Johannes Oldekop

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Johannes Oldekop (also Oldecop o. Ä., * 1493 in Hildesheim , † January 19, 1574 ibid) was a German Catholic theologian and clergyman .

His most important works are the Annales. First they were written in Low German , later the dialects were mixed. The work is a chronicle and covers the period from 1501 to 1573; i.e. the time before, during and after the Reformation , which was only introduced in Hildesheim in 1542. The original, which used to belong to the Josephinum Gymnasium , is said to have disappeared, but copies exist. The oldest surviving copy dates from 1606 and is kept in the Hildesheim cathedral archive. The first line of his work should serve as a reading sample:
Born in jar na Christi 1500 on the hilltop winter day fenk an to Rome dat gulden jar, called jubileus; derhalven wa de guldene porte dorch den pawest Alexandrum den sesten geopent.

Life

Johannes Oldekop, from the well-known Oldekop family, studied theology at the University of Wittenberg . Despite intensive contact with Martin Luther and the ideas of the Reformation, he stuck to the Catholic faith. His father Heinrich / Hinrich was a builder and former church warden of St. Lamberti Church in Hildesheim. Oldekopstraße in Hildesheim is a reminder of the family's work in this city.

Spiritual work in Hildesheim

Oldekop was ordained a priest on May 26, 1526 in the Brothers Church in Braunschweig by Bishop Matthias and in 1528 was canon at the monastery of the Holy Cross in his hometown of Hildesheim. From 1530 he also held the office of scholaster (head of the collegiate school) and in 1540 became dean / dean of the monastery.

Buying a house in Hildesheim

In 1536 he acquired the property at Kläperhagen 7 in Hildesheim for 150 guilders. The building on it was previously inhabited by the deceased Canon of the Cross Foundation Siegfried Anthonii. The deed of April 26, 1526 states that the house

" (...) the honorable hern Johanni Oldekoppe canonick unde scholaster der sulven kercken sancte crucis synen nagelaten closterhof "

on sale is. Oldekop had the dilapidated house there renovated, which was provisionally completed in 1539 but not fully completed until 1549. On the sill beam of the house was the inscription from 1539:

" Joh (ann) es Eccl (esi) a S (ancte) Crucis Scholasticus has edes deo erexit. "

" An (no) d (omi) ni 1539 K (a) l (endis) May "

(Johann Scholaster at the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche built this house for God. In the year of the Lord 1539 on the calendar of May. (= May 1st))
On the back of the house was the inscription of the final completion in the year 1549:

" In manibus d (omi) nie sortes mee S (ancte) Crucis Eccl (es) ie T (em) p (or) e persecutiones Decan (us) Jo (hannes) Oldecop has edes f (ieri) A (nno) 1549 "

(My lot is in the hands of the Lord. The dean of the Holy Cross Church Johannes Oldecop had this house built during the persecution in 1549.)
By "persecution", Oldekop understands the introduction of the Reformation in here Hildesheim from 1542. There were also images of the Oldekop family coat of arms from 1528 on the house. This house and large parts of Hildesheim's old town were completely destroyed in several bombing raids in 1945.

Encounter with Martin Luther

Oldekop studied theology in Wittenberg from 1515. He describes this time in his chronicle as follows:

"In the jare 1515 of the mandage na dem witten sondage in Quasimodo geniti, ik Johannes Oldecop came to Wyttenberge (...) "

( In 1515, on the Monday after the white Sunday Quasimodogeniti (= first Sunday after Easter), I, Johannes Oldecop, came to Wittenberg)
He was an enthusiastic listener of Martin Luther, because he writes:

" I like (...) horde de lectiones from Martino. "

(I enjoyed listening to Martin's lectures)
And further:

“ Ik went ok to preach all sinen and came to sunderlicher kunschop with ome. "

“ Hey what min bichtvader, ok deinde ik ome ofte to the miss. "

(I went to all of his sermons and became particularly friends with him. He was my confessor and I often served him at mass.)
But Johannes Oldekop's father was obviously against contacting Luther's reformers and ordered him again in 1516 home:

“ (...) lead min vader mi von Wyttenberge demand and to hus halen. "

( (...) my father had Wittenberg recall me and bring me home)

Obviously, Oldekop obtained a degree there, because the document can be found in Hildesheim's document book

" Magister Jodocus Mörlin von Feldkirch , dean, and the rest of the faculty of liberal arts in Wittenberg recommend Johannes Oldekop from Hildesheim after acquiring the Bac (c) alaureat ."

