Eberhard von Brandis (Abbot)

Eberhard von Brandis (first mentioned in 1328; † September 29, 1379 in Reichenau ) was abbot of the Reichenau monastery from 1343 to 1379 .

Gravestone of Abbot Eberhard von Brandis in Reichenau Minster

Live and act

Eberhard von Brandis came from the Swiss noble family of the Barons von Brandis , who had their headquarters at Brandis Castle near Lützelflüh in the Emmental . He was a son of Baron Mangold von Brandis and his wife Countess Margareta von Nellenburg .

In 1328 he is mentioned for the first time as a conventual of the Reichenau monastery. In 1342 Eberhard was elected by the convent to succeed Abbot Diethelm von Castell . However, his election was contested by a member of the convent named Diethelm von Krenkingen, so that the papal confirmation was delayed and only took place after Eberhard had personally traveled to the Pope in Avignon . On June 27, 1343 he reached by a bull from Pope Clement VI. finally the official recognition and installation in his office, which up to this point he had only served as an elect .

In 1349 Eberhard von Brandis succeeded in obtaining privileges from Charles IV . The king also confirmed the immunity and imperial immediacy of the Reichenau monastery.

In 1358 he signed a service contract with Duke Rudolf of Austria , in which he subordinated his abbey to the Habsburgs and thus effectively came under Austrian rule.

Eberhard von Brandis is mostly heavily criticized by Gallus Öhem , chronicler of the Reichenau monastery, but also by research. Since he was unable to remedy the financial misery of his monastery, he was accused of having been a bad administrator of the monastery property and of being responsible for the abbey's increasing debt. He was especially reprimanded for breaking his monastery vows and fathering an illegitimate son.

Eberhard von Brandis died on September 29, 1379 and found his final resting place in Reichenau Minster .

Economic problems

His entire reign was overshadowed by the economic and financial problems of his monastery. Even the papal confirmation and his trip to Avignon were associated with enormous costs. Even at the beginning of his abbathe, the debts were so high that Eberhard felt compelled to pledge the goods and rights of his abbey and to turn to the Pope with a supplicary in order to describe the emergency that his convent was in.

Despite numerous efforts and an administrative reform in which he had new fief books created in order to be able to better control the property and organize the manorial rule more efficiently, Eberhard von Brandis did not succeed in overcoming the precarious financial situation of his monastery, so that in 1367 he was even forced to to hand over the entire monastery property to the creditors, including his brother Heinrich von Brandis .

Political Conflict

Although Eberhard initially tried to achieve a good understanding with the Bishop of Constance, his relationship with Bishop Ulrich and his successor in office Johann Windlock was extremely tense. However, there is no clear evidence to support the allegation that he actually commissioned the murder of Windlock. It was not until his brother Heinrich was elected Bishop of Constance in 1357 that there was close and harmonious cooperation between the Reichenau Abbey and the Church of Constance.

In addition, Eberhard von Brandis found himself in a conflict with the Counts of Württemberg due to problematic purchase negotiations for Castle Mägdeberg , which could only be resolved in 1366, after more than 10 years, through a peace treaty between the Reichenau Monastery and the House of Württemberg.

literature

Konrad Beyerle : From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here pp. 181–198.
Veronika Feller-Vest: Eberhard von Brandis (abbot). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Thomas Kreutzer: Faded shine. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag , Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , pp. 268-284.
Ingeborg Krummer-Schroth : The abbot of Eberhard von Brandis . In: Helmut Maurer (Ed.): The Reichenau Abbey. New contributions to the history and culture of the island monastery ( Bodensee-Bibliothek ; Vol. 20), Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1974, ISBN 3-7995-6709-7 , pp. 593-599.

Individual evidence

↑ Family tree of Eberhard von Brandis at geneall.net (accessed on December 29, 2013).
↑ Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag , Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 269.
^ Ingeborg Krummer-Schroth : The abbot of Eberhard von Brandis . In: Helmut Maurer (Ed.): The Reichenau Abbey. New contributions to the history and culture of the Inselkloster ( Bodensee-Bibliothek ; Vol. 20), Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1974, ISBN 3-7995-6709-7 , pp. 593-599, here p. 595.
↑ Veronika Feller-Vest: Eberhard von Brandis (abbot). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
↑ Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 283.
↑ Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 272.
^ Konrad Beyerle : From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 196.
↑ Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 276.
^ Konrad Beyerle: From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 190.

predecessor	Office	successor
Diethelm von Castell	Abbot of Reichenau 1343–1379	Heinrich von Stöffeln

personal data
SURNAME	Brandis, Eberhard von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Abbot of Reichenau (1343-1379)
DATE OF BIRTH	14th Century
DATE OF DEATH	September 29, 1379
Place of death	Reichenau

[1] Family tree of Eberhard von Brandis at geneall.net (accessed on December 29, 2013).

[2] Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag , Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 269.

[3] Ingeborg Krummer-Schroth : The abbot of Eberhard von Brandis . In: Helmut Maurer (Ed.): The Reichenau Abbey. New contributions to the history and culture of the Inselkloster ( Bodensee-Bibliothek ; Vol. 20), Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1974, ISBN 3-7995-6709-7 , pp. 593-599, here p. 595.

[4] Veronika Feller-Vest: Eberhard von Brandis (abbot). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

[5] Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 283.

[6] Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 272.

[7] Konrad Beyerle : From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 196.

[8] Thomas Kreutzer: Faded gloss. Nobility and reform in the Reichenau Abbey in the late Middle Ages ( publications by the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg ; Series B; 168). Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-17-019760-2 , p. 276.

[9] Konrad Beyerle: From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 190.