Liudger

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Charlemagne gives Liudger the Brabant monastery of Lothusa. Illumination from the Vita secunda Liudgeri, Berlin State Library ms. theol. lat fol. 233, fol. 8v.

Saint Liudger (* around 742 near Utrecht ; † March 26, 809 near Billerbeck ) was a missionary , founder of the Werden monastery and the Helmstedt monastery of St. Ludgeri , Werden monastery director and first bishop of Münster .

Life

Liudger (Europe)
Utrecht (742)
Utrecht (742)
York (767)
York (767)
Rome (784)
Rome (784)
Montecassino (784 / 785-787)
Montecassino (784 / 785-787)
Heligoland (791)
Heligoland (791)
Become (800)
Become (800)
† Billerbeck (809)
† Billerbeck (809)
Liudger's places of work
The meeting of Liudger and Bernlef, Lochem, Gelderland, Netherlands
Statue at Haltern with St. Ludgerus and the accompanying goose

From the Frisian missionary and founder of the monastery, first of all the biographies of Liudger ( Ludgerus ) (Liudgervita Altfrids, Vita Liudgeri secunda, Vita tertia etc.), then the early becoming documents as somewhat later provided copies, finally medieval and early modern historians, but those opposite the first mentioned sources bring nothing new. From what has been handed down it follows:

Origin and education

The Frisian Liudger was born near Utrecht around 742 . He was the son of Christian parents (Thiadgrim and Liafburg) and a member of a respected and widely ramified Frisian noble family. Determined for a spiritual career at an early age, we find Liudger between 756 and 767 as a student at the Utrecht Cathedral School (Martinsstift). Here the missionary Gregory of Utrecht († 775) imparted the disciplines of the artes liberales , the “seven liberal arts”, as a basic theological training . To complete his studies Liudger traveled to York in 767 to the cathedral school of the scholar Alcuin (730-804). There, in the same year, Archbishop Ethelbert von York ordained Liudger as a deacon. Interrupted by a stay in Utrecht (768/769), Liudger stayed in England until mid-772 . Conflicts between Angles and Friesians forced him to return to the Martinsstift in Utrecht, which he only left after Gregor's death (775). In memory of his time in Utrecht, Liudger wrote a biography of Gregor, the Vita Gregorii, soon after the death of his teacher .

Missionary activity

A first mission assignment led Liudger to Deventer , where he rebuilt the church (775/776) over the grave of the Frisian missionary Lebuin († 773). In 776 he began the Frisian mission . In the Frisian Ostergau, Liudger evangelized after his ordination in Cologne (July 7th, 777), but interrupted by the uprising under Widukind (784). Liudger then went on pilgrimage to Rome (784) and Montecassino (784 / 785-787). After his return to Friesland, the Frankish king Charlemagne (768-814) appointed Liudger as head of mission for central Friesland (787), and the missionary was entrusted with the management and ownership of the Petrus Monastery in Lothusa (Leuze). Liudger's trip to Helgoland (around 791) took place during the time of the Frisian mission . The Saxon and Frisian uprising of 792 was perhaps the reason that Charlemagne Liudger transferred the mission management in western Saxony . In the period that followed , a missionary diocese with an extensive parish system was established around Münster and the canons founded there in 793 by Liudger . Liudger had a church built in Nottuln , and he is said to have promoted the establishment of a community of sanctimonials there.

Founding of a monastery and diocese

Statue of Liudger in the bishop's robe from Coesfeld
Ludgerus basilica in Essen-Werden. Liudger's grave is in the crypt in the foreground

Liudger's plans to set up a spiritual (monk) community himself must have received a boost around this time. Liudger is said to have received relics of Salvator, Mary and apostles from Rome . But the first attempts to found a monastery (in Wierum , Wichmond and on the Erft ) failed. But the monastery was founded in Werden on the lower Ruhr. It was planned well in advance by Liudger, who had been systematically purchasing goods there since 796. Around 800 he finally founded his own monastery in Werden on acquired land . Meanwhile, the design of the future diocese of Münster continued: Liudger was ordained on March 30, 805 by the Archbishop of Cologne Hildebold (787-818) as the first bishop of Münster, the diocese thus evidently affiliated to the Cologne church province.

