John IV Beck

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The portrait of Abbot Johann IV Beck

Johannes IV. Beck (also Johannes IV. Pistorius ; * 1516 in Rothenfels , † January 7, 1562 in Mönchherrnsdorf , today Burgebrach ) was abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Ebrach from 1551 to 1562 .

Life

Johannes Beck was born in Rothenfels near Lohr am Main in Franconia in 1516 . Nothing is known about the parents and siblings of the future abbot. During his youth, Johannes experienced the spread of the Reformation and the German Peasants' War , which devastated many monasteries in the area. It is unclear whether Johannes Beck entered the Ebrach monastery early on, and his studies are not mentioned in the sources either.

After the death of his predecessor Konrad Hartmann at the beginning of 1551, Johannes Beck was elected the thirty-third abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Ebrach. The Reformation had badly affected the convent, only a few monks lived in the Steigerwald monastery. From his predecessor, Johannes IV inherited the process at the Reich Chamber of Commerce that Konrad Hartmann had brought against the Würzburg bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt .

At the same time, Johannes Beck tried to replace the destroyed monastery buildings with new ones. After the Würzburg bishop continued to make demands on the monastery and no longer took over the protection of the convent, the monks left Ebrach at the beginning of 1556 and settled in the monastery courtyards in Bamberg , later in Nuremberg , for the next few years . Bishop Melchior then moved in front of the abbey on February 9, 1556 with 70 horses and took the keys to the monastery. He wanted to force Johannes to abdicate, but failed.

In 1557, through the mediation of Bishop Otto von Augsburg , a comparison was finally made between Würzburg and Ebrach. A year later, after Bishop Melchior died, his successor Friedrich von Wirsberg called the compromise again. It was not until 1561 that a final contract could be concluded between both parties. Now John IV Beck was able to return from his exile in Nuremberg .

The disputes meant that the monastery had to go into debt. Most of the debts could still be paid back during John's tenure. In addition to the differences of opinion with Würzburg, the relationship with the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Georg Friedrich I , was clouded. In 1559 there was another contract. On January 7, 1562, Abbot Johannes IV. Beck died between 7 and 8 a.m. in the Ebracher Hof in Mönchherrnsdorf.

literature

  • Adelhard Kaspar: Chronicle of the Ebrach Abbey . Münsterschwarzach 1971.
  • Wilhelm Oettinger: Secular servants in high positions at the Ebrach monastery under Abbot Johannes IV († 1562) . In: Gerd Zimmermann (Ed.): Festschrift Ebrach 1127–1977 . Volkach 1977. pp. 164-184.
  • Josef Wirth: The Ebrach Abbey. To commemorate eight hundred years. 1127-1927 . Gerolzhofen 1928.

Web links

Commons : Johannes IV. Beck  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wirth, Josef. The Ebrach Abbey . P. 25.
  2. ↑ Oettinger, Wilhelm: Secular servants in high positions at the Ebrach monastery under Abbot Johannes IV († 1562) . P. 170 f.
  3. ↑ Kaspar, Adelhard: Chronicle of the Ebrach Abbey . P. 144.
  4. ↑ Oettinger, Wilhelm: Secular servants in high positions at the Ebrach monastery under Abbot Johannes IV († 1562) . P. 181.
predecessor Office successor
Konrad II. Hartmann Abbot of Ebrach
1551–1562 		Paulus I. Zeller
personal data
SURNAME Beck, Johannes IV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beck, Johann IV .; Pistorius, Johann IV. (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Cistercian abbot
DATE OF BIRTH 1516
PLACE OF BIRTH Rothenfels
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 1562
Place of death Mönchherrnsdorf