Issued at Wittenberg on October 14, 1516.

to travel

Even by today's standards, Oldekop can be classified as a “widely traveled” person. Between 1519 and 1531 he was almost constantly on the move, was at royal and imperial courts, had access to the highest circles and was therefore a sought-after advisor. In 1519 he was in Bologna , two years later, in 1521, in Parma , the next year he was in Spain and in 1523 he was in Rome . In 1525 he took on the role of subdeacon in the Parochial Church in his home town of Hildesheim . In the Franciscan Oldekop was in 1526 in priests . In the following year he was both scholaster and canon in the collegiate church of the Holy Cross in Hildesheim . In 1527/28 he was at the court of Emperor Charles V in Burgos (Spain) and visited the bishops and archbishops of Liège, Mainz, Worms and Speyer on the return journey. In autumn 1528 he was still in Prague, where he was staying at the court of the later Emperor Ferdinand I and there he got to know the Hussites. In 1529 he traveled to southern Germany and learned in Freiburg i. Breisgau Erasmus from Rotterdam . He visited Ravensburg and Donaueschingen and witnessed the Imperial Diet of Speyer. Finally, in 1530, he took part in Charles V's coronation as emperor in Bologna.

Encounter with Emperor Charles V

In 1527 the provost of Wetzlar Tillmann Kreich stayed as the imperial envoy in Hildesheim. He should probably inquire about the allegiance of the city of Hildesheim to the emperor. As a result of this visit, Charles V's Vice Chancellor, Balthasar Merklin von Waldkirch, was proposed (postulated) as the new bishop by the Hildesheim Cathedral Chapter at the behest of the Emperor. Merklin v. Waldkirch stayed at the imperial court in Burgos / Castilien (Spain) at this time.

Trip to Burgos

In order to convey the news to the proposed bishop and possibly to escort him to Hildesheim, a delegation was formed under the direction of Hildesheim's mayor Hans Wildefüer , who also belonged to Johann Oldekop. Oldekop gives a detailed description of this long journey in his "Chronicle":

The delegation left Hildesheim on October 9, 1527 and traveled via Minden (Munden), Mainz (Mentze), Cologne (Collen), Aachen (Aken), Löwen (Loven) to Antwerp (Antwarpen). They reached Arnemuiden (Armüe) on October 31, 1527 (evening before All Saints' Day / aller goddes hilligen avende (November 1)) In the neighboring Vlissingen (Flyssynge) a ship was boarded, which on November 13, 1527 (day of Bishop Brictius von Tours / dage Brictii episcopi) set sail. You will reach the imperial court in Burgos on December 20, 1527 (evening before Apostle Thomas / avende sancte Thome apostoli (December 21)) (presumably via the port of Bilbao). According to Balthasar Merklin, Oldekop has received the news of the Hildesheim cathedral chapter's proposal personally presented for the election of bishops (the “breve”) and then celebrated Christmas at the imperial court. Merklin made Oldekop his personal chaplain and allowed him to accompany him on his extensive travels until his death. On February 1st, 1528 (evening before Mariäreinigung / Mariä Candlemas / avende purificationis Marie 2nd February) the election of Balthasar Merklin as bishop of Hildesheim at the imperial court was confirmed.

Coat of arms awards

The Hildesheim city coat of arms with imperial eagle

On February 3, 1528, the delegation from Hildesheim received a special honor at the imperial court in Burgos: Under this date, a coat of arms was issued for the new Hildesheim city coat of arms, which was now handed over to the mayor Wildefuer in addition to the imperial eagle. This was probably done in recognition of the city's allegiance to the Empire and Emperor during the Reformation.

On the same day (February 3, 1528), Johann Oldekop was able to receive a letter of arms for the Oldekop family coat of arms, which also contains the imperial eagle. This coat of arms is preserved in the Austrian State Archives. Both letters are signed by the imperial secretary Alexander Schweis (+1536). ("Carolus - ad mandantum Alexander Schweis")

Also on February 3, 1528, the coat of arms letter for the new city coat of arms of Überlingen , increased by the full imperial eagle, was issued in Burgos .

