Sebastian von Rotenhan (knight)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medal with a portrait of Sebastian von Rotenhan, made by Hans Schwarz
The three brothers tomb with from left to right: Sebastian, Hans and Martin von Rotenhan in the parish church of the Holy Trinity in Rentweinsdorf
Map section of one of the maps made by Rotenhan
Today's view of Rentweinsdorf Castle , successor to the previous castle

Sebastian von Rotenhan (* around 1478 in Rentweinsdorf in Lower Franconia ; † 1534 in Rentweinsdorf) was a German knight , cartographer and humanist .

Family context

The von Rotenhan family belonged to the Frankish imperial knighthood and also had close ties to the monasteries of Würzburg and Bamberg . His father Mathäus II (also Matthes) von Rotenhan was stabbed to death by one of Schaumberg in 1506 . His mother was Walburga, née Förtsch .

Life dates

Rotenhan studied at the Universities of Erfurt (1493) and Ingolstadt (1496) and 1498 to 1502 at the University of Bologna Law and graduated with a doctorate from. Through the mediation of the Würzburg bishop Lorenz von Bibra , he then got his first job as an assessor at the Imperial Court of Justice in Speyer . In the period from 1512 to 1515 he made several trips, including to Palestine , where he was accepted into the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem . The first map of his homeland, which made him famous, is said to have been created during his time in Speyer until 1519: He drew the map Das Francken Landt , which Peter Apian published in 1533 in the form of a woodcut . In 1519 he entered the service of Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz . Confronted with Reformation ideas, Wegele described him as a person who was convinced of reforms, but who - unlike Ulrich von Hutten , who was friends and related to him - had not come to radical conclusions due to his conservative attitudes. In 1524 he was a member of the imperial regiment of the Frankish imperial circle , where he belonged to the reformers.

In the service of the new Würzburg bishop Konrad II von Thüngen , he was promoted to chief steward. During the Peasants' War he was responsible for the defense of the besieged fortress Marienberg , and at the end of the uprising he was involved in the suppression and punishment of insurgents. Lorenz Fries only mentioned that he belonged to the commission that had to decide on compensation for the damage caused. The Hessian War also preoccupied him. He has retained the favor of Emperor Charles V right up to the end - he was emphatically honored at the Reichstag in Augsburg with a service and protection letter.

The siege in the German Peasants' War

During the German Peasant War in 1525 there were widespread uprisings of the common man in the Würzburg monastery , in which some representatives of the (lower) nobility also took part, for example Count Georg von Wertheim. The then incumbent Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Konrad II von Thüngen , had already fled on May 6, 1525 when the rebellious farmers approached the city. (The farmers had already looted his ancestral castle in Thüngen .) The city of Würzburg joined the uprising on May 8 and 9, 1525. On the part of the Würzburgers, the “hackers” (wine-growing workers) and the “security guard” set up by the Würzburg citizens took part: “... which initially prevented a lot of nonsense, but then took part in the plunder itself." that the pauern ufruhr most parts of the uss the constant khome ... ”“ In Würzburg alone 63 castles were demolished. ”In addition, 31 monasteries in the Hochstift Würzburg were plundered, including the monasteries Ober - and Unterzell and Himmelspforten . Today's estimates assume around 15,000 besiegers. The contemporary Würzburg city clerk Martin Cronthal estimated the number of attackers at 38,000. The attacking commanders included Florian Geyer and Götz von Berlichingen . Sebastian von Rotenhan, as the commander of the Marienberg, had 240 to 250 able-bodied men under his command to defend this last castle in the bishopric, which he divided into 18 squads. Each of these squads had to provide 4 men as tactical reserves.

The area to be defended was approx. 45 m × 100 m, with the long side very close to the east-west axis and the broad side on the north-south axis. The current designation " fortress " is not technically correct for the development of the facility at that time. At this point in time it was rather a " castle ". It was a concentric fortification system that lies on the ridge of a hill and has slopes sloping down on three sides and can only be reached more or less at ground level from the west. In the middle of the area is the still standing donjon with a height of approx. 40 m, which was surrounded by a rectangular ring wall with the above dimensions, which was or is also the castle complex. This circular wall (= palace complex ). was in turn surrounded by a wall with the original name "Wolfskeelscher Bering", later called Scherenbergring. (Each named after the prince-bishops Otto II. Von Wolfskeel 1333-1345 and Rudolf II. Von Scherenberg 1466-1495, who were responsible for buildings .) The Scherenbergring, with its round towers, was at the level of weapon technology and offered better resistance than outdated, angular ones against fire from heavy weapons towers also enabled the terrain in front of it by appropriate defenders, loopholes to spread, could without attacking troops in blind spots operate undisturbed. The geographical weak point (to the west) was protected by the Scherenberg Gate, which still exists today, and a ditch in front of it .

