The Chancellor of Tyrol
The Chancellor of Tyrol is a historical novel by the German-Austrian writer Hermann von Schmid . His novel 'The Chancellor of Tyrol' describes the story of Wilhelm Biener . The novel was first published as a three-volume work in 1863.
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Historical background
The novel is written in the spirit of the 19th century; it is set in the time of the Counter Reformation at the end of the Thirty Years War . It was the time of the persecution of the " Lutheran heretics " in Tyrol . In the book, the contrasts between the Catholic Church of the time - primarily represented by the Jesuit order - and the free Tyrolean classes are described. The contrast between German and Italian (referred to in the book as " welschen ") rulers is described.
The country's mistress was the Archduchess of Austria , Claudia de Medici , widow of Archduke Leopold V of Austria-Tyrol , which from 1632 to 1646 as regent for her minor son Ferdinand Karl the state of Tyrol reigned, it was from which Lauchheim in Württemberg coming Dr. Wilhelm Biener actively supported as Chancellor.
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In twenty-one extensive chapters of his 600-page work, the author describes the last phase of Wilhelm Biener's life as Chancellor of Tyrol.
The widowed Wilhelm Biener is portrayed as the powerful, imperturbable chancellor, faithful advisor and close confidante of his mistress after Claudia von Medici took over the reign of Tyrol. He was valued for his extraordinary education and innate organizational talent, but was also unpopular and hated by his opponents because of his arrogance. His cynical and derisive manner quickly made angry enemies of a number of people. The bitterness of his opponents arose mainly from his energetic aversion to Italian frivolity, which was particularly prevalent under Claudia's son Ferdinand Karl, and from the hatred of the southern bishoprics, which would have gladly renounced Tyrol. Biener made himself particularly unpopular with his arch enemies, the Chancellor of the Upper Austrian Lands Isaak Volmar , the Chamber President Schmauß and the auxiliary bishop Josua Perkhofer from Brixen , who will ultimately seek his life.
Biener strongly criticized the sell-off of Tyrolean power to rule in Graubünden . The description of the Innsbruck Landtag, where two worlds collided, is particularly worth reading: on the one hand the German nobility together with the Tyrolean peasant class and on the other hand the French classes and the Catholic clergy. As a prototype of a class-conscious but at the same time free Tyrolean farmer, the figure of Schildhofer, who comes from the Passeier Valley , is loyal and devoted to Claudia von Medici and whom he is allowed to use as one of the few.
As Chancellor of Tyrol, Biener succeeded in preserving the unity of the country: "There must be no own good, only the good of the whole if honest politics is to be made," was one of his slogans. On the one hand, Wilhelm Biener was concerned with the well-being of the state of Tyrol, which as a 'German national patriot' believed he could only see a future in connection with the German Empire . On the other hand, he fell madly in love with the Duchess Claudia de Medici. Claudia returned his love, but it remained unfulfilled, as both of them waived it in favor of the state of Tyrol. Ultimately, it was a purely platonic love .
Wilhelm Biener's star began to decline when Claudia von Medici handed over rule to her older son Ferdinand Karl in 1646 and was no longer able to hold her protective hand over Biener. Ferdinand Karl turned out to be a weak, fickle and easily influenced ruler. Under the influence of his 'Welschen' courtiers , Biener was dismissed from his office as Tyrolean Chancellor; Ferdinand Karl succeeded in influencing his enemies with "false facts" in such a way that the regent approved a trial against Biener for high treason. Biener was arrested, his property was searched, and he was taken to Rattenberg Castle and imprisoned. There he was interrogated by Fiskal Hippoliti in a show trial with the knowledge of the Archduke (who was deliberately not informed of the exact facts of the matter) and ultimately sentenced to death by the sword.
After the brother of the reigning Duke Sigismund Franz , who highly admired and valued Biener as his former teacher, learned of the events that were taking place at Rattenberg Castle, he rushed to his brother and persuaded Ferdinand Karl to overturn the sentence, which he did too agreed. However, the courier who was supposed to deliver the change in judgment to Rattenberg Castle was deceived by Biener's enemies in an inn and made drunk. When the messenger - an illiterate man - finally learned from a priest the true content of the message to be delivered, he hurried to the crime scene in vain. It was too late! When the amending decree on the pardon arrived, the sentence had already been carried out and Biener had been beheaded.
Biener died steadfast, brave and with his head held high. Already standing on the scaffold of the castle courtyard, he exclaimed:
I bow in awe to the will of his Highness - the ill-reported and ill-directed prince is not to blame for my blood, but at the last moment I call everyone here to witness and sue those who misled him! I complain that I was imprisoned and held against the law and justice! That I was treated unworthily, like a common thief and robber, that I was completely separated from the people with selected, unlawful cruelty! - Yes, as a dying man and with my last breath I affirm that I have no part in anything my enemies sue me!
Today there is a memorial stone on the spot where the scaffold once stood for Wilhelm Biener.
When Biener's second wife Elisabeth found out that the sentence was being carried out, she went mad. She threw herself down from the rock of the Büchsenhauser Gufels; Before that, however, she cursed those who caused her husband's death. Their prophecy was fulfilled, Schmauß - the main culprit for Biener's death - died in the autumn of the same year. The house in which Biener lived was confiscated by Hippoliti, along with its inventory, and the occupants were evicted. This house is still there today: it is the ' Büchsenhaus ' on the left side of the Inn .
Hermann von Schmid, the author of the book, reports in a concluding remark about the genesis of the book. He reports that he spent two full years studying the source material for this book. He conducted research in the Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck , where numerous documents, criminal investigation files and contemporary documents from the time were evaluated and incorporated into the book. Even if some passages of the book are told fictitiously, it can be assumed that essential parts of the book are based on the findings of these files and correspond to historical facts. At the end of the final consideration, there is also a register of relevant sources and literature that were used in this book.
literature
- Hermann Schmid: The Chancellor of Tyrol, German Book Community G. mb H. , Berlin 1929
Web links
- Reading samples from the Bavarian State Library
- Hermann Schmid: Biener, Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 627 f.