Joachim Roell

Joachim Roell (also: Röll or Röell ; * around 1550 in Rasdorf ; † February 24, 1606 in Hersfeld ) was 1592–1606 the 66th and last abbot of the imperial abbey of Hersfeld .

Life

Origin and advancement

Joachim Roell was born the son of the tailor Johann Roell from Kreuzberg (today Philippsthal an der Werra ). Until 1582 he was Canonicus in the Rasdorf Abbey and at the same time worked as a pastor in nearby Hünfeld . In 1582 he was included in the chapter of the Hersfeld Imperial Abbey. This only happened against resistance and with the influence of Landgrave Wilhelm IV , as Abbot Ludwig V and above all Kraft Weiffenbach , the dean of the abbey and later Abbot Crato II, feared that their own income would be reduced by the maintenance of another member of the chapter . In 1592 Roell was elected abbot of Hersfeld , not least thanks to the support of Landgrave Moritz von Hessen-Kassel . Although Roell was close to Protestantism , he was formally Catholic, which, in contrast to his predecessor, the declared Protestant Kraft Weiffenbach, also received papal confirmation and imperial investiture for his office.

Coat of arms of Abbot Joachim Roell in the gable of a gate of the Hersfeld town church

family

His lover was Margarete, born around 1570 at Jestädt Castle , a granddaughter of Walrab von Boyneburg-Hohenstein , Lord zu Jestädt, and widow of the Hessian Hereditary Marshal Georg IV. Riedesel zu Eisenbach († 1589), who lived in Hersfeld after the death of her husband had taken her widow's seat . With her, Roell, as the Hersfeld abbot, had several illegitimate children who, however, were brought up outside the Hersfeld monastery area.

Death and its consequences

The Hersfeld abbot Joachim Roell died in 1606 of semolina or loin stone . His body was buried in the Hersfeld collegiate church. With the knowledge and will of the dying abbot, the final takeover of the Imperial Abbey of Hersfeld into the secular administration of the House of Hesse was carried out.

Thereupon the minor Hereditary Prince Otto of Hessen-Kassel was appointed administrator of the Hersfeld monastery. Since then, Roell's partner Margarete has suffered from all kinds of annoyances. First, Landgrave Moritz , who was a friend of the late abbot, handed her over to her relatives, whereupon her brother Walrab von Boyneburg-Hohenstein imprisoned her in the vicinity of the Boyneburg with landgrave power of attorney .

In 1610, however, she managed to escape to Hersfeld, where she could not return to her old apartment, but found shelter for several months with a poor fishing family that she had previously supported. While she was staying there, she sued the landgrave in front of the Reich Chamber of Commerce for having been deprived of her liberty for several years. But when her relatives found out about her whereabouts, she was arrested again at the Boyneburg with a new landgrave arrest warrant. But when her court action against the Reich Chamber of Commerce became known, she was brought to the landgrave 's Wanfried Castle with more freedom of movement . There she finally withdrew her lawsuit and was also urged to swear primal feuds against her tormentors, i.e. to refrain from any intentions of revenge on her part. In autumn 1612 she was able to return to Hersfeld in freedom, where she died in 1623.

The prince and art

Abbot Joachim was an art-loving prince who devoted himself to poetry and was in lively correspondence with his friend Landgrave Moritz with Latin verses. The first authentic portrait of an abbot from Hersfeld has come down to us through a medal from 1594. It also bears his Latin motto , which translated means something like patience overcomes the toughest .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Roell, Joachim. Hessian biography. (As of March 26, 2015). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Riedesel zu Eisenbach, Margarete. Hessian biography. (As of May 28, 2015). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
↑ ^a ^b Elisabeth Ziegler, With miter and crook. The abbots of the imperial monastery (the imperial abbey) Hersfeld , in: Bad Hersfelder Jahresheft, Volume 16, Bad Hersfeld 1970, p. 6–22, here p. 21 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Kraft Weiffenbach	Abbot of Hersfeld 1592 - 1606	Otto von Hessen-Kassel ( Administrator )

personal data
SURNAME	Roell, Joachim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Röll, Joachim; Röell, Joachim; Abbot Joachim; Dean Joachim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Abbot of Hersfeld
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1550
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rasdorf
DATE OF DEATH	February 24, 1606
Place of death	Hersfeld

[JoRo-1] Roell, Joachim. Hessian biography. (As of March 26, 2015). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

[MaRi-2] Riedesel zu Eisenbach, Margarete. Hessian biography. (As of May 28, 2015). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

[MiKru-3] Elisabeth Ziegler, With miter and crook. The abbots of the imperial monastery (the imperial abbey) Hersfeld , in: Bad Hersfelder Jahresheft, Volume 16, Bad Hersfeld 1970, p. 6–22, here p. 21 f.