Heinrich Volbert Sauerland

Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910)

Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (born May 11, 1839 in Arnsberg , † June 13, 1910 in Rome ) was a Catholic priest, German historian and church critic.

Early years

He was the son of the turner Johann Sauerland and the mother Marianne (née Meinolf). After elementary school he attended the Laurentianum grammar school in Arnsberg . In 1849 his father died of consumption . Nevertheless, Sauerland was able to finish his school education in 1859 with the best high school diploma of his year. He then studied Catholic theology in Münster and Paderborn .

Chaplain in Hagen and Dortmund

After completing his studies, he was ordained a priest in Paderborn and worked as a chaplain in Hagen and since 1865 in Dortmund . In 1864 in Hagen he helped found a “citizens' association”. The transfer to Dortmund took place against his will and was possibly intended as a punitive transfer, although the background is unknown. His new superior, Propst Wiemann, was asked to keep a watchful eye on Sauerland. Conflicts with the provost soon arose. Sauerland not only refused to sit in the confessional for long and read evening mass. Nor had he attended the greeting of the Prussian king. Paderborn did not comply with Sauerland's request for a transfer , so that the conflicts between provost and chaplain continued.

Sauerland's political position was not only disapproved by the provost, as he was in contact with personalities from the local progress party around Hermann Becker . During an election meeting in 1867, Sauerland was the first speaker to speak in favor of Becker and was a member of his election committee. His appearance aroused the displeasure of the Catholic press beyond Dortmund. In the new elections in August 1867, he publicly campaigned for Becker's election again. From the conservative side, its electoral success was attributed not least to Sauerland, so that interested circles stormed the episcopal administration to move Sauerland. When asked to do so, the provost wrote a letter in which he detailed his criticisms of Sauerland. In addition to the neglect of official duties and unpleasant political activity, there was also talk of Sauerland's interest in young women and he indicated an addiction to drink. Some time later, further petitions from community members to recall the Sauerland followed.

This took place in 1868. At the same time he was appointed director of the Rector's School in Steinheim . It was not a punishment transfer, but rather a promotion. Apparently, Bishop Konrad Martin valued the qualities of Sauerland in intellectual terms, but also his social attitude, higher than the misconduct accused of him. A big farewell party and a big torchlight procession in his honor shows how popular he was in Dortmund. The sympathy of the population makes it clear that the complaints show only a one-sided picture of the work of Sauerland. His commitment to the growing working population in particular will have played a major role. In view of the increasing number of Catholic workers in the city, he had campaigned for the building of a second Catholic church. Sauerland had taken his office seriously, albeit with a different focus than his superiors.

School service and studies

In 1868 he passed the exam for eligibility to run a middle school. Sauerland showed great commitment in running the school. There were no conflicts.

The desire grew in him to take up a historical and philological study, and he turned to Bishop Martin with a corresponding request, who was benevolent to this. After a successor for the headmaster's position had been found, he was able to resign in 1872. Even if the time in Steinheim was outwardly conflict-free, his critical attitude to the church probably increased in connection with the discussions about the infallibility dogma of the 1st Vatican Council .

Between 1872 and 1875 he studied history and philology in Berlin and Göttingen . During his time in Berlin in 1872/73 he had no income whatsoever and lived off the private lessons.

Hermann Becker, who was one of the founders of the Historical Association for Dortmund and the Grafschaft Mark , commissioned Sauerland to copy the manuscripts of Dortmund chroniclers stored in the Prussian State Archives in Berlin and to make them accessible to the City Archives in Dortmund. In the first issue of the club's magazine, which appeared in 1875, he published several small articles. In Göttingen he did his doctorate with Georg Waitz on Dietrich von Nieheim . He dedicated the work to Hermann Becker. In May 1876 he passed the philological state examination.

Since the autumn of 1875 he was an assistant teacher at the imperial lyceum in Metz . As early as 1876 he switched to the imperial high school in Gebweiler as a regular teacher before he went to the municipal high school in Frankfurt am Main in 1877 . During this time, the number of his scientific publications increased. In 1876 he wrote three essays about the Dominican monastery in Dortmund and about Pope Gregory XII in the historical magazine . A first contribution to the history of Metz followed in 1877. Two years later, a series of articles appeared in the local newspaper.

