Johannes von Gorze
Johannes von Gorze (* around 900 in Vandières ; † March 7, 974 in Gorze ) was a Lorraine monk , diplomat , estate administrator and monastery reformer .
Early years
Johannes was born in Vandières near Pont-à-Mousson . His parents were wealthy and gave him a good education in Benedictine monasteries in Saint-Mihiel and in Metz . His teacher was Hildebold, who had studied in Paris under Remigius von Auxerre . At the age of twenty, John had already established relationships with powerful people in the region, such as Count Ricuin of Verdun and Dado , the Bishop of Verdun.
He became a monk in the Benedictine monastery of Gorze in 933 , after having renounced his wealth as estate manager and undertaking a pilgrimage to Rome and Monte Cassino .
In Gorze
Johannes was not satisfied with the discipline in Gorze and found an ally in Einold von Toul (or Eginold). In 933 Johannes and Einold were commissioned by Bishop Adalbero von Metz (929-962) to rebuild and reform the dilapidated monastery of Gorze. Einold became abbot and Johannes became his first assistant. The number of monks increased again and the reforms spread to other monasteries. In 950, Pope Agapitus II asked the monks of Gorze to restore discipline in the monasteries of the Holy See in Rome (see Gorzer Reform ).
Mission to Andalusia
In 953 John was appointed for two years by Otto I as envoy to the caliph of Cordoba , Abd ar-Rahman III. , posted. John traveled via Langres , Dijon , Lyon , Avignon , Barcelona , Tortosa and Saragossa . The purpose of the mission was to stop attacks by Andalusian adventurers from Fraxinet and by Arab pirates . John reached Cordoba with his companions in 953 or 954 and presented a letter from the emperor and gifts. The Caliph's ambassador, Hasdai ibn Shaprut , met with the embassy. The caliph himself commissioned Hasdai for the negotiations, fearing that the letter from the German ruler might contain derogatory remarks about Islam (according to another report, this was why Johannes spent some time in prison). Indeed, Hasdai came to the conclusion that the letter could not be delivered in this way and convinced the embassy to draft another letter. John reported that he “never met a person with a mind like that of the Jew Hasdeu”.
John lived in Cordoba in a palace near the caliph. He made contact with Mozarabs and met with the Bishop of Elvira , Recemundus , who was familiar with the Islamic teachings. On his return trip, John brought many writings from Andalusia to Lorraine, which were intended to make this duchy a center for the spread of Islamic philosophy and science in Europe .
Next life
Johannes probably became abbot of Gorze himself after Einold's death in 967. He died in 974. Jean, the abbot of St. Arnulf near Metz , wrote a book about the life of Johannes von Gorze. He was beatified , his name day is February 27th.
Others
It is reported that John had a so-called photographic memory and that he developed an accounting system and a certain investment philosophy.
swell
- Johannes von St. Arnulf, Vita Johannes Gorziensis in: Georg Heinrich Pertz u. a. (Ed.): Scriptores (in Folio) 4: Annales, chronica et historiae aevi Carolini et Saxonici. Hanover 1841, pp. 337–377 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
- French edition: La vie de Jean, abbé de Gorze . Présentée et traduite by Michel Parisse . Picard, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-7084-0581-0 .
literature
- Werner Goez : Abbot Johannes von Gorze. In: Pictures of life from the Middle Ages. The time of the Ottonians, Salians and Staufers. Primus, Darmstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-89678-701-9 , pages 53-65.
- Réginald Grégoire: Johann. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , pp. 553 f. ( Digitized version ).
- as translator and editor: Peter Christian Jacobsen : story of the life of Johannes, abbot of Gorze monastery , de / la. "Monumenta Germaniae Historica" series. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-447-10559-0 .
- Udo Krolzik: Johannes von Gorze. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 145-147.
- Wilhelm Wattenbach: Johannes . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 457.
Web links
- John of Gorze (English)
- John of Gorze in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (English)
- Literature by and about Johannes von Gorze in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
Remarks
- ↑ Johannes von St. Arnulf, Vita Johannes Gorziensis, in: Georg Heinrich Pertz u. a. (Ed.): Scriptores (in Folio) 4: Annales, chronica et historiae aevi Carolini et Saxonici. Hannover 1841, pp. 337–377 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version ), here p. 371.
- ↑ Chronology of major events in Muslim Heritage ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Dennis K. McDaniel: John of Gorze. A Figure in Tenth-Century Management. In: Indiana Social Studies Quarterly. 31, No. 1, pp. 66-74.
- ^ An abbot on a delicate mission in FAZ from August 11, 2016, page 14
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johannes von Gorze |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Johannes Goerziensis; Jean de Gorze |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Lorraine monk, diplomat, land manager and monastery reformer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vandières |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 974 |
| Place of death | Gorze |