Marshal of Westphalia

Illustration from the Soester Nequambuch in the court museum in Bad Fredeburg

The Marshal of Westphalia was the deputy of the Archbishop of Cologne in his function as Duke of Westphalia . In this capacity, it can be proven for the period from the 13th to the 15th century.

Origin and meaning

In 1180, the Archbishop of Cologne Philip I von Heinsberg was given the Duchy of Westphalia by Emperor Friedrich I with all the rights and obligations that the Guelphs had previously had. In order to secure the archbishop's rule and to safeguard his interests during his frequent absence, the office of Marshal of Westphalia developed over time. The exact date of origin is disputed. The first reliable documentary tradition can be dated to the year 1217.

The Archbishop of Cologne could appoint and remove the Marshal and demand unrestricted allegiance from him . As long as the archbishop's chair was not occupied, the marshal owed obedience to the Cologne cathedral chapter . However, if the marshal's office was pledged by the archbishop, the marshal could only be removed from his office once the pledge had been redeemed. Until then, the marshal's office could be inherited by the pledge holder.

A pledge took place around 1370, when the office was pledged to the Bishop of Paderborn . It was only when the city of Soest lent 2000 guilders to the Archbishop of Cologne that the Marshal's Office came under Cologne control again in 1376. Around 1455 the office was pledged to Johann von Nassau as a result of the costs of the Soest feud .

tasks

In the sources , the Marshal of Westphalia is referred to as "marscalcus Westfalie". In his function as military commander in chief , he had to summon up the castle men and other feudal men , as well as the bailiffs and the counts with their communities , in the event of a threat to the security of the state . In doing so, he had to adhere to existing alliances and provide escort to travelers in need of protection . In individual cases he was obliged to support the archbishop with armed men in his fighting in the Rhineland . But he was not allowed to start feuds on his own initiative. But if the archbishop of Westphalia got involved in feuds, the marshal had to lead them in his name and at the expense of his master.

With the emergence of the official constitution in the early 14th century, the marshal had to appoint and remove the bailiffs, provided they had not acquired their offices by pledge . But even in these cases he could demand homage and military obedience from them .

Shift of the main tasks

The Archbishop of Cologne, as Duke of Westphalia, had the right, according to the deed of transfer of 1180, to build castles and other fortifications between the Rhine and Weser at his will . So it is no coincidence that in the 13th century we encountered the marshal as responsible for the founding of a number of towns with fortress character. This often enough led to conflicts with other gentlemen in Westphalia, who also claimed the right to fortifications in their areas.

In the 14th century the influence of Marshal grew with the assumption of the leadership of many public peace alliances in Westphalia . This allowed him to temporarily extend his power over almost all of Westphalia.

In the 15th century the importance of the Marshal's Office as a supra-territorial institution declined more and more. The peace alliances lost their outstanding importance as overarching peacekeeping instruments. The power of the marshal was now mainly limited to the territory of the Archbishop of Cologne in Westphalia. The increasing pledging of the Westphalian offices also contributed to its weakening.

The marshal's office itself was also pledged more and more often. Its decreasing importance can be seen in the ever decreasing deposit amount. The name of Cologne Archbishop Dietrich von Moers (1414–1463) is closely linked to the policy of intensive pledging . It is said of him that in order to finance his great power policy, which was aimed far in all directions, he gradually pledged all the archbishop's income and possessions with the exception of the Poppelsdorf Palace .

Official area

Presumably the marshal had his seat in Rüthen . Initially, his area of ​​office was not clearly territorial. In general, as deputy to the Duke of Westphalia, he was responsible for security in the areas between the Rhine and Weser. With increasing territorialization, his sphere of influence was limited to the territory of the archbishop in Westphalia. At first it was very fragmented. The acquisition of the county of Arnsberg in 1368 contributed to rounding off its territory . At times the last Count Gottfried IV was Marshal of Westphalia. Later, the Marshal was from Westphalia common in personal union until these two offices then fused chief magistrate of the county Arnsberg in 1450 together. In addition, after the Soest feud in 1449, the later offices of Fredeburg and Bilstein came . This no longer included Vest Recklinghausen , which had no land connection with Westphalia in the Electorate of Cologne .

In addition to the administrative area, the term marshal's office was now also understood to mean an authority which was chaired by the marshal. Rent masters or waiters can be identified since around 1370 . These were initially responsible for the Archbishop's income in the former county of Arnsberg and later in the entire Duchy of Westphalia. Presumably from this activity the treasury office emerged.

In the course of time the Westphalian estates took more and more influence on the rule in the country. In 1463 they got the promise from Archbishop Ruprecht von der Pfalz that the marshal should be given a permanent council with representatives from their ranks. A visible sign of the extensive loss of importance is the fact that in 1482 the marshal was replaced by the Landdrost , who together with the aforementioned councils formed the government of the Duchy of Westphalia until the end of the Electorate of Cologne.

