Hugo Preutaeus

Hugo Preutaeus (* around 1584; † 1646 ) was a German Benedictine . From 1614 to 1646 he was abbot of the monasteries Werden and Helmstedt .

Life

Hugo Preutaeus came from the city or the area of ​​the Essen monastery . Around 1602 he joined the Werden monastery. He is mentioned as a novice from that year until 1606. Preutäus was ordained a priest around 1607 and was entrusted with the preaching office for the Catholic residents of Velbert . In 1610 he was named a pastor. At that time he was working at the Klemenskirche in Werden. He still held this position in 1614 when he was elected abbot.

Unlike some of his predecessors, his confirmation by the Archbishop of Cologne came without any significant problems. His confirmation by the archbishop therefore took place in August 1614. A short time later he took the necessary oath and was appointed abbot. He received the regalia from Emperor Matthias in March 1615 . Due to the extinction of the Dukes of Kleve , the post of bailiff remained vacant during his abbiat. The position was claimed by Kurbrandenburg as the legal successor to the dukes.

As early as 1614 he was accepted into the community of abbots of the Bursfeld congregation . He subsequently played an important role in the congregation. By resolution of the congregation, he was appointed one of the imperial commissioners in 1629, who, after the restitution edict was issued, were supposed to recatholize the monasteries in Lower Saxony, which had been Protestant until then .

The abbey area also suffered from the effects of the Thirty Years' War . Contributions and looting raised by the warring parties brought the monastery to the brink of collapse in the early 1630s. In 1629 the castle Werden was conquered by the Dutch and the abbey was occupied. A looting could be prevented by a larger sum of money. At the beginning of May 1630 the abbey was looted for several days. The damage amounted to 2000 thalers.

Many members of the convention fled and mostly lived in Cologne. The monastery archive and the most valuable treasures of the monastery were also located in St. Pantaleon . Other monks lived in Düsseldorf . The abbot also lived there for a while in a rented house. Only a few old monks unable to travel and the Cellear stayed behind in Werden. This served the Dutch as a hostage several times.

In 1632 the monastery was sacked by Sweden. Another looting was prevented in 1633 by paying money. In the same year, the Hessians demanded a monthly contribution of 300 thalers and the Dutch an annual contribution of 4500 thalers. Neither the city nor the monastery were able to meet these demands in the long term.

There were also denominational disputes. The monastery had to go both against the Lutheran congregation in the city of Wetter and against a new, smaller Reformed congregation. In essence, it was about the ownership of the various churches in Werden. Depending on the war situation, Protestants and Catholics had the upper hand in the city of Werden.

The abbot and the convent were largely able to assert themselves with the aim of re-catholicization by 1629. This changed with the turn of the war. With the support of the Dutch, the Reformed were able to appropriate the Nikolaikapelle. The Lutheran congregation was able to regain its old rights, but made little headway in extending its entitlements. Only with Hessian support was she able to take over the abbey church herself in 1633 . The Church has been stripped of its Catholic character. The Catholics finally only maintained the Stephanuskirche in the courtyard of the monastery.

Among other things, after a Catholic had been appointed as the new Hessian commandant, the convent was able to expand its position somewhat. Part of the abbey church could already be used again in 1635. A year later, the castle and town fell into the hands of the imperial family through treason. This enabled the abbot and the convent to enforce the Catholic cause again, while the existence of the two Protestant parishes, legitimized by an imperial mandate, was threatened.

Under imperial protection, Pretaeus was able to re-establish his sovereignty over the monastery area. This led to serious conflicts with the Brandenburg government in Emmerich . Ultimately, Preutäus managed to maintain the position of his monastery. He had even managed to redeem pledged goods. In his last years he was sick several times. After his death he was buried in the abbey church.

literature

• Wilhelm Stüwer: The imperial abbey in the Ruhr (= Germania Sacra . New episode 12: The dioceses of the church province of Cologne. The archbishopric of Cologne. 3). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1980, ISBN 3-11-007877-5 , pp. 109-111, 352, 354, ( digitized version ).