John II Wolf von Karsbach

Johannes II. Wolf von Karsbach († November 16, 1465 in Dimbach , today Volkach ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1444 to 1454 or 1455 .

Münsterschwarzach before Karsbach

The centuries before Johannes Wolf von Karsbach took office were very problematic for the Münsterschwarzach Abbey. Many abbots were not elected by the convent , but were given their office by the lords of the monastery, the Würzburg prince-bishops . Through this practice, the monks were divided internally and the monastery was weakened externally. At the beginning of the 15th century there were even two abbots in office.

In 1409 Kaspar von Schaumberg became the new abbot of the monastery, but he only received the abbey by papal decree and was deposed a short time later by his convent. Also Konrad V. Geyer was imposed the monks, but he fell ill shortly afterwards and died even before one had him to settle. John's predecessor, Nikolaus von Gleißenberg , was also not recognized by the convent. He was even excommunicated.

Life

Very little is known about the origins and family of Abbot Johannes. What is certain is that he was part of a widespread family of the lower nobility, which was based in Karsbach near Gemünden in Lower Franconia . The sources are also silent about his early monastic career. Johannes II. Wolf von Karsbach only became tangible when he took office: after the removal of Abbot Nikolaus I von Gleißenberg, he was appointed as the new abbot in 1444.

Under the reign of Abbot John the reform of the deeply divided monastery began. At the instigation of the monastery master, Bishop Gottfried IV. Schenk von Limpurg , some monks from the Neuenberg priory were sent to Münsterschwarzach. The Hessian monastery was the sphere of influence of the abbots of Fulda , who had already largely implemented the monastic renovations in their possessions.

The new convent members first abolished the still prevailing principle of nobility and now opened the abbey to bourgeois monks. At the same time, Abbot John II had a dormitory and a dining room built for his monks to strengthen community life. For this, however, new debts also had to be taken on. The sources are again silent about the reasons that led to the abbot's resignation in 1454/1455 .

In the following years Johannes became provost in the monastery village Dimbach. Here he retired to take over the administration of the village and the church of St. Maria de Rosario . During this time, the retired Abbot Johannes II. Wolf von Karsbach died on November 16. The year of death was in the sixties of the 15th century, Wagner assumes the year 1465. Johannes was buried either in the chapter house of the monastery or in Dimbach.

coat of arms

A personal coat of arms has not survived for the abbot Johannes II. Wolf von Karsbach. However, Johannes was part of the Frankish noble family of the Wolf von Karsbach . Description of the family coat of arms: In silver, a soaring red wolf.

literature

• Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach a. M. (1390-1803) . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Rainer Kengel: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . Münsterschwarzach 2002.
• Leo Trunk: The Abbots of Münsterschwarzach. A comparative overview . In: Pirmin Hugger (Ed.): Magna Gratia. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the Münsterschwarzach abbey church 1938–1988 . Münsterschwarzach 1992.
• Heinrich Wagner: The abbots of Megingaudshausen and Münsterschwarzach in the Middle Ages . In: Pirmin Hugger (Ed.): Magna Gratia. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the Münsterschwarzach abbey church 1938–1988 . Münsterschwarzach 1992.

Individual evidence

1. ^ While Heinrich Wagner (p. 146) mentions this date, Kassius Hallinger (p. 90) assumes October 16, 1462.
2. ↑ The successor of Johannes von Karsbach, Abbot Ekkehard, has been handed down as early as 1453, but in 1454 is again only mentioned as prior. Compare: Trunk, Leo: The Abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 156 f.
3. ↑ Mahr, Johannes: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 20.
4. ^ Wagner, Heinrich: The abbots of Münsterschwarzach in the Middle Ages . P. 146.
5. ↑ Hallinger, Kassius: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 90 f.
6. ↑ Kengel, Rainer: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 137.

predecessor	Office	successor
Nicholas I of Gleißenberg	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1444–1454 / 1455	Ekkehard