Quirin Merz from Quirnheim

Coat of arms awarded on June 1, 1675

Quirinus Merz von Quirnheim , also called Quirin von Mer (t) z , (* in Mainz ; † 1695 in Minden / Schierholz) was a patrician , lawyer and diplomat of various German principalities , he was a privy councilor and later chancellor of the bishopric of Speyer , privy councilor von Kurmainz (there also Chancellor from 1673 to 1675) and finally from 1676 on Privy and Budget Council of the Principality of Calenberg (from 1692 Kurhannover ).

Life

overview

Quirin was the third son of the Kurmainzer councilor Johannes Merz and Martha Hettich, daughter of Lubentius Hettich, syndic of the elector and later secular judge in Mainz. He studied in Heidelberg law . On November 22nd, 1650 he married Maria Köhl called Spes , the daughter of the businessman Johannes Köhl, in the church of St. Quintin (Mainz) . After the death of his first wife, he later married Anna Margaretha Mülbrandt von Pfeill , widowed Krecke, from Schierholz near Minden in Westphalia . As early as 1651 he was appointed privy councilor at the bishop's seat in Speyer and on November 28, 1661, Prince-Bishop Lothar Friedrich von Metternich appointed him chancellor. This chancellorship brought him into a position in which he could use his diplomatic skills, his negotiating skills and his very good knowledge of the French language, not only for the benefit of the prince-bishop, but also for his own benefit. The fortunes of both Chancellor Merz and his son Johann Wilhelm Merz remained closely linked to Metternich until his death in 1675.

Coadjutor election in Mainz

In the years after the Peace of Westphalia , the French king tried to exert an indirect influence in Germany . With the troops stationed in the Philippsburg Fortress , pressure was exerted on the city of Speyer and the Prince-Bishop of Speyer , among others . This is the only way to explain Metternich's call for help to the Emperor in Vienna in 1650, in which he asked for assistance because of the constant attacks by the French troops. After this help obviously failed to materialize, a contract was negotiated in 1663 on behalf of the Prince-Bishop between the Chancellor Merz and the representative of the King of France at the Rhenish Confederation , Robert de Gravel , in which the French gave a promise that the nuisances that ran counter to the Peace of Westphalia and no attacks were made in the future. In addition, France undertook to pay 10,000 livres to the diocese of Speyer for 6 years . Both the prince-bishop and the chancellor were given promises of French pensions. A letter from Gravel states that Metternich should be paid 10,000 livres annually and Merz 2,000 livres annually. It seems as if the treaty set the course for the future in the interests of the French king.

During a lengthy illness of the Archbishop of Mainz, Johann Philipp von Schönborn , the King of France made contact with the cathedral dean in Mainz, Saal, but also with the Prince-Bishop of Speyer, through his representative Gravel, in order to find a more inclined representative on the chair to see in Mainz . The dependency existing since 1663 certainly played a not insignificant role. Another 40,000 livres were available to Gravel in order to be able to influence an election of the future Archbishop of Mainz in the interests of the French king. Although Metternich was also considered a partisan of the emperor, the French king supported him probably out of unselfish considerations. However, the recovery of the Archbishop of Mainz quickly ended the "negotiations" at that time. When the election of a coadjutor in Mainz came up in 1670 , however, increased diplomacy set in because the new coadjutor was considered the presumptive successor of the ailing Schönborn. France now tried, exhausting all means, to influence this choice in its favor.

The ailing Archbishop, not well disposed to France, had obviously lost influence in his own home. In 1668 he had not succeeded in getting his nephew Lothar Franz von Schönborn to this post when he was elected provost. Instead, the hall sponsored by France was chosen. Metternich was the most promising of the three applicants to succeed the Archbishop of Mainz in the election year. Both the former Chancellor and later Bishop of Vienna, Wilderich von Walderdorff , and the archbishop's nephew, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, had to recognize their hopeless situation at an early stage. In this situation the Archbishop had no objection to Metternich's candidacy. Thus in 1669 Lothar Friedrich von Metternich-Burscheid was the only candidate.