In Frankfurt, too, he did not attract any public attention until 1879 in the Germania newspaper that Sauerland had left the Catholic Church. With a view to the Kulturkampf , one could have expected a benevolent attitude from the Prussian school authorities towards Sauerland. But this stood in the way of renewed political activity in the spirit of the democratic movement . Sauerland had also fallen out with the director of his school, Tycho Mommsen . The headmaster accused him, among other things, of having written an anonymous diatribe against the school. There was also talk of rumors about a blameworthy lifestyle. Although Sauerland had pledged not to emerge politically, he had again participated in democratic meetings in 1883, which led to disciplinary proceedings being instituted against him. The alleged "immoral lifestyle" of the Sauerland came more and more into focus. There was talk of drunkenness and relationships with dubious women. Mommsen in particular excelled in making Sauerland appear in the worst possible light. The proceedings were connected with the suspension of Sauerland. It ended with the dismissal of Sauerland for "offensive and unworthy behavior inside and outside the office". His calling couldn't change that. The final discharge followed on January 31, 1885.

Private scholar

In contrast to Dortmund, hardly anyone in Frankfurt campaigned for Sauerland. Only his former colleague Johannes Janssen , whose ultramontane positions Sauerland rejected, helped him by establishing contact with Ludwig von Pastor , who had made a name for himself as a papal historian. This ensured that Sauerland moved to Trier in 1886 and was able to move into an apartment in the local Simeonstift. Sauerland reconciled with the church during this time. He attended church services again and at the end of the year he had been celebrating a Holy Mass himself for years. In 1888, the Bishop of Trier certified that he was leading a life worthy of a priest. In 1890 he moved out of the monastery and moved into his own apartment. He did not perform a church function. At times he dealt with the categorization of the cathedral library.

In this context, his plan to collect and publish the sources in the Vatican archives for the dioceses of Trier and Cologne matured . The Trier cathedral chapter supported the project with 200 marks. Under canon law, Sauerland was still subject to the Diocese of Paderborn . This had a chaplaincy at the seminary of Campo Santo Teutonico to enable priests from the diocese to study historical history in Rome. This position was granted to Sauerland in 1890 and he arrived in Rome in May 1891. His aim was to research the sources of the Great Western Schism .

He had already resigned from the college in 1892. This was probably related to a renewed distancing from the church. He lived in Trier again, but returned to Rome for a few months in 1893. Its activity in the following years is completely unclear. In 1897 he presented the Society for Rhenish History in Cologne with a plan for a larger scientific work on the subject of the Occidental Schism. To do this, he wanted to sift through the sources in the Vatican archives and publish them. He asked for financial support of 1200M per year. The association accepted and Sauerland was able to start working in Rome in 1897.

In the following years he lived in Rome for most of the year and only came to Germany in the summer when the archives were closed. There, too, he evaluated relevant archives to research primarily the late medieval Rhenish and Lorraine history. In 1901 the first volume of his source collection on Lorraine was published. It covered the time from Boniface VIII to Benedict XII. (1294-1342). The first volume of his documents and regesta on the history of the Rhineland followed a year later. He added extensive preliminary remarks to the volumes. Criticism in some cases was violent, especially at these, which painted a very negative picture of late medieval church history. Sauerland criticized above all the centralism and fiscalism as well as the dependence of the papacy on the French crown, but also the immoral way of life at the curia. His harshest critic was Karl Heinrich Schäfer . Sauerland tried to refute the criticism in 1908 with an essay of his own. Schäfer followed up in 1909 without Sauerland responding.

In 1899 he was also commissioned to edit the documents of the Teutonic Order in the Naples State Archives . He created around 100 registers, which until recently were in the central archive of the Teutonic Order in Vienna and were only recently rediscovered.

Despite his undisputed scientific achievements, Sauerland did not lead the secluded life of a private scholar during this time, but maintained numerous contacts, especially with artists, journalists and writers. He is portrayed as a hard-drinking and somewhat strange old priest who, to the displeasure of church officials, frequented dubious coffeehouses until late at night and entertained the easy girls with jokes. His final years were overshadowed by health problems. His work in the archives was hindered for a long time from 1899 by attacks of gout and rheumatism . Later I developed a chronic bladder problem. Precisely because of his increasingly poor health, he did everything possible to advance his work. Volume IV of the Rhenish series appeared in 1908. At the end of the year the manuscripts for Volumes VI and VII were nearing completion. In 1910 he planned to return to Germany permanently. He had already spent the winter of 1909/10 in Germany for the first time in many years. There he received the news that the Cardinal Secretary of State Rafael Merry del Vall reserved the right to use the archives himself and that he could no longer use the archives. It is not entirely clear who was behind the Sauerland's temporary lockout; his bad relationship with the leadership of Campo Santo Teutonico may have played a role. Shortly before his final departure to Germany, he fell seriously ill after a trip to Tivoli and died shortly afterwards.

