Heinrich von Enslingen

Heinrich von Enslingen († 1406 in Murrhardt ) was a Catholic priest , Benedictine and abbot of the St. Januarius monastery in Murrhardt.

Live and act

Origin and early years

Coat of arms of the von Enslingen family

Heinrich came from the noble family of the Lords of Enslingen , who were wealthy in what is now the suburb of Untermünkheim near Schwäbisch Hall .

Heinrich von Enslingen is one of the most colorful abbots in the long history of the Murrhardt Monastery, who held the office of abbot twice. The first documentary mention of Heinrich was in 1379 as a conventual in the neighboring Murrhardt monastery of Comburg . In the following year he tried to exploit the conflict in which the antipope Clement VII , who resided in Avignon , France , to the Roman Urban VI. stood, and reached for the abbot of the Comburg monastic community. Through the performance of the papal servitia to Clemens VII, Heinrich hoped for confirmation as the monastery executive against the Abbot Erkinger Veldner, who was already in this office. The efforts of the Enslingers failed, however, due to the resistance of the Comburg monastery convent, the majority of which monks supported Pope Urban VI. decided and Heinrich refused their support. Since his reputation with the Comburg brothers had certainly noticeably deteriorated after the failed attempt at overthrow, Heinrich took advantage of the confused situation at the time in the Murrhardt monastery to reach for office there.

The first Murrhardt abbot election

After the previous abbot of Murrhardt, Konrad von Maienfels , died in 1381 at the latest and the governor of the monastery, Count Albrecht II von Löwenstein, passed away shortly afterwards, the monastery was left without leadership, which was part of the monastic college through the election of their confrere Eckhard endeavored to abbot. Supported by the supporters of the antipope Clement VII in the convent, Heinrich von Enslingen was also elected Murrhardt abbot - the occidental schism had now also reached the Murrhardt monastery with abbot and counterabbot. Although Heinrich succeeded in gaining the upper hand within the monastic community for almost a year, the sale of half of the County of Löwenstein to the Palatinate Count Ruprecht I changed the balance of power in the abbey significantly. As a supporter of Pope Urban VI. Eckhard, who had not appeared since Heinrich's election as counter-abbot, enjoyed the full support of Ruprecht I, who, as a co-founder of the Urban Federation, firmly championed the interests of the Roman pontiff , and of the Löwenstein family, which had been the monastery bailiffs in Murrhardt for almost a hundred years . Without the backing of the influential bailiffs, Heinrich could not maintain his position in the abbey - Eckhard ultimately prevailed and Heinrich returned as a simple monk to the Comburg monastery, where he is documented as a conventual in 1390.

The second Murrhardt abbot election

Around 1386 the balance of power in the area around the Murrhardt monastery had changed again - the heavily indebted Grafschaft Löwenstein was no longer able to meet its obligations to its creditors, and so in 1388 the office of monastery bailiff and rule over the city of Murrhardt ceased Count Eberhard II of Württemberg over. Abbot Eckhard passed away in 1391, and from the midst of the monks' convent, which was largely loyal to the Löwenstein family, no suitable successor could be found who would have been approved by the new monastery bailiff Eberhard II. As the former shepherd of the monastic institution, pushed out of his office by the Counts of Löwenstein, Heinrich von Enslingen stood for election again and was elected Murrhardt Abbot for the second time by the conventuals in 1391, probably due to considerable pressure from Württemberg. After Heinrich took over the office, the previously tense relationship between the Vogt and the monastery developed very well - thanks to the support of the Counts of Württemberg, the monastery flourished economically and spiritually in the decades to come.

Abbot Heinrich von Enslingen died in the course of 1406 in Murrhardt monastery and found his final resting place in the monastery church in front of the high altar. His successor in the office of Murrhardt Abbot was Johannes von Leuzenbronn the Elder .

literature

• Fritz, Gerhard: City and monastery Murrhardt in the late Middle Ages and in the Reformation period. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1990, ISBN 3-7995-7634-7 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Konrad von Maienfels	Abbot of Murrhardt 1381-1383 and 1391-1406	Johannes von Leuzenbronn the Elder Ä.