Peter von Aspelt

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Archbishop Peter von Aspelt. Grave monument in Mainz Cathedral

Peter von Aspelt (* around 1245 in Aspelt in Luxembourg ; † June 5, 1320 presumably in Mainz ) was Bishop of Basel and from 1306 until his death Archbishop of Mainz .

Archbishop Peter von Aspelt came to the Mainz Erzstuhl in troubled times and was a central figure in imperial politics in the late Middle Ages.

prehistory

As early as January 15, 1300, the exponent of papal power politics, Boniface VIII. Had decreed that only he was authorized to appoint a new pastor in the event of a vacancy in the Mainz bishopric . The Mainz cathedral chapter nevertheless made an election. But the chapter was divided and could not agree on a candidate. For example , Emmerich von Schöneck was elected archbishop of one half of the provost at the Frankfurt Cathedral and Cathedral Scholaster in Mainz, and the other half of the clergy Emich von Sponheim . Both now sought confirmation of their election from Pope Clement V. However, he did not confirm either of them, but appointed Basel Bishop Peter von Aspelt as the new archbishop at the beginning of November 1306 .

Life

Peter was born the son of a servant of the St. Maximin Abbey .

Studied in Trier and served under the kings Rudolf and Wenzel

Peter von Aspelt studied in Trier , after completing his studies he became a pastor in Riol and Birtlingen in 1280 , then a scholaster in the St. Simeon Abbey (which is built into the Porta Nigra ) in Trier. In 1286 he obtained the benefice of the Provost Basilica of St. Martin (Bingen) , with which a canonical at Mainz Cathedral was connected. In the same year he became chaplain and personal physician to King Rudolf von Habsburg . Peter von Aspelt was of non-aristocratic origin and was therefore not accepted into the Trier Dompropstei. Therefore he entered the service of King Wenceslas II of Bohemia in 1289 , as his chancellor or protonotary he acted from 1296 to 1305. In 1304 he was captured in this capacity by faithful Albrecht of Austria . The main suspect in this attack near Ulm was Count Rudolf II von Werdenberg-Sargans .

Bishop of Basel

Peter succeeded in founding an alliance between Wenceslaus and Albrecht of Austria. In 1296, after the death of Bishop Peters I, there was a double election in the diocese of Basel , in which one parliamentary group in the cathedral chapter chose Bertold von Rüti and another for Lüthold II von Rötteln . Both candidates appealed to Pope Boniface VIII , but he persuaded them both to resign and instead transferred the diocese to Peter von Aspelt. He held this office from 1297 to 1306 before becoming Archbishop of Mainz.

Archbishop of Mainz

The Reich politician

In 1306 Peter became Archbishop of Mainz . He had previously fallen out with Albrecht of Austria and resided in Avignon in exile . His appointment was based on the Pope's knowledge that he was doing the French King Philip IV a favor. His most important ally at court, Count Heinrich von Luxemburg , had also promoted Peter's appointment.

The electors in the royal election in 1308: from left Peter, Balduin von Trier and Rudolf I, Count Palatine near Rhine (illustration from 1341)

Archbishop Peter von Aspelt's policy was therefore geared towards cooperation with the House of Luxembourg . This was evident in the appointment of Count Heinrich's brother, Baldwin of Luxembourg , as the new Archbishop of Trier and even more so when King Albrecht I was murdered by his nephew Johann Parricida on May 1, 1308 . Philip IV of France believed that the majority of the electors were on his side and presented his brother Charles of Valois as heir to the throne. But instead, Peter von Aspelt ran the candidacy of Heinrich of Luxembourg, who was unanimously elected German king on November 27, 1308 by the electors . The grave slab of Peters in Mainz Cathedral depicts him as a kingmaker. The actual coronation, however, was carried out by the responsible Archbishop of Cologne ( Aachen was in the Archdiocese of Cologne).

