Hedwig von Korff zu Waghorst
Hedwig von Korff zu Waghorst (baptized name: Hedwig Lucie Beate) (* April 23, 1697 Gut Waghorst ; † May 11, 1767 ibid) was a canoness in Quernheim, according to whose legend there is still a custom around her charitable work.
Life
Origin and family
Hedwig von Korff was born as the eldest daughter of Johann Heinrich von Korff and his wife Margarete von Voss and grew up with her ten siblings in an East Westphalian noble family.
Career and work
She entered the Quernheim Abbey on February 23, 1713 and was sworn up here . For reasons of supply, it was quite common in his time in the noble families to put daughters at a young age in women's pens. At that time there were twelve canonesses living in Quernheim, none of whom took any perpetual vows and could therefore quit and marry at any time. Hedwig was the representative of the abbess Anna von Schele and, as a "senior citizen", had a great influence on the decisions about the determination of the contributions of the self-owned to the monastery. Over two hundred farms belonged to the monastery, from the smallest Kotten to the Meierhof. With each death, the surviving dependents had to provide the monastery with benefits in kind (cattle, grain, etc.). During Hedwig's tenure, however, only amounts of money were due. She was very lenient in doing this, exercising leniency and setting small amounts in order to preserve the legal rights of the monastery.
Hedwig died of chest fever two and a half weeks after her 70th birthday. On her deathbed, she wrote her will and stipulated that 20 Reichstaler should be given to poor people and to the nearby school. The noble relatives received the majority of their wealth of 1,300 Reichstalers.
Legends
In the East Westphalian Kirchlengern and the surrounding area, a custom has been (again) maintained since the 1970s, which can be traced back to the legend about Hedwig's benefits as a canon. Shrove Tuesday is called "Hedwig's Day" here and the schoolchildren are given raisin rolls called "Hedewigte". A good 200 years ago, the kötter and farmers as serfs of the Quernheim Abbey are said to have regularly been addicted to alcohol during Shrove Tuesday. As a result, they no longer had the money to support their families. Hedwig is said to have had mercy as a helper in the need of the hungry. To alleviate the need, she distributed bread rolls to the children that she had baked in the monastery bakery. Over the years, the custom of handing out sweet bread rolls has become established as a reminder of these acts. In honor of the donor, these were named "Hedewigte".
literature
- Gisbert Strotdrees: There was not only the Droste , Sechzig Lebensbilder Westphalischer Frauen, Münster 1997, 2nd edition, ISBN 3-7843-2523-8 .
Web links
- Hedwig von Korff zu Waghorst Short portrait in the Internet portal "Westphalian History"
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Korff zu Waghorst, Hedwig von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canon of the Quernheim Abbey |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 23, 1697 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gut Waghorst |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 11, 1767 |
| Place of death | Gut Waghorst |