Thomas von Absberg
Hans Thomas von Absberg (* 1477 ; † July 3, 1531 in Alten-Sedlitz ) is considered a typical robber baron . The kidnapping of Nuremberg merchants in the Franconian War in 1523 led to the destruction of many small castles in Central Germany, whose owners sympathized with him, by the Swabian Federation .
biography
origin
The von Absberg family was an old Franconian noble family , named after Absberg with the Absberg Castle southeast of Nuremberg on what is now Lake Brombach . According to Johann Gottfried Biedermann , Hans Thomas von Absberg zu Absberg and Dornhausen was the son of Hans Georg von Absberg and Helena, née Marshal von Pappenheim . His siblings were Hans Christoph, Hans Siegmund, Magdalena and Hans Eitel. He was married to Maria Salome, the daughter of Ernfried and Anna von Vellberg , née von Hutten .
Appearance as a robber baron
Thomas von Absberg supported Götz von Berlichingen in 1511 in the Geislingen feud against the imperial city of Nuremberg . In the period that followed, it developed into the dreaded "fright of Franconia ", which stood out for its particularly cruel and less chivalrous demeanor. He liked to chop off one of his hostages' hands and send them to Nuremberg to support his ransom demand. For this he used the "Leuteschinder", an unusual cutting and thrusting weapon that was called Dusack or Dusägge . It consisted of a long, slightly curved, broad blade with an elongated opening worked into the end as a handle for the hand. Hans Thomas is described as a tall, slender man with a short, black beard. He was inclined to curse and had no qualms about getting his plans done. His further career as a robber baron, who at that time were also known as Placker , Schnapphähne , perennial pike or hedge rider , was shaped by the bitter struggle against the Nuremberg people.
Then in the middle of the 16th century he began to cut off the hand of his prisoners and people whom he robbed.
Absberg feud
Absberg's key experience was probably the attack on Count Joachim von Oettingen in the Absberg feud on St. John's Day (June 24th) 1520 at the Hahnenkamm. The count was wounded in the scuffle and died on July 6th. The incident was reported to the Swabian Federation and Emperor Karl V pronounced the imperial ban on Hans Thomas.
As early as 1507, father Hans Georg, together with other robber barons and his sons, took up the fight against the “Nuremberg pepper sacks”. The declining rural chivalry thus expressed its aversion to the up-and-coming trading cities. The Nuremberg war room documented the deeds of Hans Thomas from 1519 to 1530 in numerous files. Among other things, his extensive support from many formerly well-known Franconian families, including members of the Rosenberger , von Thüngen , Aufseß , Guttenberg , Wirsberg and Sparneck families, becomes clear .
Prisoners at Waldstein
In May 1521, the Absberger attacked a group of returnees from the Reichstag in Worms on the Knittlinger Steige near the Maulbronn Monastery . Two very prominent personalities fell into his hands: Hans Lamparter von Greiffenstein, the emperor's spokesman, and Johann Lucas, who handled financial transactions on the emperor's personal behalf. Absberg first brought the two imperial councilors to Hohenstein Castle near Coburg. There they lay in the tower for many weeks, but the enormous ransom demands were not met. In order to cover the tracks, it was necessary to change location again and again. In a true odyssey we went to the Waldenfels on Burghaig near Kulmbach and finally to the castles of the Imperial Knights of Sparneck . Gattendorf , Weißdorf and Uprode were further stations.
The emperor then tried in particular to win over the Swabian Federation for a more targeted approach against Absberg and the Franconian aristocratic families who supported him and in September 1521 sent his secretary Johann Fernberger with the assignment to Count Wolfgang zu Oettingen, a leading member of the Federation and cousin of the killed count Joachim von Oettingen, in order to discuss the possibility of federal intervention on his behalf. However, it was not until 1523 that the Swabian League took massive military action against Absberger and his like-minded people in the so-called Franconian War . By this time the kidnapped imperial councilors had already managed to escape from Absberg's hands.
