Hermann of Hesse (1450–1508)

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Archbishop Hermann IV of Cologne on a panel by the Cologne Master of the Life of Mary , soon after 1500.

Hermann von Hessen , called "der Friedsame" ( pacificus ; * around 1450; † October 19, 1508 in Poppelsdorf (today part of Bonn )) was from 1480 to 1508 as Hermann IV. Elector and Archbishop of Cologne , from 1498 as Hermann I . also archbishop of Paderborn .

Life

Origin and early years

The siege of Neuss 1474–1475. Illustration from the “History of Peter Hagenbach and the Burgundian Wars”, printed in 1477
Archbishop Hermann of Cologne, portrait after a painting from the 17th century
Entrance to the abbey church Neuburg , Heidelberg. Above the Worms coat of arms keystone walled in as a spoil of the archbishop

Hermann was the third son of Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse , the peacemaker, and his wife Anna of Saxony , a daughter of Elector Friedrich I of Saxony . As a later-born son, who only came into question as a substitute for direct succession, he was chosen for a spiritual career at a very early age and received a considerable number of benefices appropriate to his origins at a young age: the provosts at Marienmünster in Aachen and on Petersstift zu Fritzlar , the office of dean at St. Gereon in Cologne and canons at the cathedrals in Mainz and Cologne. In 1461 he was elected to the Cologne Cathedral Chapter . In 1463 he was also cathedral capitular in Mainz . He was elected to the Cathedral Scholaster of Worms in 1465.

In 1462 he had himself entered in the register of the University of Cologne . He was also enrolled as a student at the Charles University in Prague . As a young man, Hermann von Hessen became the father of two sons, one of whom became a dean of St. Maria ad Gradus in Cologne while he was still alive .

In 1471 he stood for the Hildesheim episcopal election, but withdrew in 1472 due to difficulties in obtaining papal recognition. 1473 he was appointed by the cathedral chapter administrator also selected, and a bit later to Stiftsverweser.

The defense of the city of Neuss in 1474/75

In his function as administrator of the Archdiocese of Cologne, he personally and successfully organized the defense of Neuss during the almost one-year siege by Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy, as part of the Cologne collegiate feud in 1474 . Emperor Friedrich III. appointed him in November 1475 to the Stiftsgubernator.

Archbishop of Cologne

After the Archbishop of Cologne Ruprecht von der Pfalz was imprisoned in 1478 with the help of Hessian and city Cologne, he renounced the Cologne Erzstuhl. However, Hermann was only elected as the new Archbishop of Cologne after Ruprecht's death on August 11, 1480. The papal confirmation of the election followed in November 1480. However, he did not receive the regalia until November 1485.

After the turbulent years of the claim, Hermann now devoted himself to the administrative and financial restoration of his archdiocese. The calm and stability in his 28 years of reign earned him his nickname "the peaceful one".

Prince-Bishop of Paderborn

In 1495 he became coadjutor of the Principality of Paderborn . On March 7, 1498 he also became Prince-Bishop of Paderborn and thus asserted himself against the Strasbourg Cathedral Provost Philipp von Kleve . Philip's brother, Duke Johann II von Kleve, had stood up for Philip , but ultimately he could not prevail. This time Hermann received the support of the Roman-German King and later Emperor Maximilian I and Pope Alexander VI.

Thanks to the Reich Chamber Court established by Maximilian I in 1495 as the superordinate arbitration body, the Paderborn region was spared major war turmoil during Hermann von Hessen's tenure. On October 1, 1500, Hermann held a major fief day in Paderborn, during which 40 count and baronial vassals paid homage to their sovereign. Hermann also managed to restore his sovereign rights in Helmarshausen , Marsberg and Delbrück .

In the prince-bishopric of Paderborn he took his role as a spiritual shepherd seriously and intensified the supervision of the monasteries. He read holy mass regularly , prayed the breviary and performed the episcopal liturgical acts himself, if possible, which was by no means a matter of course for this time. In 1501 Hermann established the parish of Bevern east of the Weser and consecrated the local church himself in 1506. In 1506 he converted the Cistercian convent at the Gaukirche to St. Ulrich in Paderborn into a Benedictine convent according to the strict rules of the Bursfeld congregation . Two Benedictine women from Willebadessen were entrusted with the implementation of the reform program, and the spiritual supervision lay with the abbot of Abdinghof monastery . Corvey Abbey was also attached to the Bursfeld congregation in 1501. Bielefeld received in time Hermann Hesse of two new monastic offices: The Jodokuskloster the Franciscans was 1501-1507, and the Covenant of Süstern ( Augustinian nuns follow the Rule of St. Augustine) was built 1,503th

Hermann was supported in his work by the clerics Johannes Loss and Konrad Wippermann as permanent vicars general. Johannes Schneider (Sartor) from Dortmund worked under Hermann in the prince-bishopric of Paderborn as auxiliary bishop . Auxiliary Bishop Schneider consecrated the altars in Kirchborchen in 1502 .

