Michel Mort
Michel Mort is a legendary hero from the Middle Rhine who is said to have saved Johann I von Sponheim in 1279 in the Battle of Sprendlingen . The legend is told by Trithemius .
Say
The trigger for the Battle of Sprendlingen was the sale of Schloßböckelheim Castle, agreed in 1279, by Heinrich I von Sponheim-Dannenfels , Johann's brother, to Werner von Eppstein , the Archbishop of Mainz , with whom Heinrich passed over his brother's right of first refusal, which had been agreed in a contract of inheritance in 1277 . Johann opposed the sale, whereupon the Archbishop of Mainz wanted to force the surrender of the castle by force of arms and a battle broke out near Sprendlingen. Despite numerous allies, Johann threatened defeat and imprisonment when the Kreuznach butcher guild, headed by the gigantic Michel Mort, gave the count to the battle cry “Hie Kreuznach! My noble count! ”Fought free and enabled him to escape. Michel Mort killed numerous opponents in combat, but was ultimately fatally wounded.
One of the earliest mentions comes from the world chronicle of Kaspar Hedio, printed in 1539 . There it says:
“In the iar M.cc.lxxix, the battle between Wernhero Archbishop zu Mentz / and Count Hansen von Spanheym [...] and beyden teylen vil perished [...]. Among those what eyn metziger von Creutzenach / called Michel Mort / eyn joyful and strong man / who fought for his lord the count manly / why he / like another Machabeer / eternally memorable will be with the descendants. Then when he was surrounded by the enemy on all sides / he was so manly into them / that he killed alleyn more than xx / and made his way through the enemy with his sword. At last he was damaged on his feet out of vile the enemy / that he fell to the ground / then he hurriedly recovered / on the people who knew / when he didn't even want to come up / was scared about himself / and killed five more / and vil except for those who were umb in / wounded. At last [...] / he died splendidly. "
The rescue of Count Johann von Sponheim is also described:
"Johannes Graf von Spanheym [...] / the hanck on a foot / and when he hit it bravely with eygner's hand / he was almost caught by the enemy. The above-mentioned Michel Mort / together with other butchers from Creutzenach / has at least more courageously put into the enemy / and killed his master with his eyegnen blood. "
Another legend tells of Michel Mort as hörigem soldier Graf Johanns, the result of a bet on his master Sayn Castle defeated seven opponents in a wrestling match and I put into a sack. Thereupon Johann released him.
Culture of remembrance
The Counts of Sponheim probably erected a memorial at the site of the battle in the 13th century, which fell into disrepair and was forgotten in the 18th century. Its foundation was discovered by chance in 1828 when the road from Gau-Bickelheim to Bingen , today's B 50 , was built. The area surrounding the monument site is designated Am Michel Mort . In 1979 a new memorial stone was erected on Graf-Johann-Strasse in Sprendlingen.
In Bad Kreuznach, a memorial designed by Robert Cauer the Younger on the Eiermarkt in Neustadt commemorates the legend. The original made of Savoniere limestone , inaugurated in 1902, was replaced by a copy and is now in the Bad Kreuznach town hall.
According to the legend, a stone lion on the Kauzenburg , which originally came from Dhaun Castle , also commemorates Michel Mort.
In Bad Kreuznach and Sprendlingen streets were named after Michel Mort, Bad Kreuznacher Michel-Mort-Gasse is a side street of Metzgerstraße, Sprendlinger Michel-Mort-Straße runs on the edge of the historic battlefield.
Literary reception
The story Michel Mort der Kreuznacher: a romantic exhibition from the patriotic history with historical colors drawn by Christoph Sigismund Grüner appeared in 1805. Otto Gros published another literary adaptation of the legend in 1914 under the title Michel Mort: Historische Erzählung .
literature
- Sigrid Bingenheimer: The field names of the communities around the Wissberg in Rheinhessen . Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-515-06216-5 .
- Willy Mathern, Otto Gros: Michel Mort: Commemorative book to commemorate the battle between the Sponheim-Grafschaft and the Archdiocese of Mainz on the Michel-Mort field near Sprendlingen 700 years ago . Fiedler, Bad Kreuznach 1979, ISBN 3-924824-18-5 .
- Rainer Schlundt (Ed.): Legends from Rhineland-Palatinate . Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Cologne 1983, ISBN 3-424-00757-9 .
- WHERE von Horn : The Rhine, history and legends of its castles, abbeys, monasteries and cities . Niedner, 1867, p. 364 ff .
Web links
- Article by Franziska Blum-Gabelmann (archive version, not evaluated)
Individual evidence
- ^ Rainer Schlundt (Ed.): Sagen aus Rheinland-Pfalz , Cologne 1983
- ↑ Kaspar Hedio : An extravagant Chronick from the beginning of the world up to the jar after Christ our own Heylands purt MDXXXIX . Strasbourg 1539, p. 561 f .
- ↑ WHERE von Horn : The Rhine, history and legends of its castles, abbeys, monasteries and cities . 1867, p. 366-369 .
- ↑ On the history of Sprendlingen. Institute for Historical Regional Studies at the University of Mainz, accessed on December 3, 2012 .
- ↑ Won Michel Mort. Institute for Historical Regional Studies at the University of Mainz, accessed on December 3, 2012 .
- ↑ Michel Mort and the Battle of Sprendlingen 1279. (No longer available online.) Local community Sprendlingen / Rhh., Archived from the original on March 11, 2012 ; Retrieved December 3, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Christoph Sigismund Grüner: Michel Mort der Kreuznacher: a romantic exhibition from the patriotic history drawn with historical colors . 1805, urn : nbn: de: 0128-1-41930 .
- ^ Otto Gros: Michel Mort: Historical story . 1914.