However, in order to secure the election, it was necessary to pay funds to the electorate. The sums required for this were not available to Metternich. In the negotiations that then began, Gravel let the Chancellor know that the French king was ready to make appropriate payments to Metternich. In another negotiation between the two negotiators, no agreement seems to have been reached, because the tactician Merz revealed in a further conversation in Sachsenhausen that Metternich had spent 10,000 thalers in expenses and election money up to this point . In order to “secure” the election and to bring it to success in the interests of the French king, 100,000 thalers in expenses and voting money were necessary. Merz obviously did not forget to highlight his own person. Gravel had a courier sent to France and wrote in a letter about Merz that he “does not make a big figure in Germany, but he has the ear and the trust of Metternich”, so it is in France's interest to take him into account accordingly.

In the meeting that followed in Lauterbourg , Louis XIV indicated his willingness to pay 70,000 thalers. According to the negotiated mode of payment, 15,000 thalers should be paid out before the election. The second installment of 25,000 thalers was due after the election and the rest six weeks after the election. Chancellor Merz, however, received an increase in the French pension paid since 1663 to 1,000 thalers per year. In a separate agreement, Merz undertook to continue to correspond with Gravel and to instruct him in all things that could harm France. The elaborated draft was presented to both King Ludwig XIV and Metternich.

Robert de Gravel arrived in Mainz on November 20, 1670. On November 23, Merz and Metternich came. In a joint conversation, Merz must have complained about further monetary claims. In addition, he referred to a much greater concession made by the Duke of Lorraine. His claim was an additional 60,000 livres. It can be seen from the final contract that this additional requirement was not recognized. Without further consent from the French king, a contract signed by Gravel and Merz came about on November 28, 1670.

The secret agreement negotiated had the following content:

• Louis XIV pledged to maintain peace and quiet in Germany. It was agreed that a person should be elected archbishop who was in political agreement with France. The French King Louis XIV paid 210,000 livres for this. With this amount Metternich should be put in a position to show the electorate accordingly.

• The king assured his protection for the diocese of Speyer and the archbishopric of Mainz as soon as Metternich had become archbishop and elector of Mainz. The Chancellor Merz then received an annual pension of 1,000 thalers from the French king under the conditions listed.

The election of the coadjutor was scheduled for December 15, 1670. All 21 cathedral capitulars present unanimously voted Metternich as the new coadjutor of Mainz between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The goal was achieved. The French king, but apparently also the emperor, were satisfied with the choice.

It is reasonable to assume that Metternich, during the negotiations between Merz and Gravel , sought his relationship through his brother Wolfgang Heinrich to the emperor's confidante, Marchese di Grana . These discussions are also likely to have been conducted by Chancellor Merz. This is the only way to explain that, in addition to the French pension, Merz now receives 400 gulden city ​​tax from the city of Weißenburg through the emperor.

On February 12, 1673, the sick Archbishop of Mainz died and, as expected, Coadjutor Metternich became his successor. However, after the election of the new archbishop and elector of Mainz, Merz also became his chancellor. In Mainz they complained that the Chancellor in particular "had the engraver and was making a monopoly out of it". His son Johann Wilhelm received the post of a privy councilor at the court in Mainz at the age of 21.

Conversion of Count Leiningen

Ludwig Eberhard Graf von Leiningen-Westerburg was President of the Imperial Court of Justice in Speyer. Despite his marriage to Charlotte von Nassau, he lived with Countess Luise von Leiningen-Oberbronn after the death of his father Philip II. In 1664 Quirin Merz was Cancellarius and Reichstag representative of the County of Leiningen-Rixingen. So it was possible to convince the evangelical count to convert to the Catholic faith. The instruction in the Catholic doctrine of the faith took place through the mediation of Merz with the Capuchin Provincial Salentinus von Zell. In 1671 the count made the Catholic creed in the Capuchin Church in Mainz in the presence of the archbishop. The conversion of the faith cost the count, among other things, the presidency at the Reichskammergericht as well as the extramarital relationship.