Return journey

On March 3, 1528 the delegation from Hildesheim started the return journey. But not to Hildesheim, but at the behest of the emperor, Merklin was to travel across the country in order to swear the electors and imperial estates to the emperor's anti-Reformation course. Johann Oldekop accompanied him on these journeys that took them to the bishops of Liège, Worms and Speyer, to the archbishops of Cologne and Mainz, and to the Duke of Cleves and the Count Palatine near the Rhine. Another trip took him to Prague in autumn 1528, where he got to know the Hussite religious community. In 1530 he was in Bologna and witnessed Charles V's imperial coronation. On May 28, 1531, his “master” Bishop Balthasar Merklin suddenly died in Trier, and that was the end of the many journeys by Oldekop.

Oldekop as a fictional character

In the novel Wildefüer , the writer Paul Schreckenbach describes the life and work of Hildesheim mayor Hans Wildefüer during and after the Reformation. Schreckbach has the Catholic clergyman Johann Oldekop (Oldecop) appear in several places as Wildefüer's companion and say about the circumstances after the Reformation as a Catholic priest:

“ (I) was held in high esteem here barely ten years ago. But since the damned Lutherei moved into Goslar, it has become almost dangerous to show yourself with it (ie with the priestly robe). "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In addition to the most frequently used name spellings Oldekop and Oldecop, there are also the spellings Oldecopp , Oldekopp , Oldekopf , Oldekopff and the Latinized Oldecopius . Johannes and Johann are given as first names.
  2. ↑ Karl Euling (ed.): Chronicle of Johan Oldecop , printed for the literary association in Stuttgart, printed by H. Laupp, Tübingen 1891
  3. ↑ https://www.dombibliothek-hildesheim.de/de/Stock/handschriften/fruehneuzeitliche-handschriften, accessed on June 29, 2020
  4. ↑ The first name bearer mentioned in a document in Hildesheim is Henning Oldekop, who was accepted into the brewer's guild in 1412.
  5. ^ Mathias dei et apostolice sedis gracia episcopus Gadensis
  6. ↑ Document book of the city of Hildesheim, p. 599 / No. 749 (on 1526)
  7. ↑ Document book of the city of Hildesheim, p. 675 / No. 842 (about 1536)
  8. ↑ http://www.inschriften.net/hildesheim/inschrift/nr/di058-0222.html#content , accessed on January 29, 2017
  9. ↑ On this property there is now a commercial building. a. the German pension insurance is housed.
  10. ↑ Document book of the city of Hildesheim, p.487 / No. 553 (about 1516)
  11. ↑ Lower Saxony State Archives: Charles V's request to the Hildesheim Cathedral Chapter regarding the acceptance of his councilor and Vice-Chancellor Balthasar Mercklin as bishop , NLA HA, Hild.Br.2, no.2149
  12. ^ New patriotic archive or contributions to the general knowledge of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Braunschweig , born in 1831, Lüneburg in 1831, Herold and electoral staff. P. 5 ff.
  13. ↑ Austrian State Archives, Department of General Administrative Archives, Imperial Register of Charles V, Volume 7, fol (io) 105v (ersa)
  14. ↑ Closing formula in the Oldekop coat of arms letter: Give in unnser stat Burgos in Castile on the third day of the month of February after Christ our loved ones etc. in the XVC and XXVIIIth Unser Reich of the Roman in the ninth and the other all in the thirteenth year.
  15. ↑ German Digital Library, State Archive Baden-Württemberg, Department General State Archive, Karlsruhe, 69 Baden, Collection 1995 FI No. 225, 3
  16. ^ Paul Schreckenbach: Wildefüer, Staackmann Verlag, Leipzig, 1919
personal data
SURNAME Oldekop, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oldecop, Johannes; Oldekopp, Johannes; Oldecopp, Johannes; Oldekopf, Johannes; Oldekopff, Johannes; Oldecopius, Johannes; Oldekop, Johann; Oldecop, Johann; Oldekopp, Johann; Oldecopp, Johann; Oldekopf, Johann; Oldekopff, Johann; Oldecopius, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Catholic theologian and clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH 1493
PLACE OF BIRTH Hildesheim
DATE OF DEATH January 19, 1574
Place of death Hildesheim