Kilian (saint)

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Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan, copies of the Riemenschneider wooden figures by Heinz Schiestl in the Neumünster Church , Würzburg

The holy Kilian or St. Kilian (* around 640 , according to later and unreliable tradition in Mullagh , County Cavan , Ireland , † according to legend 689 in Würzburg ) the tradition was according to an Irish-Scottish missionary bishop . Together with his two companions, Kolonat and Totnan , who allegedly died as a martyr , he is venerated as a Franconian apostle who carried out the Irish-Scottish mission in Franconia at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries should have started.

The name Kilian can with fighters are translated and comes from the Celtic archetype Ceallach , whatever war or combat means. In older name books it is usually translated as churchman , which probably refers to its most famous bearer and is out of the question as the actual meaning of the word.

Legend

Assassination of St. Kilian; left behind Duke Gosbert . Illustration from a Strasbourg codex , around 1418

The Passio Kiliani According to Kilian came n. Chr 686th with its eleven companions (along so the number twelve of the apostles ) or after the younger Vita with two companions (a topos of ascetic tradition ), Kolonat and Totnan , according Würzburg . He is said to have preached and proselytized here and in the surrounding area and then (around 689) was murdered together with his companions, according to the martyrology of Hrabanus Maurus by the Duke, the Passiones, on the other hand, place the murder of Gailana , the wife of the Franconian Duke Gosbert , a burden. She was the widow of his brother, and her marriage to Gosbert was therefore prohibited and invalid under Christian canon law. Kilian is said to have urged the already baptized duke to break the connection. Gailana took advantage of her husband's absence to have the bishop and his two companions murdered. The bodies are said to have been buried in the stables of the Duke's Castle (on the site of today's Neumünster Church ).

cult

Skull relic of Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan in the Würzburg Cathedral

Kilian is one of the 7th century traveling bishops and missionaries who were active north of the Alps and who - since the endeavors of the Church to equip each of its altars with relics of saints - were relatively quickly declared saints. In 752 was probably on the initiative of Boniface, the discovery of the relics of Bishop Burkard , the first Bishop of Wurzburg, staged and probably through to later tradition reportedly in grave preserved Kiliansevangeliar (Würzburg University Library, Mpth.q.1a) a Gospel manuscript written in Uncials from the earliest 7th century from northern France (with an ivory tablet from the 11th century depicting the martyrdom of the three Franconian apostles for the first time and a splendid binding from the 15th century).

In analogy to other memorial buildings and alluding to St. Peter's Church in Rome, a new dome building was started for the Neumünster from 1711 over the legendary place of death and grave of the three Franconian apostles, which, initiated by the Prince-Bishop, then had a handsome facade, similar to the Vatican St. Peter's Church got on the west side. During the Second World War , the relics of St. Kilian was brought to safety in the parish church of Saint Mary of the Rosary and Saint Regiswindis in Gerolzhofen . In 1949 they returned to Würzburg.

Today the bones of the three saints are kept in a reliquary by Heinrich Gerhard Bücker , as required by a Kiliani brotherhood formed in 1851 in the crypt ("Kiliansgruft") of the Neumünster Church , while the skulls are in one of the goldsmith Josef Amberg ( 1900–1976) and Michael Amberg in 1967 created a rock crystal shrine which is embedded in the main altar of Kilians Cathedral . During the Kiliani Octave (the week of July 8th) the shrine with the skulls is shown to the public. At that time found on the Talavera fairground in Wuerzburg the Kiliani festival and in the market place the Kiliani sale Fair.

It is noticeable that there are no early Irish sources on Kilian or his cult and only started in the second half of the 12th century. The only exception is the Tamlachtense martyrology from the Tallaght monastery , dating from around 800 , whose information, however, must at least for the most part go back to continental sources. The earliest certain evidence of the veneration of Kilian can be found in the calendar of the Godescalc Evangelistary (Paris, Bibl. Nat., Nouv. Acq. Lat. 1203) from 781 to 783, in the altar titulus of Hrabanus Maurus for the Boniface altar in the western apse of St. Salvator zu Fulda from 819, in an addendum to a Würzburg manuscript of the Martyrology of Beda Venerabilis (Würzburg, Universitätsbil., Mpth.f.49), and in the Martyrology of Hrabanus Maurus (842-856). A Fulda manuscript of the Passio minor from the last quarter of the 10th century contains the earliest surviving picture cycle of the legend of Kilians and is thus the earliest surviving example of a thoroughly illustrated saint's life. The iconographic model was probably the corresponding Boniface cycle.

