Dietrich von Bettendorf

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Epitaph of Bishop Dietrich von Bettendorf in the west choir of Worms Cathedral

Dietrich von Bettendorf ; Theodorich von Bettendorf (* 1518 ; † January 31, 1580 in Ladenburg ) was often dean of the cathedral from 1545 and from 1552 to 1580 as Dietrich II. Prince-Bishop of Worms .

Live and act

Origin and early life

Grave of the father Hans von Bettendorff, at the St. Laurentius Church in Nussloch

He was the son of Hans Bettendorf († 1556), Electoral Palatinate steward and his wife Barbara von Gemmingen, daughter of Philipp von Gemmingen († 1520) and Anna of Helmstatt († 1519). The family originally comes from Pettendorf in the Upper Palatinate .

Dietrich von Bettendorf studied at the universities of Heidelberg (1529) and Ingolstadt (1538). He became a canon at the Cathedral Monastery of Worms and the Sinsheim and Bruchsal Monasteries .

At the suggestion of the Speyer bishop Philipp von Flersheim , Bettendorf became dean of the Worms cathedral in 1545. Flersheim had also ordained him priest in 1542.

Prince-Bishop of Worms

On March 10, 1552, Dietrich von Bettendorf was elected Prince-Bishop of Worms. At that time, the diocese was mainly hard pressed by the neighboring Electoral Palatinate, which had passed over to the Reformation, and lost considerable parts of its existence. Anton Philipp Brück writes in the Neue Deutsche Biographie about Bettendorf: "The struggle for the existence of his diocese became the task of his life." While the right-hand trade with the Lutheran electors Friedrich II († 1556) and Ottheinrich († 1559) was still moderate in character had, it came under their Calvinist successor Friedrich III. († 1576) on the open use of force.

The prelude was the breach of the law in the Electorate of the Palatinate in the jointly governed condominiums Lampertheim and Dirmstein , where Elector Friedrich devastated the local churches used by both denominations on October 7 and 12, 1564 by smashing baptismal fonts , holy water basins and altars . The same thing happened a little later in Laumersheim and Mörsch .

Lintel with the coat of arms of Worms bishop Dietrich von Bettendorff, Ladenburg , area of ​​the bishop's court

There was also a condominium between the two countries in the episcopal Worms residence in Ladenburg, with the right of patronage over the parish church of St. Gallus even with the bishopric of Worms. When Bishop Bettendorf held a Latin Vespers service there on Christmas Eve 1564 , the Calvinist pastor and his entourage intruded and massively disrupted the liturgy by singing German songs and trying to take over the leadership of the service. Thereupon the bishop, in full regalia, hit his prayer book in the face, grabbed him and personally threw him out of the church. As an act of revenge, the Palatinate Elector had the said church and that of Neckarhausen plundered and the entire facility burned only a little later (April 20 and 21, 1565) . Nevertheless, Bishop Bettendorf was able to maintain the Catholic communities through stubborn resistance in all condominiums in the Worms / Electoral Palatinate.

The monasteries and monasteries scattered around the diocese also fell victim to the elector's intolerance. On May 9, 1565, accompanied by 70 horsemen, he forcibly picked up the Cyriakus pen in Worms . Here he let u. a. the theologian Caspar Olevian even opened the tabernacle and crumbled the consecrated hosts with his hands himself . The resisting canons were imprisoned for 5 weeks; Pictures, statues, altars and paraments were burned.

In the same month Friedrich III attacked. the neighboring monastery Liebenau and drove out the sisters, whom he intimidated with a personal appearance of violence, during which he punched a painting of the crucifixion with his fist.

Already in 1560 the Electoral Palatinate had dissolved the Lobenfeld Monastery against the will of the inmates , whose last prioress Anna von Bettendorf, the sister of the Worms prince-bishop, fought unsuccessfully for her rights until 1566. The nunneries of Enkenbach and Fischbach were eliminated in the same way in 1564, just as the Kaiserslautern monastery had still unsuccessfully obtained an imperial letter of protection for Bishop Dietrich von Bettendorf in 1562.

The bishop protested and litigated against this and many other violations of the law in the Electoral Palatinate before the Reich Chamber of Commerce and was fully right. In 1565, the elector was obliged to compensate for the damage and to refrain from such behavior in the future. This judge's verdict had no consequences, even after Bettendorf made another complaint to the Augsburg Reichstag in 1566.

