Otto III. from Rietberg

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Otto III. von Rietberg († October 16, 1308 in Poitiers ) from the family of the Counts von Rietberg was bishop of Münster from 1301 to 1306 . He led numerous feuds and was finally deposed by the Archbishop of Cologne in a process initiated by the Cathedral Chapter of Münster .

Origin and early years

Otto was the second son of Count Friedrich I von Rietberg and his wife Beatrix von Horstmar . He was a student at the Paderborn Cathedral School. His siblings were

In Paderborn, he was at the time when his eponymous uncle Otto von Rietberg bishop there was a canon . Later he was Domkämmerer and at least since 1296 dean . He also held a preamble in the cathedral chapter of Münster .

Bishop election

After the Bishop of Munster Everhard von Diest had died trying Everhard von der Mark the previous abbot of Will Henry of Wildburg impose as his successor. On the other hand, the Archbishop of Cologne Wigbold von Holte had asked the Pope to reserve the occupation of the post. Archbishop Otto von Rietberg proposed as a candidate. On election day Otto concluded an alliance with the Cologne Church, in particular against the Counts of the Mark and their allies. With this, the archbishop also strengthened his position in the struggle of the archbishops of Cologne, Trier and Mainz against King Albrecht I Otto III. has sworn the electoral surrender submitted to him by the cathedral chapter. Then he confirmed, among other things, to observe the statutes of the cathedral chapter and to appoint high clergy only with the consent of the chapter. The Pope confirmed Otto. At Easter 1302 he was ordained bishop by Archbishop Wikbold in Neuss.

Feuds

As a result, the alliance with Cologne initially dominated Otto's actions. Later he turned against the archbishop. The fortification of Werne was related to the fact that the Counts of the Mark joined King Albrecht. Count Everhard von der Mark defeated Otto in a battle south of Munster. The bishop had to undertake to pay 1,000 marks. Since he did not have this sum, he pledged the office of Linne to the count. Linne was later exchanged for the office of Rhynern . Other properties had to be mortgaged because of the war costs. At least in one case the cathedral chapter refused to seal a contract.

Otto got into an argument with the nobleman Hermann II von Lohn , who was also allied with Cologne . The bishop allied himself with the Counts of the Mark. Both conquered Bredevoort Castle and Lohn in 1303 . Eventually the nobleman was imprisoned by the bishop. The archbishop set out to free the noble lord who was related to him. There was no fight as a ceasefire had been agreed beforehand.

Only Ludolf von Steinfurt continued to fight the bishop. The Steinfurter was joined by Münster cathedral thesaurus Wikbold von Lohn and Canon Otto von Bentheim. Both were excommunicated and removed from their offices by the bishop.

The armistice with Cologne did not last long. In 1304, the archbishop accused various princes, including Otto von Munster, of having destroyed the Hovestadt an der Lippe castle in Cologne . They also invaded the Cologne area. The bishops of Münster and Paderborn were suspended by the archbishop and the secular greats were excommunicated. The conflict ended after the archbishop died.

Financially the conflict had put a heavy strain on the diocese. The bishop had to sell a number of properties. By the end of the conflict, followers of Herr von Steinfurt plundered the country.

The conflict over joint ownership of Lohn and Bredevoort broke the alliance with the Counts of the Mark. The Münsterschen drove the Märker out of the two castles. Count Everhard in turn took Dülmen Castle . Otto then began building Rikesmolen Castle on the Lippe. This was immediately besieged by the Märkers. Peace was concluded in 1306. The bishop got Dülmen back, but had to do without Bredevoort.

The kings were too weak to maintain the peace and to stop the feuds. The Cologne Marshal of Westphalia Johann I von Plettenberg concluded a regional state peace union with the bishops of Münster and Paderborn, which several cities joined.

Deposition

In the cathedral chapter in particular, dissatisfaction with the rule of the bishop increased. The cathedral dean Lutbert von Langen , the cathedral clerk Wikbold von Lohn , the vice-dominus Ekbert von Bentheim and others allied against Otto. The bishop responded, among other things, with excommunication and withdrew the cathedral dean's archdeaconate. The conflict escalated further when the bishop failed to appoint a new official from the ranks of the cathedral chapter. This in turn appointed a counter-official.

The demand of the bishop that the canons should be ordained priest immediately led to indignation among the young canons and to joining the anti-bishop forces. Despite all the willingness to feud, the bishop was ready to improve spiritual discipline, especially in the cathedral chapter, which led to the strengthening of the opposition.

Various nobles and the city of Munster formed an alliance in 1306 to protect their rights in the bishopric . The opposition in the cathedral chapter was supported by several nobles. Finally, a dismissal procedure against the bishop was initiated by the Archbishop of Cologne. In the monastery itself, other knights of the opposition joined.

The process ended with Archbishop Otto von Rietberg stripping his office, releasing the subjects from the oath of allegiance and asking the cathedral chapter to elect a successor. The bishop had no choice but to contact the Pope directly and traveled to Poitiers to see Clemens V. The Pope acquitted him, also because the Archbishop had not judged impartially. The election of the newly elected Bishop Konrad was annulled and the right to vote for the cathedral chapter was suspended. Before Otto could try to take office again, however, he died in Poitiers. After his death there were rumors of a poisoning, but this cannot be verified.

literature

  • Wilhelm Kohl: The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster 7.2. The diocese (= Germania Sacra NF NF 37.2). de Gruyter, Berlin 2002, pp. 364–379.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Grote : Stammtafeln , Leipzig 1877, p. 182 f.
  2. ↑ See The Archbishop's Academic Library in Paderborn ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
predecessor Office successor
Everhard von Diest Bishop of Munster
1301–1306 		Konrad I. von Berg
personal data
SURNAME Otto III. from Rietberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Münster (1301–1306)
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1308
Place of death Poitiers