Georg Supersaxo

Georg Supersaxo (* around 1450; † 1529 in Vevey ; also Jörg auf der Flüe ) held the various offices of Zehndenmeiers von Mörel , Grosskastlan von Anniviers , clerk of the Valais , secretary to Matthäus Schiner . As head of the Milanese party and tribune of the people, he wore the matzo against Jost von Silenen according to Sitten and developed into the opponent of his pupil and later bishop Matthäus Schiner.

Life

Georg Supersaxo, son of Bishop Walter Supersaxo, was born a bastard son . He was married to Margaretha Lener in 1478 at Naters Castle . He had 23 children with her, 6 of whom are known by name: Christina, who freed him from captivity in Freiburg, Barbara, Franz, Stephanie, who was to be married to Kaspar Schiner, Cardinal Schiner's nephew, Johann, Georg II. and Anselina Simplicina. There were many among Supersaxo's descendants who held offices as successful as he once did.

Schiner – Supersaxo relationship

Supersaxo and Niklaus and Matthäus Schiner together overthrew Bishop Jost von Silenen. Niklaus Schiner became Supersaxo's new bishop and Matthäus Schiner became secretary. Since Niklaus Schiner was only a temporary solution, in 1499 Matthäus Schiner of Supersaxo was installed as the new bishop. Until then, Supersaxo and Schiner supported each other.

Double play

During the war between Spain and France, a first conflict developed between the two. Supersaxo wanted Valais mercenaries to go to war for France, whereas Schiner advised against it. With that, Supersaxo's double game began : he pretended to be a loyal servant of the bishop, but at the same time received bribes from France. A second conflict arose when Italy tried to drive the French out of the country. This time Schiner wanted to let mercenaries go into battle for Italy, but Supersaxo wanted an alliance with France. But he was still entrusted with important tasks by Schiner, who was on par with Supersaxo in sagacity and cunning.

rebellion

In 1510 the Pope wanted to drive the French out of Italy. With Schiner's help, he wanted to win the Swiss Confederation for a union with the Holy See . At the same time, Supersaxo campaigned in Valais for the conclusion of an alliance with France, although Schiner had expressly forbidden it to do so. When Supersaxo convened a district administrator in Brig , which was only allowed to the governor in the absence of the bishop, Schiner rushed to Naters to prevent the alliance at the last minute. Despite the intervention of the bishop, the Zehndi Goms, Brig and Visp agreed to the union with France on February 13, 1510. Schiner declared the association invalid and forbade membership as a grave sin. On the Diet voted the 13 federal places of papal Association to March 14, 1510th Nevertheless, soon attracted 1,000 Valais in French services and Supersaxo raised on 1 April 1510 against the opponents of his policy, Mazze .

He did not succeed, however, in winning the lower fingers for a union with France. On May 11, 1510, Supersaxo was found guilty of high treason by the district administrator in Leuk and his property was confiscated and auctioned. In mid-May, Supersaxo fled to Italy with 1,000 followers and entered the service of France. He was then banned from church by Schiner .

captivity

On the journey from Italy to the Diet, Supersaxo was arrested on September 22, 1510 in Freiburg. Schiner hurried over to stir up a mood against his mortal enemy. Supersaxo was tortured for three days to force him to confess. The Freiburgers decided to leave the verdict to a court in which a majority of the members of the papal party belonged. The fate of Supersaxo seemed to be sealed. On the night of 10./11. January 1511 the prisoner was freed by his wife Margarete and his daughter Christine. The two of them obtained a wax print of the prison key, bribed the gatekeeper and gave the guards a drink , which let them sleep peacefully while Christine and two men freed their father. Supersaxo fled to Neuchâtel and was extradited to Bern from there. Thanks to the majority of the French party in the city, he regained freedom in April 1511.

Offices

Georg Supersaxo held numerous offices in his life. In 1477 he was Zehndenmeier von Mörel. From 1479 to 1482 he held the office of Grosskastlans von Anniviers. In 1490 he was also given the office of Grosskastlan von Brig. He reached the high point of his political career in 1494 when he was appointed state clerk to the governor (head of state of Valais) Georg Majoris . In this capacity he carried out diplomatic assignments on behalf of the district administrator. Since he had lent his future rival Matthäus Schiner money for the fee for his appointment as bishop, Schiner made him his personal secretary in 1499 . In addition to these official political offices, Supersaxo was the head of the Milanese party and was responsible for the distribution of the Milanese pension funds . In addition, Supersaxo recruited mercenaries for the French army in Valais . However, this was against the will of Matthäus Schiner, who sided with Milan during the conflict between France and Milan. With this mercenary acquisition, Supersaxo hoped for a lot of money for himself and his compatriots.

literature

• Arthur Fibicher: Valais history . Volume 2: High and Late Middle Ages . Morals 1987
• Hans Anton von Roten: The governors of the Valais 1388–1798 . Brig 1991

Web links

• Werner Bellwald: Supersaxo, Georg [Jörg]. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .