Martin Brenner

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Bishop Martin Brenner
Martin Brenner on a coin from 1612

Martin Brenner or Prenner (born November 11, 1548 in Dietenheim , Württemberg ; † October 14, 1616 in Leibnitz , Styria ) was Catholic prince-bishop of the diocese of Seckau from 1585 to 1615 . The re-Catholicization of Styria and Carinthia in the course of the Counter Reformation around 1600 goes back to him .

Life

Seckau basilica , bishop's chapel, half-length portrait of Bishop Martin Brenner (depiction around 1595)
Seckau basilica, bishop's chapel, epitaph for Bishop Martin Brenner (1618)

He was the seventh of nine children of the master butcher Lorenz Brenner and Walburga geb. Knöpflin and attended the parish school in Dietenheim, from 1561 the Latin school in Ulm . From 1566 he was in Dillingen , where he studied the classical subjects. From 1570 he studied at the University of Ingolstadt , where he also became the Preceptor of the Counts of Montfort and the Barons Fugger , who were related by marriage to them . Brenner followed the sons of Montfort and Fugger to Padua in 1572 and to other Italian cities in 1574. In 1575 he was back in Ingolstadt as tutor of Count Wolfgang von Montfort and the sons of Count Johann Fugger-Kirchberg . In 1578 Wolfgang von Montfort became rector in Ingolstadt, Brenner became vice rector and in the following semester himself rector. In 1579 he accompanied his students again to Padua and came up with this 1581 further to Pavia , where he became a doctor of theology doctorate . In 1582 he was rector of the seminar in Salzburg , and the following year, after his ordination, he was also city pastor. In 1585 he received a canonical in Freising , which he did not take up because of the events that followed.

In the Easter week of 1585, the Archbishop of Salzburg appointed Martin Brenner Bishop of Seckau . In addition, Brenner was accepted into the Styrian state parliament in June 1585. In 1591, Brenner became vicar general of the Styrian diocesan region of Salzburg. In 1595 his diocese of Seckau was enlarged by a donation from Archbishop Wolf Dietrich to include Seggau Castle and the Leibnitz rule .

At the Regensburg Reichstag of 1597/98, Brenner campaigned for the promotion of the Styrian border areas to ward off the Turkish threat , but refused the position of governor of Inner Austria that had been offered to him in 1597. Rather, he supported Archduke Ferdinand in carrying out the Counter Reformation . In Styria and Upper Carinthia , Lutheran preachers were driven out by reinforced military commissions and books of the Reformation were burned. The faithful had to take an oath on the Catholic faith or were forced to emigrate. Brenner, who had been in charge of the Religious Reformation Commissions since 1600, accomplished the Counter-Reformation of all of Styria within six months and was called the "Malleus haereticorum" ( Heretic Hammer ). Because of his sermons and the reform of the clergy, he received the title "Apostle of Styria" in the Catholic Church.

From April 5 to July 28, 1604, the second Reformation of Klagenfurt was carried out under his leadership , after the Counter Reformation in Carinthia had proven to be the least successful there. During these months, Brenner himself preached on Sundays and public holidays in the parish church, in between he summoned renegade citizens and urged them to convert. With regard to the occupation of the city offices, he pushed through that these should be occupied by Catholics in the future; a few council members, including the city judge Siegmund Laubinger, emigrated that same year. Overall, this attempted Reformation had not changed the religious convictions of the people of Klagenfurt lastingly, the governor stated in an expert report in 1616 that hardly any of the city councilors were really Catholic, and a Protestant was elected mayor as early as 1622.

With the exception of Klagenfurt, his efforts towards the Counter-Reformation in Styria and Carinthia had lasting success, in particular because Brenner promoted catechism lessons according to Petrus Canisius in the re-Catholic areas from 1602 , as well as compliance with marriage legislation and the implementation of communion and the Anointing of the sick. During his 30 years as a bishop, he consecrated twelve new churches, the artistic decorations of which from the early Baroque period corresponded to Brenner's request for dignified church services. Brenner was also a sponsor of the Jesuit order , donated a total of three study places to it and solicited similar foundations from other dignitaries.

In his later years, Brenner's corpulence and some related ailments prevented the implementation of some of his plans. So he could no longer take part in some processions and in 1608 could no longer travel to Rome to report on his office. In 1609 he became a secret council, but protested his appointment for health reasons. In 1612 he tried in vain to give up the general vicariate. In 1615 he finally renounced the office of bishop in favor of his nephew Jakob Eberlein , but remained for the time being as a former bishop at the bishopric. In the summer of 1616 he retired to the Retzhof estate near Leibnitz, where he fell ill and died on October 14th. After a postponement due to the state parliament that was just taking place, his body was transferred to Seckau on November 10, 1616 , where he was buried in the bishop's chapel the following day.

Works

  • Sermons . Graz 1601 and 1603

literature

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Siegmund from doctor Bishop of Seckau
1585–1615 		Jacob I. Eberlein
personal data
SURNAME Brenner, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prenner, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic prince-bishop of the diocese of Seckau
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1548
PLACE OF BIRTH Dietenheim , Württemberg
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1616
Place of death Leibnitz , Styria