David Gregor Corner

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Coat of arms of Abbot David Gregor Corner (1637) at the Pyhra rectory (St. Pölten-Land district)

David Gregor Corner , as Abbot Gregor I. Cornerus (* 1585 in Hirschberg , Silesia ; † January 9, 1648 in Göttweig ) was from July 15, 1631 until his death the 45th Abbot of Göttweig Abbey in addition to his other activities as a pastor, Author, imperial councilor, rector and theologian.

David Gregor Corner is the author of the Groß Catholisch Gesangbuch , the most important collection of Catholic hymns (422 hymns ) of the 17th century.

Life

Early years

After his basic education in Wroclaw , Corner studied philosophy with the Jesuits in Prague . On July 8, 1610, he obtained a master's degree in philosophy from Prague University . He pursued his other theological studies in Graz (where he achieved the degree of Bacc. Theol. In 1614 ).

In 1614, Corner was ordained a priest in Vienna and from July 1615 to 1625 he was pastor in several parishes in Lower Austria . His first parish was Mautern from 1615 to 1620 . In 1616 David Gregor Corner was also the first Catholic pastor in Hainfeld , after the church there had previously been headed by Protestant pastors at the behest of Jörger . Corner only remained active in Hainfeld for six months, after which Dr. Georg Hildebrand Thiermayer succeeded him as pastor of Hainfeld. From 1619 to 1624 Corner was pastor of the parish of Retz .

On February 10, 1616 David Gregor Corner and his family were raised to the hereditary knighthood by Bernhart Pirenntz, who was then Hofpfalzgraf and landscape secretary of Lower Austria, and from then on they were noble.

During his years as a pastor, Corner had continued his studies and received his doctorate in theology from the University of Vienna in 1624 . In 1625 David Gregor Corner published his Groß Catholisch Gesangbuch , a comprehensive collection of a total of 422 Catholic and Protestant hymns . This work had an incredible success in the entire German-speaking area and is considered the largest and most important Catholic hymnbook of the 17th century, even if Corner had included some works by Protestant authors under the label " Incerti Authoris ", especially in the 2nd edition in 1631 .

With his entry as a novice in the Benedictine monastery of Göttweig of his friend, Abbot Georg II Falbius, on September 8, 1625, a new phase began for Corner. 1628 became Corner Professor at the University of Vienna . A year later, on January 21, 1629, he was promoted to prior of Göttweig.

As abbot of Göttweig Abbey

After the death of Abbot George II, David Gregor Corner was elected by his confreres on July 15, 1631 as Gregor I. Cornerus as the new Abbot of Göttweig Abbey. Pope Urban VIII confirmed Gregory Corner's election as abbot on December 15, 1631 by means of a papal bull . As the 45th abbot, Gregor I was to be in charge of Göttweig for 17 years. During this period he was always a promoter of the sciences as well as an efficient administrator of the monastery property. So z. B. he sold land a few times, such as E.g. a vineyard to Richard Reitter, the former mayor and schoolmaster of Rossatz , as a document from 1635 shows. Education and learning were very important to him, which is why he repeatedly sent young clergymen from his monastery to various universities such as Vienna or Bologna . Abbot Gregory I himself was a gifted author. In old age the abbot is said to be blind through constant reading and writing, which, however, did not prevent him from continuing to write. Even after he had lost his sight, Abbot Gregor I wrote another work that was published after his death, as Schweickhardt tells us .

On June 11, 1638 Emperor Ferdinand III appointed him . to the imperial council for services to the emperor himself and his predecessors. In the winter semester of 1638/39, Abbot Gregor I. Cornerus also became the new rector of the University of Vienna.

Gregory I was an abbot of the Counter-Reformation at a time when the Catholic Church was struggling to recatholize the population who had converted to the Protestant faith in certain regions. Gregor I had his first experiences with Martin Luther's Protestantism during his short time as pastor of Hainfeld , as he was the first Catholic pastor in the village, after his church had previously had a Protestant pastor under the protection of the Jörger who had converted to the Lutheran faith . But later as abbot, Gregory I also had to do with Protestantism. In Lower Austria, many parishes had converted to the new faith, especially the Jörger had efficiently promoted the conversion of the population in their sphere of influence. The Catholic Church needed several attempts to bring the lost territories back " into the bosom of the Holy Mother Church ". To support this, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Inquisition granted Abbot Gregory I Cornerus on March 9, 1641 the right to absolve all parishes returning to the Catholic Church and Protestants punished by the Holy See. In 1646 this privilege was followed by what the abbot could release from heresy from Rome.

Abbot Gregor I. Cornerus died on January 9, 1648 in Göttweig Abbey and was born on December 12th. M. is buried in the monk's crypt created by him in 1638 in the crypt of the collegiate church. He was succeeded by Abbot Gregory II. Heller.

Publications

  • 1625: Large Catholic hymn book, in which the four hundred devout old and new chants and ruff are brought together in a good and correct order, partly at home, partly at churches, and can also be sung during processions and church festivals with great utility
  • O Savior, tear open the heavens (Str. 7)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Document: Documents (1058-1899) 1610 VII 08 (document from 1610) in the European document archive Monasterium.net .
  2. ↑ Document: Documents (1058-1899) 1616 II 10 (document from 1616) in the European document archive Monasterium.net .
  3. ↑ Document: Documents (1058-1899) 1635 IV 24 (document from 1635) in the European document archive Monasterium.net .
  4. ↑ Document: Documents (1058-1899) 1636 II 15 (document from 1636) in the European document archive Monasterium.net .
  5. ↑ cf. the entry on Abbot Gregor I. Cornerus in Franz Xaver Schweickhardt's presentation of the Archduchy of Austria under Ens 1837, vol. 10, p. 232
personal data
SURNAME Corner, David Gregor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cornerus, Gregory I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic pastor, abbot and theologian
DATE OF BIRTH 1585
PLACE OF BIRTH Hirschberg , Silesia
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1648
Place of death Göttweig