Otto von Cappenberg

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Grave slab of Otto and his brother Gottfried in the Cappenberg collegiate church

Otto von Cappenberg (* around 1100; † February 23, 1171 in Cappenberg near Lünen , also called Odo von Cappenberg ) was provost of the Cappenberg monastery and godfather of Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa from 1156 until his death . He is venerated as a blessed in the Roman Catholic Church . His feast day is February 23.

Life

Otto came from the Cappenberg family and was a son of Gottfried I von Cappenberg, Count in Dreingau , and his wife Beatrix von Schweinfurt, daughter of Margrave Heinrich II von Schweinfurt. According to a later addition in the Cologne royal chronicle, he and his older brother Gottfried von Cappenberg took part under Lothar von Supplinburg, who later became Emperor Lothar III. , took part in the storming and destruction of Münster in 1121. When the city was captured, St. Paul's Cathedral burned down , for which Gottfried and Otto were considered to be the main culprits. Since Emperor Heinrich V brought charges of high treason against all participants in the campaign against Münster, the two brothers were threatened with the imposition of imperial ban . In repentance and reparation, they bequeathed all of their property to the Premonstratensian Order for the establishment of foundations . In 1123 Otto joined the same order with his brother and became provost of the Varlar Abbey , which was founded in his parents' castle near Coesfeld at the same time. He held this office until 1126.

In 1156 Otto became the third provost of the Cappenberg monastery, after having had the relics of his deceased brother transferred to the local collegiate church in 1148 . During his time as provost there he decorated the church and its altars splendidly. Otto died in Cappenberg in February 1171 and was buried there. His grave was destroyed by Protestant troops from Hesse during the Thirty Years' War in 1648 , but was later restored.

Godfather of Frederick I Barbarossa

Cappenberger Barbarossakopf

Otto was staying in the Duchy of Swabia when the eldest son of Duke Friedrich II , who later became Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa, was born. Otto was therefore given the honor of being his godfather. As a reminder of this event, the emperor later had the famous Cappenberg Barbarossa head made and gave it to his godfather as a present.

The original of the Cappenberg Barbarossa head and a copy of the baptismal bowl are now in the treasury of the Catholic parish church of St. Johannes Evangelist in Selm-Cappenberg, the former monastery church of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Cappenberg. The original of Barbarossa's baptismal bowl is now in the Kunstgewerbemuseum of the Berlin State Museums. Both were lost in the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, but were found again by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the Freiherr von Stein at a Rüdesheim antique dealer.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Bockhorst: Münster is on fire! The fire of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1121 and the founding of Cappenberg Abbey , accessed on December 26, 2008.
  2. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz:  Gottfried von Cappenberg. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 272-273.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  3. ^ Franz-Peter Kreutzkamp: Gottfried von Cappenberg , accessed on December 31, 2016.
  4. ↑ a b heiligenlexikon.de , accessed on December 26, 2008.
  5. ↑ Internet portal 'Westphalian History'. March 25, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2017 .
  6. ↑ SMB digital | So-called. Baptismal bowl of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Retrieved November 25, 2017 .

literature

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Otto von Cappenberg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Odo von Cappenberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Provost of the Cappenberg Monastery and godfather of Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa
DATE OF BIRTH around 1100
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1171
Place of death Cappenberg