Cologne Marshals of Westphalia

1180 Adolf von Dassel around 1195 Hermann von Oesede 1207 Simon I of Tecklenburg († 1202?) 1217/1220 Rycquinus / Richwin von Erwitte 1221 Heinrich 1226 Johann von Erwitte 1227–1230 Richwin von Erwitte (for the 2nd time) 1231–1248 Albert II of Störmede 1232 Heinrich von Soest 1238 Albert von Honstaden 1240–1243 Gottfried, † 1290 1248–1256 Albert II of Störmede (for the 2nd time) 1248 Heinrich von Volmestein 1250; 1266 Arnold von Honstaden 1256-1260; 1267 Hunold I of Plettenberg 1266 Heidenreich von Plettenberg 1276 Konrad von Elverfeld 1281-1282 Goswin 1282–1290 Johann I von Bilstein † April 8, 1310 1290–1292 Otto von Everstein- Polle 1293-1300 Johann I von Plettenberg 1300–1305 Simon II of Tecklenburg 1301 + 1303 Hunold von Plettenberg 1305–1318 Johann I von Plettenberg 1318-1331 Robert III. from Virneburg 1331–1332 Konrad von Hüsten 1333–1335 Berthold von Büren 1336–1339 Heinrich von Löwenberg

1339–1344 Gottfried IV of Arnsberg 1344–1349 Johann IV. Von Reifferscheid 1352 Hermann von Plettenberg 1356–1358 Johann I from the New House of Padberg 1366 Engelbert III. from the mark 1368–1370 Gottfried IV. Von Arnsberg (for the 2nd time) 1372 Godert of Ense 1370–1377 Heinrich von Spiegel zum Desenberg , Bishop of Paderborn 1377–1381 Gotthard von Wevelinghoven 1381 Heidenreich von Oer 1381–1382 Simon von Sternberg , Bishop of Paderborn 1382–1385 Rütger von Brempt 1386–1388 Johann von Plettenberg called Heydemole 1386–1406 Dietrich von Ketteler 1406 Adolf von Berg 1406–1407 Engelbert I of Nassau 1409–1441 Johann von Hatzfeld 1429 Evert von Dahl 1441–1446 Heinrich von Alinghoven , called Laar 1446–1450 Heinrich von Mörs , Bishop of Münster 1450–1454 Johann IV of Nassau 1454–1458 Konrad von Wrede 1458–1465 Johann V. von Hatzfeld zu Wildenburg "the elder" 1461–1473 Bernhard von Lippe 1473–1475 Goswin von Ketteler, Landdrost 1475–1480 Johann II of Salm-Reifferscheid 1482 Philipp von Waldeck

Remarks

1. ^ Karl Feaux de Lacroix: History of Arnsberg . Arnsberg 1895 [un. Reprint, Werl 1983], p. 122, p. 163
2. ↑ Westfälisches Urkundenbuch, Volume 7, No. 183.
3. ^ Karl Feaux de Lacroix, p. 122
4. Jump up ↑ Wolf, County Number 10
5. ↑ Westfälisches Urkundenbuch, Volume 7, n.662
6. ↑ State and legal history of the Duchy of Westphalia, by Joh. Suibert Seibertz (History of the Dynasts), Arnsberg 1855, page 203, first volume, second section.
7. ^ Kohl, Wilhelm: The Diocese of Münster - The Diocese in Germania Sacra, NF 37,1, p. 142, Berlin 1999
8. ↑ Documents of the Oelinghausen Monastery, Regesten, Document 176, from January 11, 1303
9. ^ Regesten EB Cologne VI. No. 840-842, 1213
10. ^ Clemens Steinbicker, von Ense I, in contributions to the Westf. Familief., Volume 61, 2003, p. 47
11. ↑ Steinen, Westf. Geschichte, Volume 1, p. 320
12. ^ In two documents from Herdringen (23 339 A and B) from August 12th. In 1465 Johann von Hatzfeld was named Marshal of Westphalia

literature

• Carl Haase : The emergence of the Westphalian cities. 4th edition. Münster 1984, ISBN 3-402-05867-7 .
• Wilhelm Hücker: The emergence of the official constitution in the Duchy of Westphalia . In: Westfälische Zeitschrift 68 (II) (1910), pages 1–128.
• Wilhelm Janssen : The Archbishops of Cologne and their "Land" Westphalia in the late Middle Ages. In: Westfalen 58 (1980), pages 82-95.
• Joseph Korte: The Westphalian Marshal's Office. In: Munster contributions to historical research, New Series Volume 21, Munster 1909.
• Andre Schnepper: The Westphalian Marshal's Office. A contribution to the territorialization of Cologne Westphalia. In: Südwestfalenarchiv 13/2013 pp. 43–68
• AMJH Stokvis: Manuel d'historie de généalogie et de chronologie de tous les états du globe .... Leiden (NL) 1888–1893. See also: Max Wilberg 's regent tables.
• Max Wilberg: Regent tables . Frankfurt / Oder 1906, table 533, p. 323.
• Manfred Wolf: The archive of the former Grafschaft monastery. Documents and files. Regional studies series for the Sauerland in Cologne. Publications from the Arnsberg, Brilon, Meschede and Olpe districts. Vol. 4. Ed. From the Meschede district. Arnsberg 1972.
• Johann Suibert Seibertz : The Land Marshal of Westphalia . In: General archive for the history of the Prussian state. 1835, p. 61ff. Digitized