In the last few years before his death, the bishop visited his ecclesiastical district (Sprengel) several times. On such a journey Ludgerus died on March 26th, 809 in Billerbeck . He came from Coesfeld , where he was preaching for the last time. On the way between Coesfeld and Billerbeck, he once again blessed the Münsterland. Today this place is called Ludgerirast. In Billerbeck he celebrated his last holy mass on Passion Sunday 809. The following night he died here with his brothers at the point where the south tower of the provost church of St. Ludgerus rises today . The body was brought to his episcopal city of Munster to be kept there. A month later, Liudger was transferred to Werden and buried east of the first abbey church on April 28, according to his last will, outside the church near the main altar. From this point, marked by a tree that had been felled in the meantime, he had followed the construction work according to the Altfrid Vita. In the second quarter of the 9th century, the crypt of the abbey church was built over the burial site ("locus arboris") .

In contrast to compulsory proselytizing, sometimes with fire and sword, the z. B. was successfully used by Charlemagne, Liudger's style of proselytizing was a peaceful one. While it was mostly sufficient to convince the ruling prince in the territories evangelized by Charlemagne, Liudger evangelized in western Saxony, today's western Westphalia, an area in which there were countless independent tribes. Through persuasion and sermons he enlarged the Christian territory without using coercion. He avoided acts of war, but returned immediately after conquering new territories. At the end of the Saxon Wars, he accompanied Charlemagne once on a campaign in Minden in 798.

Recognition of the relics in 2007/2008

Due to the annual processions and the associated shocks and vibrations, there were concerns about the Werden relics, and corrosion damage had been found on the inner zinc coffin. For this reason, the then Bishop of Essen, Felix Genn, allowed Genn to open the saint's coffin and examine the condition in the summer of 2007. For this purpose, the locked zinc coffin was transferred on October 30, 2007 from the Werden abbey church to the mother house of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Elisabeth in Essen-Schuir. There it was opened the following day by Bishop Genn in the presence of experts and restorers. By May 16, 2008, the relics and the rest of the shrine contents were inspected, determined, the documents of the previous openings documented and the zinc coffin replaced by a new stainless steel coffin, which was deposited inside the bronze shrine in the crypt.

The anthropological inventory of the relics revealed that the skeleton was largely complete. It was a man over 60 years of age, more likely over 65 years of age, about 1.82 m tall and rather graceful physique, who was probably right-handed. The teeth were better preserved than expected based on the biological age of the person, but more worn on the right than on the left, which can possibly be explained by a tooth loss in the left upper jaw during lifetime. There were no degenerative changes to the skeleton, so that it could be concluded that the deceased had a high social status. The age of death as well as the social status coincide with Liudger, so that the authenticity of the relics is assured due to the uninterrupted veneration.

Adoration

Crypt with shrine of St. Liudgers
Ludgerus shrine apse side
Liudger's death in a baroque painting of Billerbeck Cathedral

Liudger worship in becoming

Liudger was worshiped at his grave soon after his death. Already in the Altfrid Vita it is described how a girl was miraculously healed at his grave. In 847 Liudger appears for the first time as co-patron of the Werden Abbey Church, whose main patron (Salvator, Maria, Petrus) he had ousted by the 11th century at the latest. The crypt was rebuilt under the Werden Abbot Gero . His successor Adalwig had a silver-gilt pompous shrine built for the relics, one of which was placed on the main altar of the church and the other on two marble columns that are still exhibited today in the Werden treasury. This shrine was lost in the baroque period. Liudger's bones have been carried through Werden once a year since 1128. The procession was introduced by Abbot Bernhard as thanks for the good weather after a long period of bad weather. It has been held on the first Sunday in September since the 13th century. In 1787 the Essen silversmith Schiffer made the processional shrine, which is still in use today, for these processions. The liturgical customs of the procession were summarized in the Werden pilgrims book in 1910. In 1984 the artist Gernot Rumpf created the bronze shrine for the relics, which is now in the crypt of the abbey church. Its shape takes up the outline of the abbey church.

A chalice from around 1060 and the Helmstedt cross were also regarded as relics of Liudger . Liudger's belt, which is now kept in the Werden treasure chamber, was said to have helped with difficult births.

The Münster booklet about the miracles of St. Liudger

The miracles attributed to him are partly summarized in the Vita Liudgeri , but also in the Muenster booklet. For example, a blind girl from Balve is said to have regained her sight in 864 at Liudger's grave in the crypt of the Werden monastery .

