Heinrich Wolters

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Heinrich Wolters , also Henricus Wolter , (attested between 1432 and 1463) was a German chronicler and canon .

Life

Wolters was loud his biographer Hermann Oncken the only one from the city of Oldenburg originating medieval chronicler. Nothing further is known about its origin and descent.

Spiritual career

For the first time he testifies in the Rasteder Chronicle , which he wrote himself, according to which Count Dietrich von Oldenburg had given him a position as preacher at the main altar at the Johanniskapelle in front of the Oldenburg Castle, which is subordinate to the Johanniterorden . According to the information, Wolters previously worked as a school principal outside of Oldenburg.

As he did not initially belong to the Order of St. John himself, Wolters gave up the position in 1437 and switched to the service of Archbishop Baldwin II of Bremen as chaplain . Here he apparently gained a position of trust that he used to come to an agreement with the Commander of the Johanniter about the upcoming situation. As a result, he joined the order as a "brother" and received the rectorate through his Oldenburg chapel, which he added as a benefice to the sphere of influence of the Archbishop of Bremen. In the following years further benefices were added: 1437 a vicarie at the St. Cyriacuskirche in Lüneburg, 1438 a canon position in Bücken, 1440 a canonical office at St. Ansgarii in Bremen and later the parish of Intschede on the Weser.

Wolters retained his influence even after the death of Baldwin II, but no longer remained archbishop chaplain. 1450, after the assassination of a minister in Zwischenahn , he served as ex officio of the archbishop and in the same year again as Offizial the provost of St. Willehad in Bremen . In the city of Oldenburg he was the owner of the broadcasting jurisdiction and had to uphold church law against urban interests in some disputes, which did not always succeed. So he had to flee to Bremen because of a dispute over an expansion of the St. Lamberti cemetery with Oldenburg citizens. On the other hand , he was able to settle another dispute between the Willehadi provost and Count Gerd von Oldenburg over the exercise of the broadcast court in Oldenburg.

Activity as a chronicler

Wolters was also active as a historiographer and probably wrote the Bremen bishop's chronicle in 1450/51, which is based on the Low German city ​​chronicle of Bremen by Gerd Rinesberch , Herbord Schene and Johann Hemeling . After 1450, thanks to good relationships with Rastede Monastery, he was able to revise the Historia Monasterii Rastedensis from the beginning of the 14th century to include a Rastede monastery chronicle that continued until 1450. Wolters supplemented the templates with insertions that mainly refer to Bremen. Occasionally Wolters' supplements have an uncertain source at best, some others are simply made up. Nevertheless, the Bremen chronicle, like the Rasteder Chronicle, are indispensable suppliers of material for the later Oldenburg historiography, such as the chronicle of the Archgraves of Oldenburg written by Johannes Schiphower at the beginning of the 16th century . A copy of the parchment document, the earlier part of which has only been preserved in this form, is stored in the Lower Saxony State Archives , Oldenburg .

There are no testimonies about Wolters' further life; it is possible that he died in Bremen not long after the middle of the 15th century.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NLA OL Best. 23 -1 From No. 1 - Rasteder Chronik mit dem Li ... - Arcinsys detail page. Retrieved July 19, 2019 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Name according to the entry in the DNB
personal data
SURNAME Wolters, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wolter, Henricus (alternative name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chronicler and canon
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Oldenburg (Oldb)
DATE OF DEATH 15th century