Encouraged by the success of the Electoral Palatinate, smaller rulers who had passed over to the Reformation followed, and their actions followed. Examples of this are the compulsory dissolution of the Höningen canon monastery by the Counts of Leiningen in the Diocese of Worms , 1569, and of the Rosenthal nunnery by the Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken , 1572.

In view of this desolate situation, the papal legate suggested that the heavily oppressed and ruined diocese of Worms be dissolved and, for its own protection, incorporated into the powerful Archdiocese of Mainz . Bishop von Bettendorf, however, held fast to his diocese and defended his rights wherever he could. The New German Biography states: "His indomitable attitude and his personal commitment undoubtedly saved the rest of the diocese of Worms for Catholicism."

Dietrich von Bettendorf died in 1580 in his residence in Ladenburg, today's Lobdengau Museum, and was buried in Worms Cathedral . His Renaissance epitaph is there in the west choir.

Varia

When the Worms city council wanted to expel the Jews in 1559, Bishop Bettendorf took a protective stand in front of them and prevented the pogrom by protesting against this request to the emperor.

Dietrich von Bettendorf is important for the local history of the Palatinate village of Hettenleidelheim . In 1556 he ordered the unification of the previously independent localities of Hettenheim and Leidelheim into Hettenleidelheim.

Georg Seiblin († 1591) acted as his chancellor and envoy.

Epitaph of the brother Wilhelm von Bettendorf, formerly St. Gallus Church, Ladenburg

Family environment

The bishop's sister Anna was the prioress of the Lobenfeld monastery, another sister, Katharina († 1573), was the abbess of the Frauenalb monastery . Among the brothers are: Wilhelm († 1552), Electoral Palatinate Vitztum in Neustadt ; Ludwig, court master of the Electoral Palatinate ; Hans, councilor from Palatinate-Zweibrück and Philipp, chief magistrate in Boxberg and Faut in Mosbach, who married Veronika von Venningen, daughter of the long-time Electorate Palatinate Chancellor Florence von Venningen (1466–1538) and niece of Abbess Margaretha von Venningen († 1505).

The uncle of the bishop (brother of the father) was Wolf von Bettendorf , Oberamtmann of the Electoral Palatinate in Otzberg . He and his wife rest in the Protestant parish church of Groß-Umstadt , where their gravestones have also been preserved.

literature

Web links

  • Ladenburg Church History (PDF) Ev. Church community Neckarhausen, 2009 (the events surrounding Bishop Bettendorf and the Electoral Palatinate on pages 8 and 9)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ To the father's grave in Nussloch
  2. ↑ To the funeral of the parents in Nussloch
  3. ↑ On the genealogy of the bishop's grandparents
  4. ↑ Source on origin from Pettendorf
  5. ↑ On the ordination of priests
  6. ^ New German Biography ., 1957, Volume 3, p. 687
  7. ↑ On the disturbance of the Christmas Vespers 1564 (in the 3rd section) ( Memento from November 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Friedhelm Jürgensmeier: The Diocese of Worms from Roman times to its dissolution in 1801 . Echter Verlag, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-429-01876-5 , p. 177
  9. ↑ On the repeal of Neuhausen
  10. ^ Contemporary report on the events during the abolition of the Neuhausen Abbey ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  11. ↑ Conduct of the elector in the event of the repeal
  12. ↑ Source on the violence of the Elector in the Liebenau Monastery
  13. ↑ On the epitaph of Bishop Bettendorf in Worms Cathedral
  14. ↑ Friedhelm Jürgensmeier: The Diocese of Worms from Roman times to its dissolution in 1801 . Echter Verlag, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-429-01876-5 , p. 180
  15. ↑ On the establishment of the dual location Hettenleidelheim
  16. ^ Website on Georg Seiblin
  17. ^ On the funeral of Wilhelm in Ladenburg
  18. ↑ Biographical article on Florence von Venningen. In: Der Pilger , Speyer, August 25, 2011
  19. ^ Johann Gottfried Biedermann: Gender register of the Reichs Frey immediate knighthood in Francken praiseworthy place Ottenwald , Kulmbach, 1751, panel CCLV; (Digital scan)
  20. ↑ To Uncle Wolf von Bettendorf
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich of the Palatinate Bishop of Worms
1552–1580 		Georg von Schönenberg
personal data
SURNAME Bettendorf, Dietrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bettendorf, Theoderich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Worms (1552–1580)
DATE OF BIRTH 1518
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 1580
Place of death Ladenburg