Leonhard Gnetzamer

The coat of arms of Abbot Leonhard Gnetzamer

Leonhard Gnetzamer (* around 1516 in Iphofen ; † May 11, 1566 in Würzburg ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1551 to 1556 . After his dismissal he headed the Aura Abbey from 1560 to 1564 , before he was appointed administrator of St. Jakob in Würzburg until 1566 .

Life

Early years

Leonhard Gnetzamer was born around 1516 in the Würzburg district town of Iphofen in what is now Lower Franconia. Very little is known about his origins and family. In 1535 a source testifies to a Hans Gnetzhamer in Röttingen , who was possibly related to the abbot. Other testimonies speak of his father, who is said to have been a cooper in Iphofen. The young Leonhard did not appear again in the sources until 1530/1531. At that time he took his vows in the Münsterschwarzach monastery.

Afterwards, the professed rose quickly within the small convent. On March 11, 1536 he received the minor ordination before becoming a subdeacon on March 16, 1538. This was followed by the diaconate on March 22, 1539 . Gnetzamer was ordained a priest on June 3, 1542. After 1544 he succeeded Johannes Popp in the office of prior and thus took on an important task within the monastery for the first time. He held this until his election.

In Münsterschwarzach

After the death of Nikolaus Scholl in May 1551, it became necessary to elect an abbot. This took place on November 11, 1551 and produced Leonhard Gnetzamer as the winner. He received his confirmation on June 16 of the same year, the executive dignitary was the Würzburg Vicar General and Domsenior Heinrich. On November 16, Gnetzamer was also confirmed by Prince Bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt .

The waste of the monastery property quickly began under the term of office of Abbot Leonhard. Gnetzamer gave away money to his relatives in Iphofen and lived in wealth himself. The abbey fields soon became deserted and the monastery mill had to cease operations. Gnetzamer also did not take care of the church services : hardly any services were celebrated and the choir prayers were only celebrated very irregularly. At the same time, the monastery buildings, which had been affected by war, deteriorated even further.

Abbot Leonhard Gnetzamer even made it into the junk literature of that time with his waste . Valentin Schumann wrote about the monk "not far from Volkach", he is said to have seduced a farmer's daughter from the area and replaced the habit with fashionable clothes. The small convent suffered most from the mismanagement. The monks went hungry while the abbot indulged in luxury. In 1556 the monks therefore requested visitors .

The inspectors of the Diocese of Würzburg also came soon, on June 11, 1556, and checked the abbot's conduct. On June 20, Leonhard Gnetzamer was deposed as abbot. Thereupon he left the monastery and found asylum in St. Stephen's monastery in Würzburg. Here he continued to live from 1556 to 1559 at the expense of the Münsterschwarzach monks, who had approved him a pension of 50 guilders. This situation did not change until 1560.

Aura and Würzburg

In the meantime the old bishop in Würzburg had been murdered and Friedrich von Wirsberg had become the new diocesan. He gave Gnetzamer a second chance to prove himself as an abbot, and on March 27, 1560, he subordinated the Aura Abbey to him. The monastery was destroyed and only a small convent managed the goods. Here he managed better, but could not save the abbey from its final dissolution in July 1564.

Bishop Friedrich von Wirsberg still had confidence in Gnetzamer and thereupon handed over the management of the Schottenkloster St. Jakob in Würzburg to him. However, he did not receive the dignity of abbot, but only became administrator in the convent. Gnetzamer held this office until his death in 1566. Leonhard Gnetzamer died on May 11, 1566 and was buried in the Schottenkirche in Würzburg.

coat of arms

The coat of arms of Abbot Leonhard Gnetzamer is the first traditional symbol of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach. Description: Divided and split twice, probably of silver and red. It is handed down on a seal from 1557, which was preserved on a letter to the Würzburg prince-bishop. The coat of arms may be based on the flags on the coat of arms of the city of Iphofen, from which Gnetzamer came.

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: blossom in ruins. Life and work of the Münsterschwarzach abbot Johannes Burckhardt (1563-1598) . In: Münsterschwarzacher studies. Volume 46. Münsterschwarzach 1998.
• Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . Münsterschwarzach 2002.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 24. Mahr mentions here that Gnetzamer was 35 years old when he was elected.
2. ↑ Johannes Mahr: Bloom in ruins . P. 30.
3. ↑ Kassius Hallinger: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 100.
4. ↑ Kassius Hallinger: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 101.
5. ↑ Rainer Kengel: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 145.

predecessor	Office	successor
Nicholas II Scholl	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1551–1556	Wolfgang Zobel