Paul Braid

Paul Zopf in front of the Trattlerhof

Joseph Paul Zopf (* in the 17th or 18th century; † 1738 ) was an Austrian court jester , corner advocate and peace breaker .

history

Joseph Paul Zopf played a role in the Millstatt peasant uprising against the Jesuits . In the autumn of 1600 the Counter Reformation Commission came to Upper Carinthia . 1500 Millstätter took the oath of religion at that time, two emigrated. From this time on, the Jesuits stayed in Millstatt and tried to preserve Catholicism in the area . Apparently they also collected high taxes. Therefore, as can be read in an old report, an incident took place that proves, “how even here the misguided common crowd forgot for a moment, but never became in the least broken in their loyalty to their sovereign when they heard their voice called his superiors back to their senses. "

The farmers, plagued by bad harvests and harsh treatment by the authorities, first turned to Emperor Charles VI with a letter of complaint in 1728 . in which they complained of unjust claims. In 1730 they repeated this attempt, and in 1735 another complaint was made to the governor of Carinthia . In each case, investigations were promised and carried out, but not to the satisfaction of the residents. Finally, the farmers in the Kleinkirchheim office turned to the lawyer Dr. Plasge or Plaschge from Klagenfurt and had a new memorandum drawn up. In 1737 three emissaries were sent to the court, who were to draw attention to the grievances again with this letter.

They were also promised that a commission would look into the matter. But then they came across the Viennese lawyer Zopf, who, before the promised commission could even take action, pretended to be the imperial representative to the farmers' representatives and handed them a forged letter in which the looting of the Jesuit residence in Millstatt and the expulsion of the residents was suggested.

As a result, on November 2, 1737, about 300 farmers attacked the monastery complex, took prisoners, plundered and pillaged. Already on November 4th, however, the armed citizens of Spittal appeared to rush to the Jesuits' aid, which they managed without difficulty because the rebellious peasants “were too comfortable in the cellars” and were almost defenseless.

Zopf himself had made off with 3,000 stolen guilders . A stop at the Trattlerhof, a tavern in Untertschern , was his undoing: the landlord Kaspar Grayer had the judge informed by his neighbor Hans Trättnig. In contrast to Grayer, Trättnig had taken part in the attack on the Jesuits, but was pardoned for his help in the capture of Zopf and the return of the stolen goods.

On July 18, 1738, the verdict on Zopf and other main participants in the attack on the monastery was pronounced. Like two other ringleaders, Zopf was supposed to be beheaded according to the “German Reich Laws”, and his head was to be displayed in an iron cage on a pillar “as an eternal warning”. The Klagenfurt lawyer lost his office and had to pay a fine, other parties involved were punished with expulsion from the country, mining work, an obligation to pay compensation, etc. In the meantime, the promised civil commission took care of the grievances that had been reported to the emperor. Although Zopf had committed the “crimen falsi” by forging the letter and his feigned role, he was not charged with libel of majesty , as had often happened in similar cases. Angela Rustemeyer says in her work dissent and honor : "Obviously, the court was interested not unnecessarily [...] enhance underlayers revolts at least since the second quarter of the 18th century." Both Maria Theresa and especially her son Joseph II. Had tries to "emphasize the positive relationship between the peasants and the emperor and clearly distinguish between revolt against immediate rulers and insults to majesty." Dealing with Zopf's prank would therefore be an early testimony to this attitude.

In the Trattlerhof, which has meanwhile been converted into a hotel, a mural commemorates Zopf's retreat in 1737. It was initially on the house wall, but was moved to the so-called Zopfstube as part of a redesign of the house in the 20th century. The picture shows the tavern in the background, marked by the inscription "Trattlerwirt". Before that, the blue-apron innkeeper rushes to hand the guest the drink and something to eat. Zopf is sitting in the saddle of a horse and is evidently about to ride on. The caption reads: “J. Paul Zopf, the court jester who had been the court jester to Emperor Joseph I in Vienna, drank wine here when he came from the destruction of the monastery in Millstatt and wanted to go to Zedlitzdorf , which was given to him by the host at the time and was then caught up and captured by the citizen guards 2 November 1737. "

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Carinthia: Journal for Fatherland Studies, Belehrung u. Entertainment . Kleinmayr, 1825, p. 107 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Carinthia: Journal for Fatherland Studies, Belehrung u. Entertainment . Kleinmayr, 1825, p. 108 .
3. ↑ Jakob Forstnig (ed.): The Trattlerhof and its history. Chronicle of the house. BoD, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8482-0500-4 , pp. 16–18 (digitized version)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Angela Rustemeyer: Dissent and Honor: Majesty Crimes in Russia (1600-1800) . Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-447-05457-7 , p. 238 .
5. ↑ Jakob Forstnig (ed.): The Trattlerhof and its history. Chronicle of the house. BoD, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8482-0500-4 , p. 18. (digitized version)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.