Everhard von Diest

Everhard von Diest († April 5, 1301 ) was the 31st bishop of Münster from 1275 to 1301 . During his time, on the one hand, the expansion of state rule fell, on the other hand, the city of Münster became an independent political factor.

Early years

He came from the Brabant Diest family . This was related, among other things, to the younger line of the von Cuyk family , the Counts of Rietberg but also to Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg . Everhard was the son of Gerhard von Diest, who died in the Steding War . His mother is not known by name. His uncle played a major role in his advancement. Johann von Diest was a minorite and later rose to become Bishop of Samland and then Lübeck. He supported the Pope and was close to King Wilhelm of Holland . Everhard was also a follower of the Pope and King Wilhelm.

Everhard is first mentioned in a document in 1248. At that time he was provost of the Hünfeld monastery at the royal court in Aachen . He also served the king as a notary for a long time. In 1251 he appeared together with the later Pope Urban IV as a witness in a royal document. In 1252 he described himself in a royal charter as Provost of Fulda . He accompanied Wilhelm when he was recognized as the German king in Braunschweig in the same year . Everhard also held the provost office of St. Gereon in Cologne . In 1253 the Pope had already designated him for the position of bishop.

Difficult beginnings

But it was not until 1272, with the death of the Münster bishop Gerhard von der Mark, that an opportunity arose for Everhard. The choice, however, proved difficult. There was a serious competitor in Wigbold von Holte . After he was unable to achieve a majority in the cathedral chapter , riots broke out in the diocese of Münster. The background is not very clear. Citizens and ministers may also claim the right to vote. Only with the support of the Counts of the Mark , the noble lords of the Lippe and numerous other high secular and clerical lords, Count Otto von Tecklenburg succeeded in appointing the monastery administrator until the bishopric was elected. It was not until King Rudolf von Habsburg asked the Pope for a decision that Everhard could be elected. Wigbold von Holte later became Archbishop of Cologne.

In 1275, after several years of vacancy, Everhard took over the reign of the diocese and monastery of Münster.

Promotion of the spiritual life

With regard to the spiritual life Everhard tried to take action against grievances. In 1282 this included the proclamation of synodal resolutions against concubinates of clergy, their trade, simony and the lack of education. In addition, Everhard tried to implement the papal liturgical reforms.

The relationship between the bishop and the cathedral chapter was initially good. Everhard also tried to improve the economic situation of the cathedral monastery. He bought back pledged goods and sold other properties that did not bring in enough. Because the bishop acted too arbitrarily and the cathedral monastery did not participate sufficiently, an opposition movement arose in these. In 1301 an alliance of the capitulars against Everhard was formed.

He particularly encouraged the Minorites in the monastic sphere . But he also tried to eliminate the secular bailiwicks over monasteries and monasteries. During his term of office, there was only one founding of a monastery, the north hospital near Hamm .

Everhard had numerous indulgences issued, in particular with the aim of promoting the building of churches. During his time, the parish churches in the diocese appeared for the first time as separate legal entities.

His relationship with the Roman Curia was not particularly close. The diocese did not respond to Pope Gregory X's call to a crusade in 1274.

Internal politics

In the political field, he inherited the involvement in the Frisian turmoil. In 1276 he succeeded in reaching an agreement with the Frisians and concluding corresponding contracts. In 1283 there was even a visitation trip through Friesland, which belongs to Münster. It turned out that in large parts of the country there was hardly any sovereignty. In addition to Friesland, this also applied to the Niederstift Münster .

In the city of Münster, too, the situation turned out to be difficult. The citizens wanted more independence from episcopal rule and particularly criticized the fortified Bispinghof in the city. The following events are not entirely clear. It is possible that the bishop wanted to use force against Münster, but failed because of the lack of support from the cathedral chapter. It is clear that the citizens were allied with Soest , Osnabrück and Dortmund in 1277 . The result was that Everhard lost half of the city court and the excise to the citizens. From 1278 the city judges were no longer ministerial of the bishop, but were city lay judges. The citizens were also given supervision over the fortifications of the Bispinghof. The bishop refrained from any violent measure against the city in the future. As a result, his claim to direct rule over Münster almost completely lost its substance. The city rose to an equal power in his time. By participating in the coin tests , she even penetrated the core area of ​​sovereign rights. In the same year, the city of Münster took part in a state parliament for the first time. The structure of the estates began to develop in the following period.

He also had to meet other cities and settlements. These included the Beckum privilege from 1278 or the letters of atonement for Borken and Coesfeld . He granted Ahlen exemption from customs duties and holders received city rights.

For unknown reasons, the first persecution of Jews in Münster took place in 1287 during Everhard's tenure. More than 90 Jews were killed in the process.

Because of his loss of power in the city of Münster, Everhard gave up the old bishop's palace near the cathedral. He mostly resided at Wolbeck Castle . Everhard began to use civil servants in addition to the estates to strengthen the state government.

Foreign policy

Grave of Bishop Everhard von Diest in the nave of the cathedral in Münster / Westphalia, Germany

Everhard was allied with the Archbishops of Cologne at the beginning of his rule and, together with them, took action against vassals striving for independence. With Cologne he also formed an alliance against the Herren zur Lippe. For reasons that were not clear, there was a feud with the Counts of Limburg , which ended in a settlement in 1282. An alliance was also formed with the Bishop of Osnabrück, which was later expanded to include additional members. This was directed in particular against the Count of Tecklenburg. He is said to have tried to capture Everhard in 1299, possibly with the support of the citizens of Münster. Everhard reacted with destruction in the county of Tecklenburg. Count von der Mark used this to invade the Münster area. Only the mediation by the bishops of Osnabrück and Paderborn ended the conflict.

Despite his temporary alliances with the Archbishop of Cologne, he was not positive about Siegfried von Westerburg's attempt to expand his power in Westphalia. Probably his family relationship contributed to the fact that Everhard did not join the alliance of other Westphalian greats, which ended with the defeat of the archbishop in the battle of Worringen in 1288.

Everhard hardly played a role outside of his diocese. Overall, Everhard managed to expand his rule in the central Münsterland (Oberstift). This was a failure in Friesland and in the city of Munster it had lost a lot of ground. During his time it became clear that the bishop and the cathedral chapter no longer ruled alone, but that ministerials and the urban bourgeoisie in Münster also became factors of power.

He was buried in the cathedral in Münster.

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl : The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 7.3: The diocese (= Germania Sacra NF. Bd. 37.3). de Gruyter, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-11-017592-4 , p. 340 ff. ( limited preview in the Google book search).
• Wilhelm Kohl: The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 7.1: The diocese (= Germania Sacra NF Bd. 37.1). de Gruyter, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-11-016470-2 , p. 133 ff. ( limited preview in the Google book search).

Web links

• Everhard von Diest in the personal register of the Germania Sacra online

predecessor	Office	successor
Gerhard von der Mark	Bishop of Münster 1275–1301	Otto III. from Rietberg