg and the Hungarians: facts, lies, propaganda. In Peter F. Kramml (Ed.), Stadt, Land und Kirche. Salzburg in the Middle Ages and in modern times. Pp. 113-136. Self-published by the “Friends of Salzburg History”: Salzburg, 2012, ISBN 978-3-902582-07-2 .
• Hein Dopsch; Robert Hoffmann: Salzburg. The story of a city. 2nd updated edition. Verlag Anton Pustet, Salzburg, 2008. ISBN 978-3-7025-0598-1 . Pp. 195-199.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andrea Dirsch-Weigand: City and Prince in the Chronistics of the Late Middle Ages: Studies on Late Middle Ages Historiography , Cologne / Vienna 1991, p. 20
2. ↑ Christophorus Ebran zu Wildenberg
3. ↑ Friedrich Bote (ed.): Johann Ebran von Wildenberg: The knight's Hans Ebran von Wildenberg chronicle of the princes from Bavaria , Aalen 1969, pp. I - XI
4. ^ Stefan Dicker: National awareness and current affairs. Studies on the Bavarian chronicle of the 15th century. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3412201036 , also dissertation, University of Munich 2006, p. 95

Web links

• Christoph Ebran von Wildenberg on Salzburgwiki
• Christoph Ebran from Wildenberg