Eberhard von Rohrdorf
Eberhard von Rohrdorf , also Eberhard von Salem (* around 1160 presumably in Meßkirch ; † 1240/1245 in Salem on Lake Constance ) was one of the most important abbots of the Salem abbey . During his tenure, which lasted almost five decades (1191–1240), the monastery experienced its first economic, political and cultural heyday.
Life
Eberhard came from a southern German aristocratic family , the Counts of Rohrdorf , whose ancestral seat was the Benzenburg near Meßkirch . Diethelm von Krenkingen , who was Bishop of Constance from 1189 to 1206, was one of his aristocratic relatives .
Around 1180 Eberhard entered the Cistercian monastery of Salem, founded in 1137, as a novice . At the age of just 30 he was unanimously elected abbot on June 12, 1191 , which proves that he must have attracted attention early on because of his extraordinary talent. According to the monastery chronicle Apiarium Salemitanum (1708), he was the first Salem abbot who did not come from the founding convent of the Alsatian monastery Lützel and thus also the first abbot of German descent.
politics
Even before Eberhard took office, the Salem Monastery was recognized as an imperial abbey , which meant that it was in principle exempt from secular guardianship and was directly subordinate to the King of the Holy Roman Empire . Geographically, Salem was part of the diocese of the Diocese of Constance , but since 1178, as a consistorial abbey , it was exempt from the bishop's approval and was directly subordinate to the Holy See . Nevertheless, a good relationship with Konstanz was important for the monastery to flourish. The good relationship is proven; The relationship between Eberhard and the Constance bishop Diethelm von Krenkingen was possibly also decisive .
Also to the government of the Hohenstaufen king Heinrich VI. Eberhard maintained good relationships. When in 1198 the Staufer Philipp von Schwaben and the Welf Otto von Braunschweig were elected by various factions to compete kings of the Holy Roman Empire , Salem sided with Staufer Philipp.
Pope Innocent III however, confirmed Otto IV as the new king in 1201. Thus Salem, who relied on regular letters of protection from the Staufer, seemed to be without protection. Eberhard von Rohrdorf therefore sought support from the Archbishop of Salzburg , Eberhard II (term of office 1200–1246). In 1201, Salem, with the consent of the convent and the general chapter of the Cistercian Order, concluded a contract with the diocese that made the bishop's church the "mother and mistress" of Salem. Salem's exemption remained in place; economic and political security was improved.
Philipp von Schwaben sent a diplomatic mission to Rome in 1201 , under which Eberhard von Rohrdorf and his Salzburg namesake were. You should be with Pope Innocent III. negotiate the Pope's stance on the election of a king and secure the throne for the son of Henry VI, then nine-year-old Friedrich II . However, the mission was unsuccessful.
When Philipp von Schwaben was murdered in 1208, Salem officially confessed to Otto IV and in return received documents from him confirming the rights of the abbey. Nevertheless, Eberhard kept in secret contact with Friedrich. The loyalty paid off, because the Staufer was elected emperor in Bamberg in 1211 and finally recognized by the Guelphs in 1219. The abundance of documents that Frederick II issued to the abbey is regarded as recognition of Eberhard von Rohrdorf's diplomatic efforts for the fate of the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
Although Eberhard's diplomatic mission was unsuccessful, his negotiating skills earned him the Pope's respect. From then on the Holy See regularly called him to negotiate as a neutral mediator. So he mediated between Pope and King in Worms in 1207 . Eberhard's time-consuming activity as a diplomat did not end until 1229, when Pope Gregory IX. the request of the now almost 70-year-old abbot for release from his diplomatic duties.
economy
Although the rules of the Cistercian order forbade the hoarding of worldly property, Eberhard von Rohrdorf made enormous efforts to increase the wealth and influence of his abbey. Eberhard's economic skill gave the monastery its first economic boom and the basis for its further independent growth. This was achieved, among other things, through an alliance policy with the noble neighbors, who had previously often attacked the monastery and contested its rights.