In addition to the cathedral and chapel in the Marienkirche (Ludgerusturm), the Ludgerikirche , built by the bishops Ludwig I von Wippra (1169–1173) and Hermann II von Katzenelnbogen (1174–1203) in the south of the city, was a point of reference for the worship of Munster Liudger. A Libellus Monasteriensis de miraculis sancti Liudgeri (“Münster's little book on the miracles of St. Liudger”), probably written by the first priest of this church around 1170, describes the cult of a miraculous cross with relics Liudger, which worked miracles in St. Ludgeri.

The Libellus, written in simple, sometimes incomprehensible Latin , interspersed with Germanisms and in the tradition directly following the Vita Liudgeri tertia , describes in 17 chapters mainly the miracles caused by Liudger, which have to do exclusively with the healing of diseases. Eye diseases are in the foreground, followed by diseases of the legs, but the healing of insanity is also described. Even a missing boy can be found again with divine help and with that of his Saint Liudger. The pattern of the healings is the same: The healing takes place after Liudger's invocation and the promise to come to Munster and there, i. H. to church and miraculous cross to bring offerings. So healing is not without consideration. The truth of the healings performed is (almost) always emphasized by quoting witnesses who witnessed the healing. The testimony of divine action is also highlighted. Around 800 there was a large gray geese plague in the Münsterland . Liudger is said to have pushed them back. There was another drought. He is also said to have caused the geese to scratch their feet until they hit water and a well could be built here. St. Since the 17th century, Liudger has usually been depicted with a goose as an attribute , for example in the coats of arms of the old and today 's Coesfeld district .

The “Munster booklet on the miracles of St. Liudger” hardly had any effect. The Liudger cult in the St. Ludgeri Church should not be overestimated either, since it was already overshadowed by significantly more important pilgrimages in Münster and the surrounding area at the end of the 12th century , for example to Santiago de Compostela . The noticeable regression of the veneration of Liudger in the cathedral in the late Middle Ages corresponds to the fact that no further evidence of the veneration of the holy missionary to St. Ludgeri has survived from this period. In particular, there is no evidence of the cross with the Liudger relics.

Patronage: Buildings and places named after Liudger

Liudger on the crossing to Heligoland . Illumination from the Vita secunda Liudgeri, 11th century

Churches

Other facilities

  • Ludgerus primary school in Albersloh
  • Ludgeri secondary school in Altenberge
  • Catholic Ludgeri primary school in Billerbeck
  • Ludgerirast retreat house of Gerleve Abbey , Billerbeck
  • Catholic Ludgerus elementary school in Bocholt
  • Ludgerus primary school in Buldern
  • Ludgeri primary school in Coesfeld
  • Liudger secondary school in Emsbüren
  • Ludgerus School, elementary school in Essen-Werden
  • former Ludgeri elementary school, today senior citizens' housing complex in Hamm (Bockum-Hövel)
  • City Catholic Ludgerus primary school in Velbert
  • Primary school St. Ludgeri in Helmstedt
  • Catholic KiGa St. Ludgeri in Helmstedt
  • St. Ludgerus Kindergarten in Heek
  • Ludgerus Primary School in Lippborg
  • Ludgerus Chapel in Lippborg
  • St. Ludgeri-Schule Realschule Löningen
  • Catholic Ludgerigrundschule in Lüdinghausen
  • Catholic kindergarten St. Ludger Lüdinghausen
  • Ludgeriplatz in Münster
  • Collegium Ludgerianum (former Konvikt) in Münster
  • Liudgerhaus (Institute for Diaconate and Pastoral Services) in Münster
  • Ludgerus School in Rhede
  • Ludgerus School in Rhede (Ems)
  • Ludgerischule, elementary school in Selm
  • Ludgeri school, cath. Elementary school Mettingen
  • Ludgerus elementary school Elte / Rheine
  • Ludgerus Schützengilde Elte 1478
  • Old church on the market, Nordhorn (consecrated as St. Ludgerus Church)
  • Ludgerus School in Vechta
  • Ludgerus clinics in Münster
  • Ludgerischule, cath. Elementary school in Neuenkirchen

Associations and Communities

In 2018. When acting "communion of the Holy Liudger" and the "Ludgerus Brotherhood" decided on a union convention on March 24, 2018, now continue their two traditions under the name Ludgerus community eV as a community episcopal law together.

