Degenhart Pfäffinger

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Degenhart Pfäffinger (other spelling: Degenhard or Tegenhart and Pfaffinger or Pfeffinger ) zu Salmanskirchen and Zangberg (near Ampfing in the Mühldorf am Inn district ), (born February 3, 1471 in Salmanskirchen; † July 3, 1519 in Frankfurt am Main ) belonged to the noble family the Pfäffinger .

Life

Gravestone of Degenhart Pfäffinger

Degenhart was the son of Gentiflor Pfäffinger and Magdalena Huberin von Wildenheim . From his father, who served as court marshal at Landshut Fürstenhof, he inherited the property and the Lower Bavarian hereditary marshal's office and from his mother the seat of Wildenheim. In 1515 he married the Bavarian noblewoman Erntraut von Seiboltstorff , but the marriage remained childless.

As a Bavarian nobleman in Saxon service he died on July 3, 1519 in Frankfurt am Main, where he was on the occasion of the election day of Emperor Charles V had stopped. At Degenhart's death he enjoyed the unreserved trust of the Elector of Saxony. According to Luther's records, the elector exclaimed on the occasion of his death, “What a loyal, zealous, faithful servant I lose to Pfaffingern!”. The Elector of Saxony had a marble epitaph built there in his honor .

The descendants of the female family members inherited his goods. Salmanskirchen went to the Herzheimer, Zangberg to the Dachsberger and Wildenheim to his sister Maria Pfäffinger , who as abbess Ursula von Frauenchiemsee transferred the estate to her monastery.

With Degenhart's death, more than one hundred years of office within the family ended and the Hereditary Marshal's Office of Lower Bavaria (Landshut) went to the Closen zu Haidenburg . His grave is in the church of Salmanskirchen , the tombstone is made of red marble and shows his life-size relief portrait designed by an unknown artist. Although Degenhart ordered his funeral in Salmanskirchen in his will, his death in the emperor election in Frankfurt in 1519 came as a surprise. It has not been conclusively communicated whether his bones were actually handed over to Salmannskirchen from the Hessian metropolis.

Act

For four years Degenhart was the truchess of the Duchess Hedwig zu Burghausen , wife of George the Rich of Bavaria , and then moved to Saxony with Sigmund von Laiming , with whom he was close friends, to Elector Friedrich the Wise . Both accompanied that prince on his pilgrimage to the holy grave , where they were to Knights defeated. Pfäffinger, who returned in 1493, was in great favor with Elector Friedrich. He became its secretary , a kind of public prosecutor, so-called doctor of rights , Thumherr zu Wittenberg innermost chamberlain (treasurer) and secret council (so-called secret writer), and as such was employed for important broadcasts to the Pope , the Emperor and other messenger services. Well-known basic versions of the Elector were attributed to Pfäffinger: "Take with bushels, spend with spoons". According to which you can rely on the new "drink tax" (tithe of drinks). This led to a critical attitude towards Pfäffinger among the population, especially because as a foreigner from Bavaria he received an exceptionally high salary (sources speak of a "full 400 guilders"). It is said that Degenhart was very pious; his will shows that he belonged to at least 43 religious brotherhoods.