Eberhard had the existing free float of land systematically merged into grangia , which were administered by members of the convention. For the first time, the monastery generated large surpluses. Eberhard also broke another rule of the order, which forbade the monasteries to have property in cities. In the nearby imperial city of Überlingen , the monastery bought a house in the city and a courtyard on the outskirts in 1211. In 1220, Eberhard managed to get the monastery exempt from city taxes. In Constance he had the Salmannsweiler Hof built from 1217 . Further tax-free city courts in Ulm (1222) and Esslingen am Neckar (first mentioned in 1229) followed. The overproduction of fruit, grain and fish from monastic agriculture was driven out through these farms; Imported merchandise such as books and textiles could be bought and temporarily stored in the city.
Under Eberhard, the monastery also acquired important parts of its secular territory, including the surrounding villages of Nussdorf , Seefelden and Buggensegel with all tithe rights . In addition to agricultural production for self-sufficiency, the money economy now appeared in Salem: assets were built up by investing in land; Land that was not lucrative or that was too remote for the monastery to profitably cultivate was leased . This practice also ran initially against the Cistercian rules; it was not until 1208 that the general chapter generally approved leasing.
Eberhard's contacts with the nobility also won the monastery numerous donations. The Bishop of Konstanz and other nobles, including Eberhard's brother, Count Mangold von Rohrdorf, donated fiefs and property to the monastery . Eberhard's negotiating skills even moved the knight Ulrich von Bodman , who had stolen some monastic property because of legal disputes, to give up his claims and give Salem some of his goods. Further donations from the Bodman family followed; Albero von Bodman, a descendant of Ulrich, was persuaded by Eberhard in 1213 to take part in the Damiette crusade . Also the house Waldenburg , before even an opponent of the emerging monastery, was taking a defensive alliance with Eberhard.
The monastery was also able to grow in number through the mediation of Archbishop Eberhard von Regensberg , who in 1201 gave the monastery a saline near Hallein . In 1227 the Bishop of Freising guaranteed the duty-free transport of the extracted salt. Well-trained Salem lay brothers gradually took over the administration of the entire archbishopric salt pans. In return, new sales markets opened up for salt mining in the west of the Reich. As a result, Salem gained a stable source of income for centuries.
Order politics
Under Eberhard, the Wettingen monastery was settled as the second Salem filiation in 1227 , which the Swiss nobleman Baron Heinrich II of Rapperswil had donated. From this it can be inferred indirectly that the Salem monastery already comprised the required number of 60 monks at this time. A not inconsiderable proportion may have joined the monastery under Eberhard, as the town courts ensured an increased recruitment of monks from the population.
However, Eberhard von Rohrdorf not only made a contribution to the expansion of the Cistercians, but also to the recognition of the Cistercians . Recognizing the women's monasteries , which were founded irregularly around 1200 , was initially difficult for the order's leadership. Abbot Eberhard did pioneering work here: In 1212 Salem took charge of the Wald nunnery, which had been founded against some resistance within the order . The chapter of the order finally agreed in 1217 to include the Wald monastery in the order and raise it to the status of an abbey . During his term of office, the women's convents Rottenmünster (1221), Heiligkreuztal (1227), Baindt (founded 1227, added in 1240), Heggbach (around 1233) and Gutenzell (1238) followed. They were not directly subordinate to the French General Chapter, but remained under the supervision of the Abbots of Salem.
Another indication of Eberhard's sense of equality may be that he had Mathilde von Adelsreute, the daughter and last descendant of the founder Guntram von Adelsreute, buried in the monastery church in 1192. Lay people or even women were not allowed to be buried in the monastery church according to the rule of the order. Eberhard was punished by the General Chapter of the Cistercian Order with six days of fasting for the unauthorized burial. He also had other benefactors of the monastery buried in the first church in Salem, which later fell victim to the construction of the Salem Minster .
literature
Under Eberhard, the Salem Scriptorium produced its first notable literary culture production, which reached its undisputed first climax in the last two decades of his tenure. Around 50 manuscripts from this period have survived, including a five-volume Bible. Under Eberhard, the copying of liturgical books from the Cîteaux Primary Abbey began, which the Order's administration saw as binding.