After the secularization , the Kilian's relics were forgotten in the first half of the 19th century. The silver reliquary busts of the Franconian apostles were melted into coins as early as 1794. The wooden, partially glazed plinths that concealed the heads of the saints were classified by the responsible commissioners as worthless during the subsequent secularization in Bavaria ; they were placed in the cathedral's regalia and forgotten there. From then on, the relics were initially considered lost. It was not until August 1849 that the heads of the Franconian apostles were rediscovered, carried them back to the solemn procession on Kiliani Day in 1850 and had a new reliquary made, which was replaced by a more valuable one in 1874. This finally went down in the firestorm of March 16, 1945 . The relics themselves were hidden in Gerolzhofen in 1943 and returned to the Neumünster Church in July 1949 in a three-day procession to Würzburg. To commemorate the Apostles from the Franks, a large 1200th anniversary of the veneration of Kilians took place in Würzburg, the “City of Saint Kilians”, in the “Kilians year” in 1952, culminating in the reliquary procession with the heads of Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan with a festive service took place on the Residenzplatz on July 13th during the Kiliani week. Another big celebration was the 1300th anniversary celebration in 1989 under the motto “Together” (the 1999 Kilians Festival started the social foundation “Together for Life” established by Bishop Scheele).

Patronage

The saint is the patron saint of the cities of Würzburg , Heilbronn , Kostheim , Bad Heilbrunn , the Diocese of Würzburg and the Franconian region, as well as the professions of white-making and white- making. He is called for eye problems, gout and rheumatism. It is to be regarded as artistic freedom that Viktor von Scheffel claims in his Frankenlied Kilian as patron of the winemakers, which is probably only based on a conclusion from the importance of Franconia as a wine-growing region. In Ireland he is the patron saint of the Tuosist parish in County Kerry, as, according to uncertain sources, he is said to have left the local port of Kilmacillogue on his missionary trip. There is a church dedicated to him in Lauragh . In Mullagh, Ireland, in County Cavan , which despite the problematic sources is considered the birthplace of Kilian, there is a church dedicated to him and the Kilian's Heritage Center.

Attributes

The attributes of the saint include the crook and the sword .

Remembrance day

The three Apostles from Franconia on a commemorative stamp of the German Federal Post Office

His Catholic and Protestant feast day is July 8th . In the Catholic Church, this is a non-mandatory day of remembrance in the general Roman calendar . In the diocese of Würzburg, July 8th is Solemnity . The Protestant day of remembrance is included in the Protestant name calendar . The Orthodox churches also commemorate him on July 8th, often July 21st (July 8th according to the Julian calendar ).

Kilian's Day is also the patronage day of the Fourteen Aid Helpers .

Pawn rule

Peasant rules corresponding to the name day :

  • Kilian, the holy man, hires the first reapers .
  • If it is nice in St. Kilian, many good days will pass.
  • On St. Kilian sow sweet peas and turnips.

More pictures

In the fine arts, St. Kilian is almost always represented with the sword with which he was later killed. Often he also carries the bishop's staff . He is depicted at least three times in Kilian's Church in Heilbronn : in the main altar by Hans Seyfer to the right of the Maria with the child, in a Gothic window panel (probably from the 15th century) and in the tympanum on the central south portal.

See also

literature

  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: The murder of the Archbishop Bonifatius by the Frisians. Searching for and shaping a martyrdom out of a need for church politics? In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History 57, 2005, pp. 95–132, esp. Pp. 114–116
  • Adriaan Breukelaar:  Kilian (Chilian). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 1474-1477.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Kilian. Monk from Ireland - patron of all Franks 689-1989. Catalog of the special exhibition for the 1300th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Kilians July 1, 1989 - October 1, 1989 Marienberg Fortress Würzburg. Mainfränkisches Museum Würzburg, Würzburg 1989.
  • Johannes Erichsen (Ed.): Kilian. Monk from Ireland of all Franks patron. Essays (publications on Bavarian history and culture 19/89), Munich 1989. ISBN 3-9801342-9-6
  • Hermann Multhaupt : Saint Kilian. Life, legend and worship. Bonifatius Druck Buch Verlag , Paderborn 2009, ISBN 978-3-89710-445-7 .
  • Ludwig K. Walter: St. Kilian. List of literature on martyrdom and cult of the Franconian apostles and on the foundation of the diocese of Würzburg . (Würzburger Diözesan-Geschichtsblätter 51, 1989, supplementary volume).
  • Franz Xaver von Wegele :  Kilian the saint . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p. 735 f.
  • Alfred Wendehorst :  Kilian. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 , p. 603 ( digitized version ).
  • Klaus Wittstadt : Sankt Kilian: Life - Martyrdom - Effect . Echter, Würzburg 1984
  • Klaus Wittstadt (Ed.): St. Kilian. 1300 years of martyrdom of the Franconian apostles (Würzburger Diözesan-Geschichtsblätter 51, 1989).
  • Kilian. Monk from Ireland of all Franks patron . Catalog of the special exhibition for the 1300th anniversary of the Kiliansmartyrium, Würzburg 1989.
  • Joachim Dienemann: The cult of St. Kilian in the 8th and 9th centuries. Contributions to the intellectual and political development of the Carolingian period. (Sources and research on the history of the diocese and bishopric of Würzburg 10). Schöningh, Würzburg 1955.