There are other associations in Billerbeck and Helmstedt. Ludgerus is also shown in the coat of arms of the city of Helmstedt .

Effect in music

Liudger Office of the former Essen Werden Abbey, today owned by Gerleve Abbey
  • Liudger's Office : Antiphon: Beatus Ludgerus ; Antiphon: Ubi postmodum ; Antiphon: Invocantem se deus ; Antiphon: Vir dei ; Antiphon: O admirabile divinitatis nomen ; Antiphon: Unde in domino ; Responsory: Beatus Ludgerus ; Responsory: Gaude mater

The Liudger Office from Essen Werden Abbey is one of three traditional offices in honor of the saints. The antiphons and responsories are composed in the style of the late Gregorian chant of the 12th century. The texts are based on the Vita secunda Sancti Liudgeri and report on the missionary work of the saint. The notation (new notation) is notated on four lines and essentially corresponds to the customs of the 12th century. The Quilissma is used in both single and multiple tone spacing. The melody of the antiphons is oligotonic, as is customary in compositions for the liturgy of the times of the day , those of the festive Responsoria prolixa are more melismatic. A specialty of the notation is the Clivis quadrata, which corresponds to the Pes quadratus.

  • Liudger Mass , Introitus: Posuit Dominus , Graduale: Repletum est gaudio , Tractus: Scitote, quoniam mirivicavit Dominus , Offertory: Adducam eos in montem , Communio: Congregabit eos et custodiet . The form was drawn up by Notker Kamber OSB, Gerleve 1957
  • German Liudger Vespers , melodies / psalmody: Heinrich Rohr 1958
  • Antiphon from St. Liudger . In: Antiphonale Monasteriense (1575), Diözesan Archiv Münster
  • German anthems
With a good heart let us sing Liudger Praise and Fame , Munster's Hymnal 1950
Our praise should greet you happily, holy Bishop Liudger , text: W. Hünermann, melody: W. Bäumer (Coesfeld)
Let us sing the prize joyfully, Your High Holiness , text: Emil Lengeling, Münstersches Gesangbuch 1950
Liudgerus, father, faithful shepherd , Werdener Pilgerbuch 1910
O Liudgere, the Frisians , Werdener Pilgerbuch 1910
Sankt Liudger, the noble frieze , Münster 1866
  • Litanies
According to Werden tradition, melody: Hugo Berger
According to Münster tradition, melody: Heinrich Rohr
According to Billerbeck tradition, melody: Heinrich Rohr

Baumberger Ludgerusweg

The Baumberger Ludgerusweg , a hiking route that is signposted by the Baumberge-Verein and has been recognized by the German Hiking Association as a “ Quality Trail Wanderable Germany”, is a reminder of Liudger's work in the Münsterland . The hiking route leads over 30 kilometers from the Tilbeck Murder Cross through the Baumberge to Coesfeld . On or on the way are the Ludgerus Cathedral in Liudger's place of death Billerbeck , the Ludgerirast on the Coesfelder Berg and the Benedictine Abbey of Gerleve .