Eberhard had the first surviving collection of documents and legal titles put together, the so-called Chartularium Salemitanum , a parchment code that, like the other manuscripts, is now stored in the Heidelberg University Library . It contains the first account of the history of the monastery and the first description of the monastery buildings.
The collection of vision literature that he has compiled shows his interest in mysticism ; he edited at least one vision report himself. In addition, a vision report from Eberhard himself has been received, which Dietrich von Apolda handed down in his Vita of St. Dominic : Eberhard dreamed of Jesus Christ , who announced the arrival of two horses which Eberhard should shoe. The next day two Dominicans came before Eberhard and introduced themselves to him as preachers of the gospel ; the four gospels were announced by the four teams in the prophecies of the prophet Zechariah ( Zech 6,1 EU ). Eberhard then recognized them as the announced "horses" of Jesus and kissed their feet. The monastery chronicle Apiarium Salemitanum (1708) by Augustin Sartorius places particular emphasis on this vision.
There is speculation that Eberhard was also the author of the Historia Peregrinorum , the report on the Third Crusade . This thesis could not be confirmed.
Aftermath
In 1240 Abbot Eberhard resigned from his office due to old age. According to the monastery chronicles, he did not die until five years later. With Eberhard's death, Salem's first heyday came to an end. In the Interregnum (1254–1273) the monastery was almost defenseless to the demands of the surrounding counties and suffered great economic losses. It was not until King Rudolf I took office in 1273 that Salem began to prosper again under the protection of the Habsburgs .
According to Arno Borst , Eberhard's importance lies in the fact that he opened up “the previously scarcely formed area between Überlingen and Ravensburg , the old Linzgau , economically, spiritually, politically”. By skillfully using his good contacts to both secular and spiritual neighbors, the diocese of Constance and the prince abbey of St. Gallen , he succeeded in creating “a new spiritual force field” around 1200, as it was in the early Middle Ages between Constance, St. Gallen and Reichenau had already passed. Like his predecessors, Eberhard was on the side of the Staufers , which made the relationship with the secular rulers of the Guelphs in Ravensburg, for example, rather cool. However, with his pragmatic policy, Eberhard succeeded in leading his monastery away from the remote self-sufficiency of the Cistercians and at least partially integrating it into the newly emerging urban markets. The isolation of the Cistercian monasteries was at least partially abolished in his time, among other things by pioneers like Eberhard.
The Salem monastery revered Eberhard as one of its greatest abbots. Documented is a Latin Singspiel from 1737 with the title B. Eberhardus, comes de Rordorf (“The blessed Count Eberhard von Rohrdorf”), which was written by a member of the convent (among others, Stephan Enroth, who was later elected abbot ). Eberhard's friend, Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg , whom the Salemer had chosen to patronize the monastery, was venerated as the second donor in the monastery tradition.
Remembrance day
Probably shortly after his death, Eberhard von Rohrdorf (von Salem) was included in the order's own calendar. The Gedenktagist of the 14. April .
See also
Footnotes
literature
- Arno Borst : Monks at Lake Constance 610–1525 . Sigmaringen: Thorbecke 1985. ISBN 3-7995-5005-4
- Andrea Fleischer: Cistercian abbot and scriptorium: Salem under Eberhard I. von Rohrdorf. Wiesbaden: Reichert 2004. ISBN 3-89500-315-8
- M. Gloning: Count Eberhard von Rohrdorf, Abbot in Salem. Augsburg 1904
- Hans Martin Schaller : Eberhard von Rohrdorf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 230 ( digitized version ).
- Alberich Siewek (ed.): The Cistercian Abbey Salem. The order, the monastery, its abbots. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke 1984
Web links
- Literature by and about Eberhard von Rohrdorf in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eberhard von Rohrdorf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Eberhard von Salem |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Abbot of the Imperial Abbey of Salem |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1160 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | uncertain: Meßkirch , Baden-Württemberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1245 |
| Place of death | Salem (Baden) |