Johann I of Brakel

Johann as 31st Bishop of Hildesheim on a painting with medallions depicting all Hildesheim bishops up to the end of the 18th century; Latin inscription: "He acquired the village of Schladen in the county of Wohldenberg for the church ".

Johann I von Brakel (* around 1200 ; † 1260 ) was Bishop of Hildesheim from 1257 to 1260 .

Origin and early years

He belonged to the originally noble family of the Lords of Brakel . Later there were members of the ministerial of the Corvey monastery , the bishops of Paderborn and the abbess of Heerse . They were still subordinate to feudal knights and had the city of Brakel as a fief. Johann's father was Werner I. von Brakel. Johann was the youngest of six sons. His brother Heinrich von Brakel was elected Bishop of Paderborn in a controversial election in 1223, but was unable to hold the position due to a papal arbitration award from 1225.

Johann also entered the clergy and was first mentioned as a canon in Hildesheim in 1218 . In 1221 he is called a subdeacon . For a few years there is no evidence from sources, which may be related to his brother's candidacy, but also to studies abroad. In 1226 he was named as a subdeacon and cellar of the cathedral chapter. In 1231 at the latest he was a deacon . From 1232 he was provost of Oelsburg Abbey near Ilsede . In 1246 he was also cathedral sexton.

At times he was probably a close advisor to Bishop Konrad II and should have been one of the most important canons in Hildesheim when he resigned from office. The relationship with Bishop Heinrich I was less close than that with his predecessor. Around 1254/55 Johannes gave up his previous offices in favor of the office of provost of the Moritzstift . Even after being elected bishop, he remained provost of the monastery.

Episcopate

A short time after the death of Heinrich I, he was elected his successor. It was consecrated by Archbishop Gerhard von Mainz . It is unclear why Johannes was chosen. After all, he had considerable experience in church administration.

As in the time of its predecessor, the Diocese of Hildesheim was a region remote from the pope and from a king. There were no closer ties to the Pope and King. The relationship with the Archbishop of Mainz was also loose.

With regard to the spiritual institutions of his diocese, he promoted the Moritzstift and the Magdalen convent in Hildesheim . He paid special attention to the monasteries of the Cistercians . In spatial terms, Goslar is another focus of its monastery and monastery funding.

In the area of ​​secular rule he succeeded in 1258/59 in buying several castles, including Lutter Castle , under his control. However, this put a strain on his finances. He also acquired other property for the Hildesheim monastery . The relationship with the cathedral chapter, which was increasingly pursuing a policy of economic interests, was generally quite good. With regard to the city of Hildesheim, Johannes hardly came out.

At the beginning of his episcopate, the Asseburg feud was not yet over. Nothing is known about the acts of war in his first year as bishop. In 1258 he enfeoffed his ally Burchard von Wolfenbüttel and his sons with half of the town and castle of Peine and the entire county of Peine . From this one can conclude that the allies must have been militarily successful and that Duke Albrecht von Braunschweig must have taken Peine again. In December 1258 there was an armistice. Peace followed some time later. It is unlikely that the dispute over Peine would continue. Through the acquisition of the shares of the Lords of Wolfenbüttel, the county came entirely to the Hildesheim Monastery in 1259.

literature

• Nathalie Kruppa, Jürgen Wilke: The Hildesheim Bishops from 1221 to 1398. Berlin, New York 2006 ( Germania Sacra NF 46) pp. 172–198

predecessor	Office	successor
Heinrich I.	Bishop of Hildesheim 1257–1260	Otto I.