Web links

Commons : Sankt Kilian  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Johannes Gottfried Mayer : The Saints Emmeram and Kilian: Observations on the oldest vites. In: St. Emmeram in Regensburg, History - Art - Monument Preservation. In: Thurn-und-Taxis-Studien. Volume 18, 1992, pp. 33-40.
  2. ↑ Johannes Gottfried Mayer: Integrity of the body. For the body-soul conception in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 18, 1999, pp. 75-85, here: p. 82.
  3. ^ Gottfried Mälzer: Würzburg as a city of books. In: Karl H. Pressler (Ed.): From the Antiquariat. Volume 8, 1990 (= Börsenblatt für den Deutschen Buchhandel - Frankfurter Ausgabe. No. 70, August 31, 1990), pp. A 317 - A 329, here: pp. A 321 f.
  4. ↑ See Kiliansevangeliar on the website of the University of Würzburg ; Kilian. Monk from Ireland of all Franks Patron (see below literature) No. 227, p. 239, on this Becht-Jördens (see below literature)
  5. ↑ Stefan Kummer : Architecture and fine arts from the beginnings of the Renaissance to the end of the Baroque. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes; Volume 2: From the Peasants' War in 1525 to the transition to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814. Theiss, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1477-8 , pp. 576–678 and 942–952, here: pp. 630–632.
  6. ^ Oskar Neisinger: Julius Cardinal Döpfner. Memory. Image Notes - Quotes . Echter, Würzburg 1976, ISBN 3-429-00501-9 , p. 91.
  7. ↑ Wolfgang Weiss : The Catholic Church in the 19th Century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 430-449 and 1303, here: p. 439
  8. ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 475–478: The development at the end of the 20th century - the term of office of Bishop Paul-Werner Scheele (1979– 2003). P. 476.
  9. ^ Joachim Dienemann, The cult of St. Kilian in the 8th and 9th centuries. Contributions to the intellectual and political development of the Carolingian period . Schöningh, Würzburg 1955, pp. 12-13; Pp. 193-209, especially pp. 197-208.
  10. ↑ Cf. Gereon Becht-Jördens, Sturmi or Bonifatius. A conflict in the age of the Anian reform about identity and monastic self-image as reflected in the altar rituals of Hrabanus Maurus for the Salvator Basilica in Fulda. With appendices to the tradition and critical edition of the tituli as well as to text sources on the architecture and building history of the Salvator Basilica . In: Marc-Aeilko Aris, Susanna Bullido del Barrio (ed.), Hrabanus Maurus in Fulda. With a Hrabanus Maurus bibliography (1979-2009) (Fuldaer Studien 13). Josef Knecht, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-7820-0919-5 , pp. 123–187, here p. 160; P. 163; P. 165.
  11. ↑ The relics of the first three apostles of Franconia, the Saints Kilian, Colonat and Totnan: A festive gift, dedicated to the dear Franconian people at the first public exhibition of the three holy heads found again, Franz Xaver Himmelstein, Bonitas farmer, 1850 - 56 pages. Retrieved July 4, 2016 .
  12. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here: p. 1228.
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Weiss : The Catholic Church in the 19th Century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 430-449 and 1303, here: p. 439.
  14. ↑ 1849 - Recovery of the Kilian's relics. Retrieved July 4, 2016 .
  15. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247; here: p. 1241.
  16. ↑ The return of the Franconian apostles. Retrieved July 4, 2016 .
  17. ↑ The Savior of Heads. Retrieved July 4, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 463–469: Under the sign of reconstruction - Julius Döpfner's time as Bishop of Würzburg (1948–1957). Pp. 466-469.
  19. ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 475–478: The development at the end of the 20th century - the term of office of Bishop Paul-Werner Scheele (1979– 2003). P. 475 f.
  20. ↑ On the early cult of Kilian and the early patronages and relics cf. Joachim Dienemann, The cult of St. Kilian in the 8th and 9th centuries. Contributions to the intellectual and political development of the Carolingian era, Schöningh, Würzburg 1955, pp. 53–110, where the Irish cult sites named below, whose cult practice seems to be based on secondary, later tradition of continental origin, probably from the 11th century (cf. ibid. P. 199 with note 48f.), Are not listed due to a lack of early evidence. Also Kilian. Möch from Ireland - all Franks patron 689-1989. Catalog of the special exhibition for the 1300th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Kilians 1 July 1989 - 1 October 1989 Marienberg Fortress Würzburg. Mainfränkisches Museum Würzburg, Würzburg 1989, pp. 212–223; Heinrich Wagner, foundation of a diocese and Kilians translation. in: Johannes Erichsen (Ed.), Kilian. Möch from Ireland - all Franken Patron essays (publications on Bavarian history and culture 19/89). Bavarian State Chancellery, House of History Munich, Munich 1989, pp. 269–280; Gereon Becht-Jördens, The murder of Archbishop Bonifatius by the Frisians. Searching for and shaping a martyrdom out of ecclesiastical necessity? . In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History 57, 2005, pp. 95–132, here pp. 114–116.
  21. ↑ Lexicon of Christian Iconography, Vol. 7, Freiburg im Breisgau 1974, p. 309.
  22. ↑ See article Kilian in: CatholicIreland.net .
  23. ↑ See page of Kilian's Heritage Center .
personal data
SURNAME Kilian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kilian of Würzburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION iro-Scottish missionary bishop
DATE OF BIRTH at 640
PLACE OF BIRTH Mullagh , County Cavan , Ireland
DATE OF DEATH at 689
Place of death Wurzburg