Gerold Meyer (Benedictine)

Gerold Meyer (1784)

Gerold Meyer (born May 13, 1729 in Lucerne as Franz Anton Christoph Meyer ; † February 15, 1810 in Muri ) was a Swiss Benedictine monk . From 1776 to 1803 he was prince abbot , then until his death abbot of the Muri monastery in the free offices (in today's canton of Aargau ).

biography

Meyer sometimes writes history with the addition of "von Schauensee ". Although he actually came from this noble family from Lucerne, he never used this part of the name himself. His parents were the politician (member of the Small Council ) Joseph Leodegar Valentin Meyer (1696–1765) and Barbara Benigna, b. Keller (1696–1778), whose father was Anton Leodegar Keller , envoy to the Diet . Two of his brothers also gained prominence: Bernhard as abbot of the Rheinau monastery and Joseph Rudolf Valentin as governor, councilor and writer. Meyer studied at the Lucerne Jesuit School and at the Muri Monastery School . In 1746 he made his profession , and was ordained a priest in 1752. He then worked as a professor of theology, from 1756 as an archivist and librarian, from 1757 also as a novice master . From 1761 to 1776 he officiated as governor of the abbey in the rulers on the Neckar .

On June 19, 1776, Meyer's election as the fifth prince abbot of Muri took place. From 1782 to 1792 he was one of the visitors to the Swiss Benedictine Congregation . In 1788 cracks appeared in the monastery library. Valentin Lehmann, court architect of Prince Joseph Maria von Fürstenberg , was commissioned by the abbot to build a new east and south wing in the classical style. Construction began in 1789 and was completed nine years later. In this way the most pressing space problems could be solved. The cost was almost 520,000 guilders . The planned new construction of the west wing and the church towers could no longer be carried out because the political events rolled over.

The French invasion at the beginning of 1798 swept away the old order and Meyer decided to flee. Together with two friars and his brother, the abbot of Rheinau, he first went to the Rhenish governor of Ofterdingen . In June he traveled on to Schloss Glatt am Neckar. But soon afterwards the French advanced as far as Ulm , so that the Meyer brothers and the abbot of St. Blasien fled to Berchtesgaden , where they stayed until June 1800. Due to the unsafe situation, the escape continued until it finally ended in December 1800 in Znojmo in Moravia . Half a year after the mediation act came into force , Meyer returned to Muri in August 1803.

In anticipation of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss , the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen took almost the entire Muri rule on the Neckar in possession on November 2, 1802 (the later Oberamt Glatt ), a small part went to the Duchy of Württemberg . The abbey received no compensation and Meyer lost the title of prince abbot. Prince Anton Aloys von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen also forced him to forego a bond in the amount of 57,000 guilders. The total loss totaled 950,000 guilders. The abbey tried legally to obtain adequate compensation, but it was not until 1830 that the small sum of 70,000 guilders was agreed in a settlement.

The French occupation and the state administration during the time of the Helvetic Republic caused the abbey great losses in Switzerland as well. In the canton of Aargau , which was established in 1803, the monasteries were again allowed to manage their goods freely, on the other hand, the farmers could now buy their way free from interest and tithe In order to at least partially compensate for the considerable financial damage, Meyer arranged for the lordship of Sandegg and Eppishausen in the canton of Thurgau to be sold in 1807 .

literature

• Adelhelm Rast: Gerold Meyer (1729-1810) . In: Argovia , annual journal of the Historical Society of the Canton of Aargau, vol. 68–69, 1958, pp. 533–535 ( digitized version ).
• Albert Bruckner : Helvetia Sacra. Volume III. 1972, p. 943 f.
• Bruno Meier : The Muri Monastery - History and Present of the Benedictine Abbey . here + now , Baden 2011, ISBN 978-3-03919-215-1 .
• Pascal Pauli: Monastery Economics, Enlightenment and “Parade Buildings”. The new building of the Muri monastery in the 18th century . Chronos, Zurich 2017, ISBN 978-3-0340-1358-1 .
• Verena Baumer-Müller: The brothers Abbot Gerold II. Meyer von Muri, Abbot Bernhard III. Meyer von Rheinau and Councilor JR Valentin Meyer: A contribution to the situation of Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland at the end of the 18th century . In: Studies and communications on the history of the Benedictine order and its branches . No. 117 . Bavarian Benedictine Academy , 2006, ISSN  0303-4224 , p. 345-381 .
• Verena Baumer-Müller: The Meyer brothers from Lucerne in the service of church and state. In: Our home. Annual journal of the historical society Freiamt , 76th year, 2009; Pp. 17-32.

Web links

• Anton Wohler: Meyer von Schauensee, Gerold. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. Pp. 93-96.
2. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. P. 113.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Meier: The Muri Monastery. P. 115.
4. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. Pp. 42-43.

predecessor	Office	successor
---	Abbot of Muri 1803-1810	Gregor Koch
Bonaventure II. Bucher	Abbot of Muri 1776-1803	---