Konrad von Westerholt

Konrad von Westerholt († 1605 in Bocholt ) was governor , court judge and official in the prince-bishopric of Münster as well as cathedral scholaster at Münster Cathedral .

Life

Origin and family

Konrad von Westerholt grew up as the son of Burchard von Westerholt (governor in Ostfrieslind) and his wife Rudolpha de Vos van Steenwyk with his siblings Hendrik (1518–1570, governor and judge in Friesland), Burchard (1516–1600, lord of Alst) and Hermann (1514–1592, Drost in Vullenhove) in a noble family . His first marriage was to Odilia von Quadt zu Wickrath. His second wife was Anna von Liefftal. Both marriages remained childless. With his concubine Swenne Koldewey he had two daughters (Anna and Elisabeth) who also inherited him.

Career and work

On October 2, 1559, Konrad received a Dompräbende in the Münster cathedral. In 1565 he led a lawsuit against the Minden cleric Burchard von Langen for the prebender of the late Dietrich von Ketteler. On June 19, 1573 the position of court judge was newly created; the episcopal confirmation of the appointment as ex officio followed on September 24, 1573. He earned on 31 January 1574 the subdiaconate and made a little later, on May 25, 1574 the Catholic faith silk as it was prescribed for the governor of the Bishopric. On November 28 of that year he was appointed governor. His election to the cathedral school as the successor to Hermann von Diepenbrock, who had entered the lay state, fell on March 30, 1576. In the spring of 1577 he founded a "junior party" within the cathedral chapter that was Protestant. So it came to serious disagreements. Duke Wilhelm demanded his removal and punishment several times in writing. Pope Gregory VIII was turned on. On April 5, 1578, he gave Conrad the order to come to Rome to clarify the matter. He refused this order and on May 30th refused a trip to Rome. So on January 19, 1579, the Pope issued a penal mandate against Konrad and suspended him. The cathedral chapter - the majority facing the Protestant party - refused to carry out the mandate. The matter escalated and on August 15, 1579 led to a papal threat of punishment against the entire cathedral chapter. Archbishop Heinrich von Bremen , King Friedrich of Denmark , the state parliament of the prince-bishopric and the Münster chivalry stood united behind Konrad, who finally agreed in Rome to break away from the accusations raised. On November 12, 1580, the Pope ordered nothing more to be done against Konrad for the time being. Nevertheless, he retired as a cathedral scholaster in Münster and became chancellor of the Count of East Friesland . In the last years of his life he lived in his house in Bocholt. He made his will on March 28, 1605. His wife Anna inherited the house. A short time later he died in Bocholt.

literature

• The diocese of Münster 4.2. The cathedral monastery St. Paulus zu Münster , edited by Wilhelm Kohl, published by the Max Planck Institute for History, Göttingen, publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin / New York, ISBN 978-3-11-008508- 2 .

Web links

• Konrad von Westerholt person database at Germania Sacra
• Von Westerholt entry in the GEDBAS genealogy online database