Martin (Münsterschwarzach)

Portrait of Abbot Martin, detail on the crucifixion shrine in Münsterschwarzach

Martin (* in Austria ; † February 25, 1494 in Münsterschwarzach ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1465 or 1466 to 1494 .

Münsterschwarzach before Martin

At the beginning of the 15th century an abbot election took place in the monastery, in which two winners were determined. One of the two was quickly dropped. The loser, however, did not accept his defeat and forcibly occupied the abbey. The following abbots also did not emerge from a regular election. Kaspar von Schaumberg was even made head of the monastery by papal decree in 1409 .

Although elected abbots Münsterschwarzach presided over again in the following decades, the enrichment of the monastery property that their predecessors had introduced continued. In the second half of the century, reforms began in the monastery. The previously prevailing principle of nobility was abolished and monks from the already reformed monastery in Fulda ran the abbey. Under Martin's predecessor, the abbey burned down during the Margrave War and reforms began to falter.

Life

Origin and election of abbot

Little is known about the origin of Abbot Martin. The description as "australis" suggests the Duchy of Austria . In the sources, Martin first becomes tangible in the St. Egidien Monastery in Nuremberg . Here the young professed came into contact with the Chancellor reforms , which exerted great influence above all in Benedictine monasteries in Middle Franconia and Upper Palatinate. In 1446, Martin was tangible in Mönchröden Monastery in the Coburg region. He had traveled here in the wake of Abbot Ulrich Wochner.

From here Martin traveled to Münsterschwarzach, where Abbot Ekkehard was already waiting for him. After the reform efforts in the spirit of the Fulda monastery had come to a halt, new ideas were needed as to how the abbey should be renewed. In Münsterschwarzach, Martin was initially assigned the administrative tasks of a prior . After the death of Abbot Ekkehard, he was elected abbot in 1465/1466 and was thus the first non-aristocratic abbot of the monastery.

As the first abbot, Prince-Bishop Rudolf II von Scherenberg also allowed him to wear the Inful as a headdress. Martin quickly began to implement the reforms that were expected of him. He started with the financial renewal of the monastery and therefore raised 18,000 guilders in capital in order to be able to buy back the pledged monastery property. In addition, between 1470 and 1493 he dissolved the provost office in Dimbach , which had served the Münsterschwarzach abbots as a retirement home.

The Bursfeld Congregation

During the term of office of Abbot Martin, the abbey, again supported by Rudolf von Scherenberg, turned to the reforms of the Bursfeld congregation . On August 24, 1473, the convent committed itself to the association to implement the renewal, and in 1480 Münsterschwarzach was admitted to the union. Abbot Martin then visited the general chapters in Erfurt in 1480, 1481 and 1491.

Efforts to implement the reform did not always bear fruit, however. In 1485 and 1486 a visitor from the Bursfeld Congregation visited the abbey and intervened in the existing conditions in the monastery. On October 14, 1489, the bishop also issued statutes in which he urged “his” abbey to implement the reform more conscientiously. Martin also promoted the spread of the Bursfeld reform by sending monks to Mönchröden monastery.

An important part of the reform was the change in diet for the monks. From now on, meat should hardly be eaten. Therefore, under Martin, large fish ponds were dug around the monastery to ensure the supply of the convent. During his term of office, the construction of some new abbey buildings and the reinforcement of the walls of the monastery also fell. For the piety of the population, the abbot also had a large wayside shrine built in front of the monastery walls.

In addition to his office as abbot of Münsterschwarzach and a member of the Bursfeld congregation, Martin was also committed to the Benedictine order . In 1467 he was appointed visitor of the Franconian abbeys and on May 5, 1476 he was in charge of the provincial chapter of Bamberg . Three years later, on April 25, 1479, he was again elected President of the Chapter in Nuremberg. Abbot Martin died on February 25, 1494.

literature

• Enno Bünz: Bursfeld habits in Münsterschwarzach and Theres . In: Elmar Hochholzer (ed.): Benedictine monasticism in Franconia . Münsterschwarzach 2000.
• Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach a. M. (1390-1803) . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . Münsterschwarzach 2002.
• Leo Trunk: The Abbots of Münsterschwarzach. A comparative overview . In: Pirmin Hugger (Ed.): Magna Gratia. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the Münsterschwarzach abbey church 1938–1988 . Münsterschwarzach 1992.
• Heinrich Wagner: The abbots of Megingaudshausen and Münsterschwarzach in the Middle Ages . In: Pirmin Hugger (Ed.): Magna Gratia. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the Münsterschwarzach abbey church 1938–1988 . Münsterschwarzach 1992.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ While most of the abbots' chronologies describe 1466 as the year of taking office, only Heinrich Wagner assumes 1465. Compare: Leo Trunk: The Abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 156.
2. ^ Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach . P. 20.
3. ^ Heinrich Wagner: The Abbots of Megingaudshausen and Münsterschwarzach in the Middle Ages . P. 150.
4. ^ Enno Bünz: Bursfeld habits in Münsterschwarzach and Theres . P. 158.
5. ^ Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the Abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 94.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ekkehard	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1465–1494	Michael