Raban from Helmstatt
Raban von Helmstatt (* around 1362; † November 4, 1439 ) was Bishop of Speyer from 1399 and Archbishop of Trier from 1430 and thus one of the three spiritual electors of the Holy Roman Empire .
Life
Early career
Raban was one of seven sons of Weiprecht I from the family of the Lords of Helmstatt . This belonged to the leading circle of Electoral Palatinate Councilors and ensured that, in addition to Raban, his brothers Weiprecht II († 1421) and Hans I († 1422) were included in the Electoral Palatinate Council. In addition, Weiprecht I. successfully introduced his sons Raban and Konrad - as was customary back then, at a young age - as beneficiary candidates in the Speyer cathedral chapter . The acceptance as canon then dragged on for several years and was associated with various obligations and payments, but there were extremely lucrative posts ( benefices ).
Raban studied from 1386 to 1388 at the newly founded University of Heidelberg and then spent his compulsory year in Speyer. In 1389 he enrolled at the University of Vienna ; In 1393 he was recorded at the University of Bologna . In 1394 Raban returned to Speyer, where he was appointed chamberlain and provost of the chair brothers by Bishop Nikolaus von Wiesbaden . Further benefices followed, including a. Candidateships for canons in Mainz , Worms and Würzburg as well as the pastory of the parish church in Stetten.
Bishop of Speyer
On June 2, 1396 Raban was elected Bishop of Speyer and consecrated as such in 1399. From 1400 to 1410 he was King Ruprecht's Chancellor . In 1414 he had Marientraut Castle built near Hanhofen . It served as a fortified seat to secure his sovereignty. At the same time, due to its favorable location on Speyerbach and Woogbach, the water supply of Speyer could be controlled. In 1430 he was elected by the influence of Pope Martin V against Jakob von Sierck , his successor, Archbishop of Trier . A process of those involved at the Council of Basel had little impact.
The Helmstatt family had chosen Reinhard von Helmstatt, the great nephew of Bishop Rabans, to succeed him in the office of bishop of Speyer. In order to be able to become bishop, Reinhard first had to take over the provost office, which was occupied by his brother Heinrich von Helmstatt. From 1424 he was forced to give up the office. After a written oath of the original feud , Heinrich was arrested by Hans II von Helmstatt, another brother and former bailiff of Lauterburg, and arrested until 1436.
Archbishop of Trier
As Archbishop of Trier, Raban pledged the city of Cochem , Hammerstein Castle and Ehrenbreitstein Castle , which in the 1430s led to armed conflicts lasting several years. On October 20, 1438 Raban resigned from the office of Bishop of Speyer, which Reinhard von Helmstatt († 1456) assumed as planned. Raban also resigned as Archbishop of Trier in May 1439, six months before his death.
coat of arms
The prince-bishop's coat of arms is usually quartered . During his time as Bishop of Speyer, the fields of the coat of arms alternate between the family coat of arms of the Helmstatt, a black raven on silver and the coat of arms of the diocese of Speyer, a silver cross on a blue background.
Rating
Bishop Raban's work is seen by historians less in the sense of the church, but rather as literal " nepotism " in the sense of a power and expansion policy of the von Helmstatt family, in which Raban consistently followed the policy of his father Weiprecht I. Before 1396 the family had only one fiefdom of the Speyer bishopric, until Raban's death in 1439 three man fiefs and five castle fiefs had been added, which were distributed among the bishop's brothers and nephews. During his tenure, five members of his family were accepted into the Speyer cathedral chapter: one Heinrich, two Raban and two Reinhard (one of whom is the successor mentioned above). From the 15th century onwards, the Helmstatt had 20 canons and three bishops in Speyer, making them one of the most influential families there for a long time.
literature
- Hans Ammerich : The diocese of Speyer and its history , Volume 2: From the Staufer period (1125) to the beginning of the 16th century ; Kehl am Rhein 1999; ISBN 3-927095-44-3 ; P. 27.
- Hermann Stein with Arnold Scheuerbrandt: Origin and history of the (Neckar) Bischofsheimer main line of the Lords of Helmstatt: their tombs and their buildings , Sinsheim 2005. ISBN 3-921214-31-9
- Max Bär : Raban von Helmstatt . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 27, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 74-77.
- Stephanie Haarländer : Raban v. Helmstatt. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 60 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Martin Persch : Raban (Rhaban) from Helmstätt. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 1146-1148.
- Ansgar Frenken: R (h) aban from Helmstatt. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8 , Sp. 1201-1204.
- Ellen Widder: Chancellor and law firms in the late Middle Ages. A histoire croisée princely administration in the south-west of the empire , Stuttgart 2016 (publications of the Commission for historical regional studies in Baden-Württemberg, series B: Research, 204), esp. Pp. 55–59, 296–316.
Web links
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas of Wiesbaden |
Bishop of Speyer 1396–1438 |
Reinhard von Helmstatt |
| Otto von Ziegenhain |
Elector Archbishop of Trier 1430–1439 |
Jakob I of Sierck |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Raban from Helmstatt |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rhaban from Helmstätt, Helmstädt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Speyer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1362 |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 4, 1439 |