The Landesarchiv Speyer conducts correspondence with the Bavarian Ministry of Justice in user file 2054, according to which Quirin Merz received the following possessions from Count Ludwig Eberhard von Leiningen Westerburg in 1671 : The Kolder's possessions in Neuleiningen , the free estate in Quirnheim , which he had previously received as a pledge The Lungenfeld property in Grünstadt was lent for 1200 Reichstaler . In addition, Merz received for the services rendered by Count Eberhard von Leiningen-Westerburg with the consent of Count Georg von Leiningen-Westerburg after the feudal contract written in 1674 Quirnheim for 6,000 guilders as a fief. The rule of Quirnheim and Bosweiler formed a prerequisite for elevation to the old imperial knighthood .

Signature of
Ernst Quirin Merz around 1679

Elevation to the old imperial knighthood

In the years 1673 to 1675, father and son Merz were several times in diplomatic services for the Archbishop of Mainz at the Imperial Court in Vienna. Due to newly created relationships, as well as old connections and the acquisition of the goods, the elevation to the old imperial knighthood took place in 1675 . In that year, Emperor Leopold elevated both Chancellor Quirinus Merz and his son Reichshofrat Johann Wilhelm Merz to the imperial nobility with the hereditary title of Merz von Quirnheim . The worship of the old imperial knighthood was carried out through a separate medal presentation. Two days after the imperial act of grace, the Archbishop and Elector of Mainz died. This ended the activities of father and son Merz at the court of the Archbishop and Elector of Mainz. The father and Leibniz followed a call to the Calenberger Hof (until 1692), the son Johann stayed only briefly in Hanover ( Kurhannover from 1692) in order to then serve the emperor for a longer period. In a document dated March 16, 1676, Quirin Merz is now referred to as the Hanoverian secret and budget councilor. The way to Hanover can also be traced back to his second marriage to Anna Margaretha Krecke, née Pfeil. With this marriage, the property was expanded to include the Schierholz estate, municipality of Löhne, district of Herford, which his wife brought into the marriage. Quirin von Merz, as Herr von Schierholz , asked to continue to call himself von Quirnheim in 1678 . Around 1679 he called himself Quirin Merz von Quirnheim, Lord in Schierholz, Knight of the Holy Realm (SRJ Eques).
In addition to the possessions already mentioned, a house in the former Sonnengäßchen and the Warsberger Hof in Mainz can be proven to be his property. According to the city photographs of Mainz, Merz must have rebuilt or expanded this Warsberger Hof between 1675 and 1687. The way of Quirin Merz is lost in Minden , but it can be assumed that he died there around 1695 (judicial inheritance proceedings in 1696). The estate in Schierholz, in connection with the second marriage of his son Johann Wilhelm to the daughter of a brother of his stepmother, then occupied the imperial court for years.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Ernst Heinrich Kneschke : New general German Adelslexikon , Volume 7 (Ossa – Ryssel) , Leipzig 1867, p. 302 - Google Books
2. ^ Lehen and aristocratic archives: Signature 72, Spezialia Merz 1 No. 6378 Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg
3. ^ Günter Scheel: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz - all writings and letters, 1st row, 7th volume, Walter de Gruyter, Akademieverlag 1992, p. 155 - Google Books

literature

• Anneliese Göttnauer: Family research Merz von Quirnheim , Stadtarchiv Worms , archival signatures: 215/02 / 19a - 02 / 19d , 215/02 / 19e - 02 / 19l , 215/02 / 21a - 02 / 21e
• The village of Quirnheim and the Mertz family in: Die Heimat-Pfälzer Sonntagsblatt No. 24 , 1866, p. 244 ff.
• The names of the settlements of the Palatinate: The names of the cities and villages of the Palatinate , 1952, Publishing House of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science, Ernst Christmann
• Political background of the coadjutor election in Mainz by Max Braubach
• History of the bishops of Speyer v. Reimling 1854, North Rhine-Westphalian State Archives Münster
• Leibniz on the imperial cities of Speyer and Vienna: also a contribution about Dr. Quirinus Mertz von Quirnheim , 1954, Rudolf Schreiber

Web links

• Commons: Merz von Quirnheim - Collection of images, videos and audio files
• In memory of the Knights of Merz in the Bad Dürkheim district
• Mertz von Quirnheim as nobility in Prussia and Lippe (Lower Saxony)