Frederick the Wise supported the founder of the Reformation Martin Luther from his sovereign, absolutist self- image as sovereign by the grace of God and because "Doctor Martinus has not been overcome according to his offer" , i.e. what he claims has been (so far) undeniable. The elector never received Luther personally, but not out of fear, but out of diplomatic caution, because of the often rapidly changing circumstances and views “in the world”. If Friedrich had been anxious (as is often said of him) and had feared a loss of power, he would not only not have received Luther, he would not have supported Luther at all and would have surrendered quickly to the Pope, Emperor and Reichstag. So Degenhart took on the role of mediator between the elector and the reformer. The persistent opinion that Luther and Degenhart Pfäffinger were friends is not tenable. On the contrary, Luther did not appreciate Pfäffinger at all because of his frugal bordering on avarice. Pfäffinger also never joined the Reformation. However, other sources testify that Pfäffinger and Luther did not always agree, but that this had no reference to the Reformations, but only concerned the administration of the finances, of which Pfaffinger was in charge. When Luther was invited to Rome for a citation on August 7, 1519, he asked not only the Elector but also Pfäffinger that he could be interrogated in Germany. Pfäffinger then traveled on behalf of Friedrich III. to Innsbruck to see Emperor Maximilian I and during this time he reached his intervention with Pope Leo X. , which led to the interrogation of Luther at the Diet in Augsburg in 1518 and thus saved him the presumably fatal journey to Rome. Degenhard also enjoyed the confidence of Pope Leo X and the papal chancellery, so he received a papal brief on October 24, 1518 in which Degenhart was (presumably) asked to take action against the "Lutheran heresy". Pfäffinger died too early to be able to really judge Luther's teachings definitively. After his death, Salmanskirchen Castle passed to the Herzheimers. It is transmitted that Salmanskirchen was Protestant for 70 years later - in the middle of Catholic Bavaria. When the Bavarian duke finally wanted to stop the evangelical clergy in the Salmanskirchen in the 16th century, Kuno von Herzheim even read the Luther Bible to his people himself.

Salmanskirchen Castle, engraving by Michael Wening from 1723.

Through Degenhart's influence the noble family of the Pfäffinger came to enormous wealth and became one of the wealthiest families of the time. Degenhart received numerous castles and monasteries from Elector Friedrich in Lower Bavaria and in the vicinity of Coburg . Together with his father Gentiflor, Pfäffinger also enlarged the inherited castle at Salmanskirchen in Ampfing , had the St. John's Church rebuilt next to it and adorned it with many shrines, precious relics, vestments and other jewels that he brought home from his travels. He also acquired in 1514 through the mediation of his cousin, the salt baron Hans III. von Herzheim , and with this half, the nearby Zangberg Castle from the dukes Wilhelm and Ludwig of Bavaria .

Degenhart Pfäffinger shared a great passion for collecting medicinal objects ( relics ) and indulgences with the Elector of Saxony and has employed numerous artists and painters over the years. Among other things, Degenhart recruited Wilhelm Pätzsold from Heldburg in Thuringia, who is believed to be the " Master of Mühldorf ". After his arrival in Mühldorf, he was allowed to draw and catalog all of Pfäffinger's relics for several months around 1509. Through the work of both at the Electoral Saxon court, Pfäffinger was also a good friend and client of the German painter Lucas Cranach and known to Albrecht Dürer .

coat of arms

Woodcut of coat of arms by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Coat of arms of Degenhart Pfaffinger.jpg

In 1511, Degenhart Pfäffinger achieved an improvement in the coat of arms of Emperor Maximilian I and from then on had a four-quarter coat of arms with the male coat of arms in the 1st and 4th and the gilded lion in the 2nd and 3rd fields, with the corresponding helmets above the 1st and 2nd fields Field, sometimes also reversed.

siblings

Two of Degenhart's four or five siblings Bernhard, Anna, Regina, Maria (Ursula) and (unsecured) Johannes V. have joined the clergy. Regina was from 1503 to 1514 abbess of the Benedictine women's monastery Nonnberg in Salzburg († 1516), Maria as Ursula abbess of the Benedictine convent Frauenchiemsee (1494-1529).