In autumn 1522 the hostages were dragged to the Waldstein , the safest fortress in the whole of the Fichtel Mountains , which belonged to Wolf and Christoph von Sparneck. There they had to stay in the dungeon on the high rock, which was widely notorious as a murder pit . In January 1523, after a year and 38 weeks imprisonment, they managed to escape. We only know about their circumstances that they succeeded "with God's help". According to a legend, the refugees found shelter under a bridge near Schwabenholz near Stockenroth and shook off their pursuers.
In the meantime, Hans Thomas had carried out further attacks. On April 30, 1522, he fell into the hands of the Nuremberg councilor Bernhard Baumgartner near Schwabach . He first hid it at Rosenberg Castle near Sulzbach and then at Guttenberg , where the patrician lay in the tower for eight weeks. The next stop was Nordeck Castle near Stadtsteinach , in whose dungeon there were allegedly worms that made him sick. In the summer of 1522, his final stop was in the cold tower of the Red Castle on the Waldstein . The two imperial councilors soon kept him company there. Months later, the three of them were able to flee together and report to the war room in Nuremberg. This sealed the fate of the Sparneck knights. They were exposed as the Absberger's helpers and their castles ended up on the list of 23 so-called predatory nests that the Swabian Federation was supposed to destroy.
End of life
Despite the large number of opponents and the destruction of many castles by his helpers in 1523, Hans Thomas von Absberg continued his raids for several years. He could always withdraw to Bohemian areas. So he killed the Nuremberg long-distance trader Albrecht Scheurl (approx. 1481–1531), brother of the theologian Christoph Scheurl . Finally, in 1531, he was himself murdered by one of his comrades-in-arms. His body was found in a corn field and buried in a corner of the Alten-Sedlitz cemetery.
The painting in the Christ Church in Absberg
The only surviving portrait of the robber baron Hans Thomas von Absberg is in the Christ Church in Absberg. The oil painting measures 20 by 45 centimeters and is strongly reminiscent of a grave sign. In fact, it was donated by a descendant of Absberger at the beginning of the 20th century. The painter based his execution on a historical drawing that has been considered lost since the Second World War.
literature
- Joseph Baader : Negotiations about Thomas von Absberg and his feud against the Swabian Confederation from 1519 to 1530 . Tubingen 1873.
- Walter Bauer (ed.): Absberg - a thousand-year history . Wendelsheim 1993.
- Johann Gottfried Biedermann : genealogy of the Reichsfrey immediate knighthood Landes zu Franken Praiseworthy place on the Altmühl… . Bayreuth 1748. Plate CLXXII.
- Alban von Dobenck : History of the extinct family of the von Sparneck (part 1) . In: Archives for the history of Upper Franconia. Bayreuth 1905.
- Hans Hofner : Villages and knight seats along the border (part 1) . In: AO. Bayreuth 1967.
- Niklas Frank: robber barons . Marix Publishing House. Wiesbaden 2005.
- Reinhardt Schmalz: The Franconian War 1523 and the guilt of the Sparnecker . In: Archives for the history of Upper Franconia. Bayreuth 2005.
- Ada Stützel: 100 famous francs . Erfurt 2007.
- Axel Oprotkowitz: Hans Thomas von Absberg In: Hagen Seehase, Detlef Ollesch (ed.): Weird birds of German history ISBN 978-3-95540-186-3 pp. 39-52
Individual evidence
- ↑ Date of death according to Biedermann, actually the date the corpse was found
- ↑ Axel Oprotkowitz: Hans Thomas Absberg . In: Hagen Seehase, Detlef Ollesch (Hrsg.): Weird birds of German history . ISBN 978-3-95540-186-3 , pp. 39-52 .
- ↑ Theodor Meister: Upper Franconian sagas . Münchberg 1903. p. 29.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Absberg, Thomas von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Absberg, Hans Thomas von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Robber barons |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1477 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 3, 1531 |
| Place of death | Alten-Sedlitz, Staré Sedliště |