Hiltbold von Werstein

Hiltbold von Werstein (* before 1250; † December 13, 1329 ) was abbot from 1318 to 1329 and from 1297 to 1301 as custodian also librarian of the Benedictine monastery of St. Gallen .

Live and act

Hiltbold von Werstein was the offspring of a baronial family whose ancestral castle was in the upper Neckar valley . In 1279 he was first registered as a monk in a document from the St. Gallen monastery. In 1283 he is said to have administered the farms of Gochain and Höchst, in 1284 he is registered as a thesaurary , and in 1287 he brought a lawsuit against King Rudolf together with Heinrich von Ramstein and another monk . He is registered as custodian in 1297 and as portarius from 1303 . Like his predecessor Heinrich von Ramstein, he ran against Ulrich von Trauchburg when he was elected abbot on May 8, 1318. However, the Ministerials supported Hiltbold, so that Hiltbold won the election. The Auxiliary Bishop Johannes of Constance consecrated Hiltbold as abbot.

Hiltbold did not receive the regalia because he behaved neutrally and did not take sides for a German candidate for the throne. However, he later approached the Habsburg party and received an umbrella and assistance promise from Duke Leopold , which is documented in a document dated June 30, 1319. On 17 November 1318 it is stated that he of St. Gallen, the citizens Tangible Abbot William of 1291 confirmed. A document dated November 15, 1323 reports on the mediation in a border dispute between Appenzell and Hundwil, in which Hiltbold mediated. For November 27, 1325 it is documented that Leopold of Austria brought about a settlement in a dispute with the Toggenburgers, in which the abbot is said to have been involved against his will. Suffering from old age, the deposed abbot spent his retirement years at Falkenstein Castle and later at Appenzell Castle, as Kuchimeister reports. The abbot was buried in the monastery cloister.

Hiltbold's term of office was marked by many sales and pledges, which indicates an economic hardship for the monastery. Due to old age, he was compelled to hand over his seal to a conventual, a ministerial and a town burgher who took over his government duties at the end of 1325 or beginning of 1326.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Werner Vogler: The St. Gallen Abbey . Ed .: Johannes Duft, Anton Gössi, Werner Vogler. St. Gallen 1986, ISBN 3-906616-15-0 , short biographies of the abbots, p. 139-140 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Heinrich von Ramstein	Abbot of St. Gallen 1318–1329	Rudolf of Montfort
Rumo from Ramstein	Librarian of St. Gallen 1297–1301 Custos	Johannes Stöfer