A close relationship of trust developed between the new king and his ally Peter von Aspelt, who was confirmed as Arch Chancellor . As such, they brought about the deposition of Heinrich of Carinthia , King of Bohemia, who was not well-liked by the Bohemian nobility , and elevated Heinrich's son, John of Luxembourg , to the Bohemian royal throne. Bohemia belonged to the ecclesiastical province of Mainz . On February 7, 1311 Peter von Aspelt crowned the Bohemian royal couple in Prague's Hradschin .

When King Heinrich set out for Italy in the same year to put on the Lombard crown and receive the imperial crown from the Pope , Peter headed imperial politics as imperial administrator . However, the Italian move ended in disaster. Revolts in Lombard cities and the hostility of Philip IV, who feared for his benefice in Italy, weakened the emperor. After a short serious illness, he died on August 24, 1313 in Siena .

Power struggles for succession immediately broke out in the empire. The archbishops of Cologne and Mainz tried to make the Bohemian king and son of the emperor the new German king. This failed, however, whereupon there was a double election in 1314, which covered the empire with war for several years.

The archbishops of Mainz and Cologne fell apart, so that the election of King John of Bohemia failed. The camp of the Archbishop of Cologne chose the Habsburg Frederick the Handsome as the new king, but crowned him in the wrong place (in Bonn ), while the camp of Peter von Aspelt decided in favor of Ludwig the Bavarian and had him anointed king in Aachen by Archbishop Peter.

Both now called themselves Roman King and asked Pope John XXII. the imperial crown. However, this left open for a long time who he wanted to decide on. Peter von Aspelt did not live to see his final decision.

Sovereign and shepherd

In addition to his services as a Reich politician, Peter also earned such services in his function as a senior shepherd. He expanded the visitation system in his huge church province and held an important provincial council in Mainz in 1310 , which dealt with church legislation . The investigation and condemnation of the Knights Templar demanded by Pope Clement V was only carried out reluctantly or not at all by Peter. At this synod, the Upper German Templar provincial master or Grand Prior Friedrich Wildgraf von Kyrburg defended the order and lodged a solemn protest against his persecution. The congregation then postponed its decision. A new synod on July 1, 1313 in Mainz acquitted the Knights Templar and left them in possession of all their goods.

As sovereign he was able to obtain privileges and regalia previously granted to the church of Mainz in 1302 and regain customs rights that had been lost in the Peace of Speyer, for example to Ehrenfels Castle and Lahneck Castle . The promotion of the municipal department store Am Brand is important for the Mainz cityscape . He was anxious to find a balance with the citizens of the city. He also brought the minstrel and theologian Heinrich von Meissen, known as Frauenlob , to Mainz.

The archbishop died on June 5, 1320. He was buried in Mainz Cathedral.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Winfried Dotzauer: The history of the Nahe-Hunsrück area, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2001, p. 195.
  2. ^ Scott Brand: Count Rudolf II von Werdenberg-Sargans. A life marked by family strife and loyalty to the king, pp. 124–146.
  3. ^ Böhmer, Johann Friedrich / Petke, Wolfgang / Wiesflecker, Hermann: Regesta imperii, Vol .: 6, Certificate No. 31, available online in the digital library
  4. ^ Christian von Stramberg, Anton Joseph Weidenbach: Memorable and useful Rheinischer Antiquarius , II. Department, 18th volume, p. 644 u. 645, Koblenz, 1870; (Digital scan)
  5. ↑ Andreas Beck: The fall of the Templars. Greatest judicial murder of the Middle Ages ?, p. 155.
  6. ↑ Auguste Neÿen: Biography luxembourgeoise: Histoire des hommes distingués originaires de ce pays, considéré à l'époque de sa plus grande étendue ou qui se sont rendus remarquables pendant le séjour qu'ils y ont fait, page 53 ff, 1860
  7. ↑ Romain Jurot: Aspelt, Peter von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
predecessor Office successor
Gerhard II of Eppstein Elector-Archbishop of Mainz
1306–1320 		Matthias von Buchegg
Peter I. Reich of Reichenstein Bishop of Basel
1297–1306 		Otto von Grandson
personal data
SURNAME Peter von Aspelt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Mainz, Bishop of Basel
DATE OF BIRTH around 1245
PLACE OF BIRTH Aspelt
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 1320
Place of death Mainz