Jakob Hofsess

Jakob Hofsess (* 16th century; † April 16, 1575 in Murrhardt ) was a Murrhardt monastery bailiff and administrator.

Live and act

Jakob Hofsess was born in Heimsheim , the year of birth is unknown.

Shortly after the abolition of imperial ban against Duke Ulrich of Württemberg and the return of the Duke from exile Hofsess was from this to the bailiff of the convent Murrhardt ordered to in this Catholic abbey Reformation enforce. If a first attempt by the bailiff failed due to the resistance of the Murrhardt monks around Abbot Martin Mörlin , Hofsess finally took up his office on January 22, 1536, closed the abbey on the orders of the duke and referred the convent to Abbot Mörlin, his prior Thomas Carlin and two frail monks from the monastery. After the Murrhardt Abbey was closed, Hofsess took full control of the monastery and the city of Murrhardt; In addition, he strictly prohibited all contact with the remaining monks outside the monastery walls. Jakob Hofsess could not prevent the billeting of Spanish troops, including looting and destruction, ordered by Emperor Charles V in 1548 after the defeat of the Protestant League in the Schmalkaldic War - but he remained decisive for Murrhardt's fortunes even after the revival of monastic life during the interim . After he had given his son Otto Leonhard Hofsess as a novice to the Murrhardt monastery, Murrhardt's spiritual life even came into the hands of his family in 1552 - apparently on his advice, Duke Christoph von Württemberg appointed this son abbot of the Murrhardt monastery.

Murrhardt market square with market fountain

As Vogt of the monastery and the city of Murrhardt, Jakob Hofsess amassed a considerable fortune at the time through speculation on land and land and the misappropriation of income that had to be transferred to the court of the Duke of Württemberg. Only when it became apparent to what extent the Vogt had evaded funds from official matters and did not shy away from forging documents did Duke Christoph stop him. In 1574, some of the duke's councilors carried out a revision of the official business in Murrhardt and found that Hofsess had embezzled the immense sum of 7,000 guilders over the years . Upon completion of the investigation, Jakob Hofsess and his son, the abbot of the monastery, were arrested and imprisoned in the Württemberg state prison at Burg Hohenneuffen . After a process in which the embarrassing questioning was also used, Hofsess was sentenced to death by hanging, but then after intercessions, sentenced to death by the sword.

On April 16, 1575, Jakob Hofsess was finally beheaded in public on the Murrhardter Marktplatz, where today's market fountain, on the orders of Duke Christoph.

Others

In the course of his administration as the Württemberg monastery bailiff, Jakob Hofsess was able to acquire almost unlimited money and property in Murrhardt - after the destruction of Murrhardt by the Spaniards in 1548, he was probably able to acquire a large number of properties and houses, including the Engel and Hirsch inns, which are still managed today to take possession of it.

The Murrhardt monastery inventory book from 1576, today in the possession of the main state archive in Stuttgart , still gives an impression of the considerable size of the belongings of the Jakob Hofsess.

literature

• Gerhard Fritz: City and monastery Murrhardt in the late Middle Ages and in the Reformation period (= research from Württemberg-Franconia. Vol. 34). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1990, ISBN 3-7995-7634-7 , pp. 106-137.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from July 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Series of publications by the Institute for Social Sciences at the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education, No. 1 (edited by Hans-Jürgen Albers, Gerhard Fritz, Stephan Rappenglück, Burkard Richter, Lothar Rother and Claudia Wiepck) - The Murrhardter Lagerbuch from 1576 - p. 32.