literature

  • Family chronicle of the Pfaffinger from 1515. Bavarian main state archive : From 1200 years
  • Fritz Demmel: Degenhard Pfeffinger as client of Lucas Cranach. In: The mill wheel. Contributions to the history of the Innau and Isengau. Volume 38, 1996, pp. 19-26.
  • Manfred Fischer: Degenhard Pfeffinger from Salmanskirchen, a friend of Martin Luther? In: The mill wheel. Contributions to the history of the Innau and Isengau. Volume 43, 2001, pp. 61-98.
  • Ingetraut Ludopldy: Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony 1463–1525. Götting 1984, p. 296.
  • Chronicle of Hans Herzheimer. MAK library and works on paper collection
  • Dr. Martin Luther's letters, missions and concerns. Letters to the Elector Friedrich
  • Sanctuary and indulgence book. City archive Mühldorf am Inn, B39
  • Alois J. Weichselgartner : Salmanskirchen. P. 15 Staehleder, Mühldorf P. 183.
  • Johann Siebmacher : Book of Arms. Volume 22: The coats of arms of the Bavarian nobility. P. 116.
  • Knight Jos. Ernst von Koch-Sternfeld: History of the Principality of Berchtesgaden and its salt mines. First book, second part, p. 18.
  • Upper Bavarian Archive for Patriotic History. Volume 10, pp. 187 ff.
  • Johann Nepomuk Gottfried von Krenner : Instructions for a closer knowledge of the Bavarian provincial diets of the Middle Ages. Munich 1804, p. 73 f.
  • Wiguleus Hundt: Bavarian family tree. Ingolstadt 1585 and 1586 in three parts with supplements and a later register.
  • Michael Wening: Description of the Churfürsten- u. Hertzogthumbs Ober- and Nidern Bayrn. Landshut Rent Office, Neumarkt St. Veit Court. 1st edition. Munich 1723.
  • Carl F. Pfaffinger: The Pfa / effinger. Try about a family. Vienna 1996 (with ongoing additions), manuscript and material collection.
  • Friedrich F. Pfaffinger: The coat of arms of the Pfaffinger. Graphics collection (watercolors and pencil drawings), Vienna approx. 1965.
  • Albert Gümbel : The Electoral Saxon treasurer Degenhart von Pfeffingen, Dürer's companion on the “Martyrdom of ten thousand Christians” (= Studies on German Art History, No. 238). Heitz, Strasbourg 1926 ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Gottlieb Canzler, August Gottlieb Meissner: For older literature and newer reading , quarter writing, Leipzig, Breitkopf 1783-1785, p. 48.
  2. ↑ Friedrich Gottlieb Canzler, August Gottlieb Meissner: For older literature and newer reading , quarter-writing. - Leipzig, Breitkopf 1783-1785, p. 48.
  3. ↑ Friedrich Gottlieb Canzler, August Gottlieb Meissner: For older literature and newer reading, 'Briefe von Luther', quarterly writing. Leipzig, Breitkopf 1783-1785, p. 50.
  4. ^ Ingetraut Ludolphy: Frederick the Wise: Elector of Saxony 1463-1525; 2006; P. 338.
  5. ^ A b Klaus Scholder: "Friedrich the Wise" in: Hans Jürgen Schultz (Ed.): "Luther controvers", Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart and Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-7831-0694-X , p. 242.
  6. ↑ a b Klaus Scholder: “Friedrich the Wise” in: Hans Jürgen Schultz (Ed.): “Luther controvers”, Kreuz Verlag, Stuttgart and Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-7831-0694-X , p. 240.
  7. ↑ Manfred Fischer: Degenhard Pfeffinger from Salmanskirchen, a friend of Martin Luther? In: The mill wheel. Contributions to the history of the Innau and Isengau. Volume 43, 2001, pp. 61-98.
  8. ↑ Friedrich Gottlieb Canzler, August Gottlieb Meissner: For older literature and newer reading. Quarter font. Leipzig, Breitkopf 1783-1785, p. 50.
  9. ↑ Friedrich Gottlieb Canzler, August Gottlieb Meissner: For older literature and newer reading, 'Briefe von Luther', quarterly writing. Leipzig, Breitkopf 1783-1785, p. 49.
  10. ^ Fritz Demmel: Degenhart Pfeffinger as client of Lucas Cranach. In: The mill wheel. Contributions to the history of the Innau and Isengau. Volume 38, 1996, pp. 19-26.
  11. ↑ Albert Gümbel: The Electorate Chamberlain Degenhart von Pfeffingen, Dürer's companion on the "Martyrdom of ten thousand Christians" (= Studies on German Art History, Issue 238). Heitz, Strasbourg 1926.
personal data
SURNAME Pfäffinger, Degenhart
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pfäffinger, Degenhart (full name); Pfaffinger, Degenhard; Pfaffinger, Tegenhart
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1471
PLACE OF BIRTH Salmanskirchen
DATE OF DEATH July 3, 1519
Place of death Frankfurt am Main