Johannes V. pitcher

The coat of arms of Abbot Johannes V. Krug

Johannes V. Krug (* 1555 or 1556 in Mellrichstadt ; † March 20, 1613 in Münsterschwarzach ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1598 to 1613 .

Münsterschwarzach in front of Krug

The central event of the 16th century was the beginning of the Reformation . It also divided the small principalities, especially in Franconia . Now the Catholic abbey had to live with its Protestant neighbors. At the same time, a large peasant uprising began, which culminated in the German Peasants' War in 1525 . In this conflict, the monastery was devastated by Stadtschwarzacher citizens and the archive was destroyed.

The abbots of Münsterschwarzach immediately began to rebuild the building. In 1540 the inauguration could be celebrated. This was followed by further destruction and increasing embezzlement of the monastery property by Abbot Leonhard Gnetzamer . After his dismissal, the abbots Wolfgang Zobel and above all Krug's predecessor Abbot Johannes Burckhardt tried to get monastic discipline and to discharge the abbey.

Life

Early years

Johannes V. Krug was born in 1555 or 1556 in Mellrichstadt, Lower Franconia . Little is known about his parents, only the father's profession is mentioned in the sources: he was a linen weaver . Likewise, the early school education of the young Johannes is in the dark. It becomes tangible for the first time when he entered Münsterschwarzach in 1573. He took his vows a year later, in 1574. After that, he left the monastery for a year and a half to take up theological studies.

The place of study, probably a Jesuit college , will not have been far from the monastery, because Krug received the minor ordinations on December 18, 1574 while he was studying . He became a subdeacon on September 22, 1576, before Krug was given the title of deacon on December 21, 1577 . Finally, on September 24, 1580, Johannes Krug was ordained a priest . In the meantime he had already held the office of novice master directly after his studies.

Now his rise within the monastic office began. In 1588 he was handed down as a subprior and through this office he came into contact with the monastery administration for the first time. Thereupon Krug exercised the duties of a cellarar , but no specific year is given for this. Johannes Krug is, however, secured as prior in 1598 . When Abbot Johannes IV Burckhardt died at the beginning of 1598, this made an election necessary.

As abbot

It took place on April 20, 1598 and brought forth Johannes Krug as the new head of the monastery. Because of the frequent absence of his predecessor, he had recommended himself as Burckhardt's deputy for this office. A total of 17 voters chose the new abbot, they were supported by several prince-bishop witnesses. Among them were the vicar general Georg Schweickard, the Fiskal Urban Renninsfeld and the abbot of the Theres monastery , Georg.

The new abbot received his confirmation on May 19, 1598 from the Würzburg prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn . His benediction took place on the day of St. Juliana, February 16, 1599, by the Bamberg Auxiliary Bishop Johann Ertlin . Krug benefited from his predecessor's policy of debt relief. Therefore, soon after taking office, he began building a new abbot's apartment that had three living rooms. In addition, the reconstruction of the parish church in Schwarzenau was tackled.

Within the monastery, Krug supported the expansion of the monastery library. At the same time he renewed pastoral care in the abbey villages and intensified the persecution of Jews in his sphere of influence, which his predecessor had already practiced. In 1603, for example, he had Nordheim's Jewish faith expelled from the village and sparked the so-called Sommerach Jewish dispute . In the same year he issued new driving regulations for the Main ferry in the monastery village. Johannes Krug died on March 20, 1613 around noon and was buried on March 24 in the monastery church below the Three Kings altar.

coat of arms

The abbot Johannes Krug was one of the first abbots in Münsterschwarzach to have a personal coat of arms. It was first handed down on an ex-libris from 1600. Description: A jug with two handles from which three roses grow. The tinging of the coat of arms is not known. In addition, the coat of arms exists on a seal from 1602. Due to the renovation of the Sommeracher Zehnthof, which was carried out by this abbot, the coat of arms was also attached as the keystone of the chapel.

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.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey. P. 26.
2. ↑ Kassius Hallinger: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach. P. 104.
3. ^ Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey. P. 27.
4. ↑ Rainer Kengel: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach. P. 146.

predecessor	Office	successor
John IV. Burckhardt	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1598–1613	John VI Martin