Heinrich von Leiningen

Heinrich von Leiningen († January 18, 1272, probably in Worms ) was Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1254 and 1255 he was in fact bishop of Würzburg and - at times only nominally - from 1245 until his death, bishop of Speyer .

Life

origin

Heinrich came from the Rhineland-Palatinate noble family of the Leiningen family . He was a son of Count Friedrich II. († 1237), the progenitor of the second lineage of Counts in Leiningen , and his wife Agnes von Eberstein , a sister of Count Eberhard IV of Eberstein and the Speyer Bishop Konrad von Eberstein . The nephew Friedrich von Bolanden (son of his sister Kunigunde) later became his episcopal successor.

Heinrich's terms of office in Speyer and Würzburg

Heinrich von Leiningen found it difficult to actually assert himself as a bishop. He was elected Bishop of Speyer as Heinrich II on October 27, 1245, but received neither confirmation nor consecration and was temporarily even expelled from the diocese. It was not until 1260 that documents mention him again as a Speyer bishop. He stayed in Würzburg as bishop in 1254 and 1255. The conflict with his rival there, Iring von Reinstein-Homburg, was brought to an end in negotiations. Due to the shortness of his actual term of office, Heinrich is missing in many Würzburg bishops' chronicles.

Dispute over the Würzburg bishop's seat

Even if after the death of Hermann I von Lobdeburg the cathedral chapter wanted to create facts with a quick and unanimous election of Iring von Reinstein-Homburg as the new bishop, this election was preceded by a conflict that made it difficult for Iring to take office and consecrated. Heinrich von Leiningen, from 1247 as Chancellor of King Wilhelm of Holland , was to be provided with a diocese. The Abbot of Eussertal and the Bishop of Constance should enforce this, if necessary against the will of the cathedral chapter. For this reason, restrictions on freedom of choice have already been imposed on the cathedral chapter. Other documents, including the freedom of choice obtained on May 23, 1252 for the entire pacified Germany, which Würzburg had explicitly confirmed again by Pope Innocent IV on August 29, 1253 , speak in turn for the legitimacy of the election. The choice was also confirmed by the Metropolitan , Archbishop of Mainz Gerhard I. Wildgraf von Dhaun . At this point in time the Archbishop of Mainz was excommunicated himself . Pope Alexander IV finally accepted Iring as the new bishop. Heinrich von Leiningen did not give up despite dwindling support and drove Iring from Würzburg in May 1255. On January 4, 1256, the cardinals Hugo von S. Sabina, Richard von SS. Angeli and Petrus von S. Giorgio decided in Velabro in the presence of Heinrich and representatives of the cathedral chapter in favor of Iring. This was back in Würzburg by July 31, 1256 at the latest.

Heinrich as Bishop of Speyer

In his capacity as Chancellor, Henry appeared in 1257 in the entourage of the anti-king Alfonso of Castile , but took the side of Richard of Cornwall in 1258 . In 1257 he supported the election of his cousin, Raugraf Eberhard I , as Bishop of Worms . After the death of Archbishop Gerhard I of Mainz, he was also consecrated as a bishop and became bishop of Speyer on March 31, 1260.

It appears in the history of Deidesheim in 1250 , which was burned to the ground in a dispute between Heinrich and the Hohenstaufen king Konrad IV ; this event was probably the reason for the construction of Deidesheim Castle .

Heinrich died on January 18, 1272, probably in Worms. His grave in Speyer Cathedral no longer exists today.

coat of arms

The prince-bishop's coat of arms is usually quartered . The fields of the coat of arms alternate with the family coat of arms of the von Leiningen family and, for the time as Bishop of Speyer, the coat of arms of the diocese of Speyer, a silver cross on a blue background. The family coat of arms of the Counts of Leiningen are three red-armored silver eagles (2: 1) on a blue background.

literature

• Alfred Wendehorst : The Diocese of Würzburg Part 2: The series of bishops from 1254 to 1455 ; in: Max Planck Institute for History (ed.): The dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Mainz ; Germania Sacra , New Series, 4: Berlin 1969; ISBN 978-3-11-001291-0 ; Pp. 3-13.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See also Christian II von Bolanden , he had also been recommended by the Pope as Bishop of Mainz.

Web links

• Heinrich von Leiningen in the Saarland biographies

predecessor	Office	successor
Konrad V. von Eberstein	Bishop of Speyer 1245–1272	Friedrich von Bolanden
Hermann I of Lobdeburg	Bishop of Würzburg 1254–1255	Iring von Reinstein-Homburg