Gerhard von Grafschaft

Gerhard von Grafschaft was abbot of Werden and Helmstedt since 1228 . The end of his abatement is unclear. Johann Suibert Seibertz gave 1249 as the end. According to Wilhelm Stüwer , it is documented in 1252.

Life

He came from the Grafschaft noble family . Its origin from the Westphalian dynasty is documented. His brother was probably Heinrich von Grafschaft. He had another brother Walter, who was also a monk in Werden, and a brother of the canons of St. Andreas in Cologne.

Gerhard von Grafschaft was probably provost in Werden before his abbatiate. He appears as such in a document from 1215. In 1221 he was present with the abbot at the inauguration of the Saarn monastery . It can be traced back to the time of his abatement between 1228 and 1252.

In 1228 Gerhard confirmed the city of Helmstedt its rights and customs. This particularly affected the guilds . During his tenure, Werden and Helmstedt were combined. In 1230 he set the number of conventual women at forty in Marienberg Abbey near Helmstedt. He also supported the pen through donations.

In 1235 he took part in the Reichstag of Emperor Friedrich II in Mainz . He did not play a significant role in Reich service.

In 1238 he allowed the citizens of Helmstedt to turn to the Schöffenstuhl in Magdeburg and allowed the city wall to be expanded as a result of the growing population. He granted guild rights to various trades in Helmstedt.

In 1248 Gerhard handed Isenberg Castle over to the Archbishops of Cologne. He hoped that Werden will be protected by the archbishops of Cologne. Overall, the relationship with the Archbishops of Cologne was close. In contrast, the relationship with the Roman Curia loosened.

The economic situation of Werden Abbey was bad at the time of Gerhard. In agreement with the convention, he intended to sell the abbey's property in Friesland. However, that did not happen. Within the community, his abbatiat was marked by a dispute with the convent. Attempts at reform failed.

The year of his death is unknown. According to tradition, the day of death was November 12th.

literature

• Johann Suibert Seibertz : State and legal history of the Duchy of Westphalia. Volume 1, Section 2: Diplomatic family history of the dynasts and lords in the Duchy of Westphalia. = History of the dynasts. Ritter, Arnsberg 1855, p. 90.
• Wilhelm Stüwer: The imperial abbey in the Ruhr (= Germania Sacra . New episode 12: The dioceses of the church province of Cologne. The archbishopric of Cologne. 3). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1980, ISBN 3-11-007877-5 , pp. 321-322, ( digitized version ).