Holiday

Further information

See also

Works

literature

  • Josef Alfers: With Liudger on the path of life. Münster: Dialogverlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-941462-06-9 .
  • Arnold Angenendt : Liudger. Missionary, abbot, bishop in the early Middle Ages . Münster: Aschendorff, 2005, ISBN 3-402-03417-4 .
  • Markus Bötefür, Gereon Buchholz, Michael Buhlmann: Bildchronik Werden. 1200 years . Essen 1999, p. 15 f.
  • Adriaan Breukelaar:  LIUDGER. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 138-139.
  • Michael Buhlmann: Liudger on the Ruhr . In: I proclaim Christ to you. St. Liudger, Witness of Faith 742–809 . Bochum 1998, pp. 22-42.
  • Heinz Dohmen , Günter Rabeneck, Ludger Schütz: The burial place of St. Liudgers and the Liudgeriden in Essen-Werden . Bochum 1990.
  • Eckhard Freise : Liudger . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0 , Sp. 2038.
  • Eckhard Freise: From pre-Christian Mimigernaford to Liudger's "honestum monasterium" . In: Franz-Josef Jakobi (Hrsg.): History of the City of Münster, Volume 1: From the beginnings to the end of the principality . Münster: 1994 3 ; Pp. 1-51.
  • Géza Jászai: On the iconographic rediscovery of the painted Liudger Vita on the Billerbecker altar . In: I proclaim Christ to you. St. Liudger, Witness of Faith 742-809 . Bochum: 1997; Pp. 2-8.
  • Eberhard Kaus: To the Liudger-Viten of the 9th century . In: Westfälische Zeitschrift 142 (1992), pp. 9-55. (Digitized version)
  • Heinz Löwe : Liudger as a critic of the times . In: Historisches Jahrbuch 74 (1955), pp. 79–91.
  • Hans Ossing: Investigations on the Antiphonale Monasteriense . Phil.Diss., Regensburg 1966.
  • Karl Schmid:  Liudger. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , p. 716 ( digitized version ).
  • Rudolf Ludger Schütz (Communitas sancti Ludgeri, ed.): Heiliger Liudger. Witness of Faith 742-809. Commemorative script for the 1200th anniversary of death. Bochum: Kamp 2009 [EA: 2002], ISBN 978-3-89709-699-8 .
  • Basilius Senger: Saint Liudger . Vita, liturgy, prayers and songs, Kevelaer: Butzon & Berker, 1959.
  • Basilius Senger (ed.): Liudger in his time. Altfrid on Liudger. Liudger's memories . Münster: Regensberg 1982, ISBN 3-7923-0484-8 .
  • Basilius Senger: Liudger life and work . Münster: Regensberg 1984, ISBN 3-7923-0510-0 .
  • Barbara Stühlmeyer : The Liudgeroffice of the Benedictine monastery Essen Werden (transcription and analysis) . In: The songs of Hildegard von Bingen. A musicological, theological and cultural-historical investigation . Phil.Diss., Hildesheim: Olms, 2003, ISBN 3-487-11845-9 .
  • Barbara Stühlmeyer: Liudger, a Frisian who changed the world . In: carbuncle. Zeitschrift für Erlebbaren Geschichte, 61, 2005, pp. 107–110, ISSN  0944-2677 .
  • Ludger Stühlmeyer : Manuscripts in Comparison: The Ludgerus Office of the 12th century in the Gerleve Abbey . In: Curia sonans. The music history of the city of Hof. A study on the culture of Upper Franconia. From the foundation of the Bamberg diocese to the present . Phil.Diss., Bamberg: Bayerische Verlagsanstalt, Heinrichs-Verlag 2010, ISBN 978-3-89889-155-4 .
  • Georg Veit : Liudger I - IV. Life poems. Münster: Dialogverlag, 2009.
  • Wilhelm WattenbachLiudger . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 4 f.

Sound carrier

  • CONFESSOR O DIGNISSIME. Office chants in honor of St. Ludgerus. Ensemble Vox Werdensis, led by Stefan Klöckner , Essen-Werden, September 2014.

Web links

Commons : Liudger  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ludgerus community. In: st-ludgerus.net. Ludgerus Association V., accessed November 8, 2019 .
  2. Ludger Stühlmeyer: Manuscripts in Comparison: The Ludgerus Office of the 12th Century in the Gerleve Abbey . In: Curia sonans. Bayerische Verlagsanstalt 2010, pp. 43–47.
  3. Baumberge-Verein eV (PDF; 30.4 kB) Retrieved on November 8, 2019 .
  4. Ulla Wolanewitz: Explore tree mountains with a new map. All routes at a glance. In: Allgemeine Zeitung. November 12, 2015, accessed November 8, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Walk on a certified path. In: Coesfelder Nachrichten. September 5, 2015, accessed November 8, 2019 .
  6. Sights in Havixbeck and Hohenholte. New circular routes for hikers. In: Westfälische Nachrichten . November 24, 2015, accessed November 8, 2019 .
  7. Baumberger LUdgerusweg. Baumberge-Touristik, accessed on November 8, 2019 .
  8. Baumberger Ludgerusweg. In: Wanderbaren Germany. Deutscher Wanderverband Service GmbH, accessed on November 8, 2019 .
predecessor Office successor
- Bishop of Munster
805–809
Gerfried
- Abbot of Werden and Helmstedt
800–809
Hildegrim I.