Gottfried von Spitzenberg

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Gottfried's epitaph is the oldest still preserved in Würzburg Cathedral

Gottfried I. von Spitzenberg (lat. Gottfridus I de Pisenberg ; * 1132 ; † July 8, 1190 in Antioch ) was a close confidante of the Hohenstaufen emperor Friedrich I (Barbarossa) and bishop of Regensburg and Würzburg .

origin

Gottfried I came from the house of Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg . He was the son of Rudolf I of Sigmaringen and Spitzenberg (exp. 1133 to 1147) and an Adelheid. His brother, Ludwig III. von Sigmaringen and Spitzenberg (adult 1147 to 1200), married the daughter or sister of Eberhard the Younger von Helfenstein , who remained without a male successor, and from then on called himself Ludwig I. von Helfenstein. Gottfried's second brother was Ulrich (adult 1174). The Sigmaringen-Spitzenberg line was created through the marriage of Ludwig I the Elder of Sigmaringen (adult 1083; † before 1092) and Richinza, the heiress of Spitzenberg, daughter of Berthold I of Zähringen , the Duke of Carinthia from 1061 to 1077 and Margrave of Verona.

Career

Gottfried I. studied law in Bologna and theology in Paris. In 1172 he became canon in Würzburg and imperial court chancellor at Barbarossa. In the following years he took part in the 5th Italian campaign against the Lombard cities and was instrumental in the conclusion of the Peace of Venice in 1177 . 1184–85, Gottfried exercised the office of General Legate in Italy in addition to the Chancellery. On June 18, 1185 he was elected Bishop of Regensburg . In the following year, the Würzburg bishop Reginhard von Abenberg died . Gottfried was elected his successor and thus retired from the imperial service.

Bishop of Würzburg

In 1187 the Muslim sultan Saladin succeeded in the battle of Hattin in destroying the Christian army of the crusader states in Palestine . Emissaries of the Pope reported on the court meeting in Strasbourg about the loss of Jerusalem and called for the reconquest of the holy places. In 1188 at the Court Day of Jesus Christ in Mainz - not least because of Gottfried's sparkling eloquence - it was decided to gather a crusade army in Regensburg the following year in order to recapture the Holy Land. The army, which Gottfried also joined, had crossed the Balkans and crossed Asia Minor against fierce resistance when Emperor Barbarossa drowned in the Saleph River in 1190 . Subsequently, in Antioch, many of the crusaders fell ill with an illness; Gottfried also died from it.

Before his death, Gottfried had determined that his right hand should be brought to Würzburg. So the hand was cut off the body and sent on the journey to Würzburg. The messengers were presumably attacked by robbers on the way, who suspected valuable objects in the cassette they were carrying. In any case, the hand was lost on the way and so today only the grave slab of Bishop Gottfried I stands in the Würzburg Cathedral . It is the oldest preserved grave slab in Kilians Cathedral. The visitor will find it on the second pillar of the northern, in the view on the left, tall nave wall.

literature

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predecessor Office successor
Konrad II of Raitenbuch Bishop of Regensburg
1185–1186 		Conrad III. of Laichling
Reginhard von Abenberg Bishop of Würzburg
1186–1190 		Philip of Swabia
personal data
SURNAME Gottfried von Spitzenberg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gottfried I. von Spitzenberg-Helfenstein; Gottfried of Regensburg; Gottfried I of Würzburg; Godfridus I de Pisenberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Würzburg
DATE OF BIRTH 1132
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1190
Place of death Antioch