The outbreak of the plague in Paderborn in 1503 and a large city fire in 1506, in which more than 300 houses were completely destroyed, permanently paralyzed religious and economic life in the city, which had flourished under Hermann von Hessen.

For the no longer existing cloister at Worms Cathedral , the archbishop donated a large vault stone with his coat of arms; it is now in the Neuburg Abbey , Heidelberg . He also donated the only preserved choir window (of the original 7) in the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Hennef-Bödingen and can be seen as the benefactor.

death

When Hermann von Hessen died in Poppelsdorf on October 19, 1508, the Franciscans from Brühl held the wake. As he had wished, he found his final resting place in Cologne Cathedral in a simple grave, a shallow grave instead of a high grave. His heart was in the Brühl Castle Church of St. Mary of the Angels buried before the high altar.

rating

The fun-loving and ambitious young man had become a peaceful bishop who frequented the fathers of the Franciscan monastery he had founded in Brühl. The chroniclers of the time noticed that the pious archbishop used to celebrate mass himself very often for a church prince of his time, and he also donated the sacrament of Confirmation personally.

His contemporaries called Hermann von Hessen the peacemaker ( pacificus ). Maria Fuhs describes Hermann von Hessen as the "great 'worker' on the Cologne Erzstuhl".

memory

The fountain on the market square in Neuss with the statue of Hermann von Hessen

In 1925, during the Belgian occupation , the people of Neuss remembered the siege of the city by Charles the Bold with a play, honoring Hermann von Hessen as the city's savior. The drama had openly political implications.

Today, Hermann von Hessen is remembered in several places in Neuss. In the old council chamber of Neuss town hall there is a monumental painting that shows the siege of the city of Neuss. Since 1984 there has been a fountain clad with relief panels on the market square in Neuss. The relief panels show important phases and events in Neuss' history. On the fountain there is a statue of Hermann von Hessen as the defender of the city.

Since 1989 there has been the Hermann von Hessen Prize as the highest award given by Heimatfreunde Neuss. The prize, which goes back to an initiative by Heinz Günther Hüsch , has been awarded annually since 1990 to women and men or associations "who have made a name for themselves in the city and landscape of Neuss through unselfish, meritorious, long-term and highly personal work." The award consists of a bronze statuette of Hermann von Hessen created by Professor Elmar Hillebrand and a certificate documenting the award. The Hermann von Hessen Prize will be presented to the winner during a ceremony in the Clemens Sels Museum . The award winners included Karl-Heinz Wollenhaupt (1994), Hermann-Josef Dusend (1996), the Archbishop's Gymnasium Marienberg (2004) as well as Franz Josef Schmitt (2007) and Dr. Max Tauch (2008).

swell

  • AV Fondo Consistoriale, Acta Cameralia 1 fol. 69 r. (Principality of Paderborn)
  • State Archives Münster , Prince Diocese of Paderborn, Urk. 2158a, 2178, 2191, 2195, 2208–2211, 2214 and 2215.
  • Christian Wierstraet : The history of the siege of Neuss. Facsimile of the first edition by Arnold ther Hoernen , Cologne 1476. Transfer and introduction by Herbert Kolb . Neuss 1974.

literature

Newspaper articles

  • Simon Hopf: war hero and prince of the church. 500 years ago Hermann von Hessen, the defender of Neuss, died (series: Heimatland). In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung of October 25, 2008, p. E1.

Web links

Commons : Hermann IV. Von Hessen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Beutler: Hermann IV. The Peaceful of Hesse, Archbishop of Cologne (1480-1508). In: Rheinische Lebensbilder 13 (1993), p. 55.
  2. ↑ Metzdorf 2006, p. 174.
  3. ↑ Brandt 1984, p. 190.
  4. ↑ Brandt 1984, p. 190: “For more than a hundred years, the diocese had once again had a shepherd at the top, who regularly gave St. Celebrated mass and prayed the breviary and performed the episcopal liturgical acts himself if possible. "
  5. ↑ Website with a photo of the donated keystone
  6. ↑ Brandt 1984, p. 190, gives the date of death differently as September 27, 1508.
  7. ↑ Simon Hopf: War hero and prince of the church. 500 years ago Hermann von Hessen, the defender of Neuss, died. In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung , October 25, 2008, p. E1.
  8. ↑ Fuhs, 1995, p. 457.
  9. ^ Hermann von Hessen Prize (accessed on February 2, 2016). ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.heimatfreunde-neuss.de
  10. ↑ Overview of the award winners on the website of Heimatfreunde Neuss (accessed on February 2, 2016).
predecessor Office successor
Ruprecht of the Palatinate Archbishop Elector of Cologne
1480–1508 		Philip II of Daun
Simon III to the lip Bishop of Paderborn
1498–1508 		Erich von Braunschweig-Grubenhagen
personal data
SURNAME Hermann of Hesse
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hermann IV of Cologne; Hermann I of Paderborn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Cologne and Prince-Bishop of the Duchy of Paderborn
DATE OF BIRTH around 1450
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1508
Place of death Poppelsdorf near Bonn