In addition to his scientific work, he also expressed himself critical of the situation of the church in the magazine “Das Freie Wort” after the turn of the century. The contributions appeared anonymously. Not only did the author show historical education, but apparently also had inside knowledge of the Vatican. He combined learning with “ sharp criticism of Roman grievances and exuberance. "

In an obituary for Sauerland, the journalist Albrecht Zacher made Sauerland's authorship for the articles public. Under the title “Der Rote Kaplan”, he published a selection of the writings published in Freie Wort once again. It was this publication that had seriously damaged Sauerland's reputation. But it also shows how far Sauerland had again internally distanced itself from the church.

In the Necrologium Paderbornense it was said from the church's point of view: “ Sauerland was a talented researcher, whose great Vatican source works retain permanent value; One must of course be very cautious about the conclusions he gave, since he used to judge church processes in an overly critical and extremely pessimistic manner. This was already evident in Dortmund, where he was given the nickname 'Red Chaplain'; that became particularly bad when he began to deviate from the Church since 1875. "

Despite his critical remarks, he was buried in the priestly crypt of Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome. With the help of his sister, part of his private library came to the library of the Laurentianum grammar school.

Publications (selection)

• History of the city of Hagen. Dortmund, 1872
• The life of Dietrich von Nieheim. Göttingen, 1875
• Gregory XII. From his election to the Treaty of Marseille. In: Historical magazine from 1875
• The chronicles and chroniclers of the Dominican monastery in Dortmund. Dortmund, 1875
• The immunities of Metz from their beginnings to the XII. Century. Metz, 1877
• Abailard and Heloise. A historical character study. Frankfurt am Main, 1879
• Trier historical sources of the 11th century. Trier, 1899
• The Psalter Archbishop Egberts von Trier, Codex Gertrudianus, in Cividale. Festschrift of the Society for Useful Research in Trier to celebrate its centenary, published on April 10, 1901. Historical-critical study by Heinrich Volbert Sauerland. Art historical study by Arthur Haseloff . Self-published by the Society for Useful Research, Trier 1901 text volume , picture book .
• Documents and registers on the history of Lorraine from the Vatican archives. 2 vols. Metz, 1901–1905
• Documents and registers on the history of the Rhineland from the Vatican archive. 7 vols. Bonn, 1902–1913

Individual evidence

1. ↑ wrongly stated on his grave Soest as his place of birth
2. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) P. 340f.
3. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 342
4. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) pp. 346-349
5. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) pp. 349-352
6. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 354
7. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 355
8. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 355
9. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 353
10. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 356
11. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 356
12. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) pp. 356-358
13. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) pp. 359-361
14. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 361f.
15. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 362f.
16. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 364f.
17. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 364
18. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 365
19. ↑ Hubert Houben: On the trail of medieval documents in modern tradition. Example from southern Italy. In: The papacy and the diverse Italy. One hundred years of Italia Pontificia. Berlin, 2009 p. 407f.
20. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 366f.
21. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 370
22. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 368
23. ↑ Theological Annual Report, Vol. 30 Leipzig, 1913 pp. 981f.
24. ^ Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990) p. 368
25. ↑ cit. according to: Reinhart Richter: National Thinking in Catholicism of the Weimar Republic. Münster et al., 2000 p. 42
26. ^ Library of the Laurentianum grammar school

literature

• Program of the municipal high school in Frankfurt a. M .: Easter 1878 Frankfurt am Main 1878 p. 23f.
• Norbert Reimann: Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1939-1910). On the biography of a controversial church historian . In: Amon, Karl (ed.): Ecclesia peregrinans: Josef Lenzenweger for his 70th birthday. Vienna: Association d. Knowledge Ges. Austria 1986. ISBN 3-85369-623-6 . Pp. 285-310
• Norbert Reimann: The Red Chaplain from Dortmund. On the biography of the controversial priest and historian Heinrich Volbert Sauerland (1839–1910). In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 140 (1990). Pp. 333-380 lwl.org

Web links

Wikisource: Heinrich Volbert Sauerland  - Sources and full texts

Commons : Heinrich Volbert Sauerland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files