The forward-looking cartographer Sebastian von Rotenhan had started preparing for the defense early on. It is said that on April 20, 1525 the mayor and some councilors of the city of Würzburg presented themselves on the Marienberg to inquire about the reason for these measures. A visible element of this willingness to defend was above all the deforestation of the slopes and a pleasure garden in the northeastern area of ​​the site that no longer exists today. A palisade wall was built from this wood outside the Scherenberg ring. In addition, additional loopholes were broken into walls and towers. Among the elements of this readiness to defend that are not visible from the outside are above all the ammunition of the castle with "fireworks" (pitch and sulfur) and the breaking of connecting corridors within the castle grounds, which later allowed the defenders to defend the defenders much faster in the event of an alarm To reach points of the castle or to strengthen them with additional forces. (Comparable to modern paratrooper tactics, for example during the siege of Bastogne in December 1944.) Sebastian von Rotenhan had alarm bells set in all directions for this purpose. Further measures were the conversion of the "Ratsstube" (to the north) and the "Haferboden" (to the east) into gun emplacements.

The actual siege began with troop movements on May 13, 1525: First, the fortress area was enclosed. In the north, coming from the Mainviertel from Zell, the Karlstadt farmers camped, who were later reinforced by the Odenwälder Haufen. In the west, in Höchberg, the Odenwälder ( Lichte ) Haufen had been encamped since May 7th . In the south of the Black Heap , Florian Geyer's troops, coming from Heidingsfeld and Eibelstadt. The Main runs in the east below the Marienberg, and parts of the city of Würzburg lie on the other side of the Main. The demand for the surrender of the fortress and other conditions (acceptance of the Twelve Articles of the Peasants; 100,000 guilders; razing of the facility) were rejected.

On May 14, 1525, fire on the Marienberg Fortress was opened at 4 a.m. from Nikolausberg to the south. Additional (urban) guns were erected to the southeast near St. Burkhard below the fortress. However, the peasant artillery only managed to damage the outer picket fence because the shooting distance (approx. 550 m) was too great for the field snakes used at the time . The potentially dangerous "Rothenburg Gun" was not brought by the farmers in time. The crew of the Marienberg Fortress did not allow themselves to be provoked and instead opened fire against the Main Bridge at around 6 a.m. in order to disrupt this connection line . Further targets of the fortress artillery were the German House (to the north) and the Judenplatz (to the east / today marketplace) in order to dissolve the crowds in these areas. The Main could only be crossed by the farmers and the townspeople using a wooden pontoon , which was erected below the Main Bridge in response to the bombardment.

The shelling caused considerable material damage in the city and became a psychological burden. The farmers decided on May 15 for a nightly surprise attack on the important cannon position on the main side of the fortress to “try to see if the entrenchment should be pulled down against the place and the jacks behind it”. The picket fence fell, but the defenders held their own with firearms, pitch and brimstone, stones and boiling water. Most of the fighting probably took place in the northeastern part ("gein der Täle" = hollow path from the city beginning in the area of ​​the Main Bridge up to the fortress) of the defense system. Martin Cronthal, however, also reports of dead in the (neck) ditch that was "severely chopped up and buried in it" facing west. Given the mass of attackers, it is obvious that there was fighting around the entire defense system. The noise of the fight could be heard as far as the city. There was a general mood among the citizens that one should not let the “Christian brothers” perish in such a “way”. However, no one from the city dared to stand by the attackers because the night was “pitch black” and the “story was so big”.

During a second storm, the farmers managed to take parts of the forecourt enclosure for a short time (today the Echterscher forecourt with horse troughs). However, they were quickly thrown back. However, this was by no means a militarily sensitive area that was not part of the core area, but merely an enclosure for a coal store and accommodation for 21 craftsmen and other workers. Even if the farmers had been able to hold their position, the neck ditch, the barrier wall and the curtain wall would still have to be overcome and that from a position that was permanently under fire and could only be reached via long and easily disruptive supply routes. A total of around 200 farmers were killed in these attacks.

After the failed storms, the farmers dug two entrenchments in the area of ​​the “Tael”, but they could not develop any offensive potential and only insufficient protection against the gun emplacements laid out by Rotenhan in the east (“Haferboden”) and north (“Ratsstube”) of the Fortress grounds. The exact timing of the quickly abandoned attempt by some farmers in the St. Burkhard area to dig a tunnel in the Marienberg and to blow it up cannot be determined.

On May 18, 1525, the farmers tried again with additional guns from Nikolausberg to shoot the fortress ready for a storm. This time von Rotenhan returned fire and smeared the opposing positions with such intensity that their attendants had to take cover to such an extent that it was not possible for the farmers to continue the duel. The siege ended on May 23 with the withdrawal of the Neckartaler and Odenwälder heaps and the subsequent desertion of Götz von Berlichingen on May 28, 1525.

However, the actual escalation of violence did not begin until after the failed siege, when the relief army of the Swabian Confederation, led by Bauernjörg, arrived in the region. On June 2, 1525 there was a battle against approx. 7,000 farmers near Königshofen (approx. 30 km south-southwest of Würzburg), in which approx. 6,000 farmers were killed. The enormous failure rate of 85% on the part of the farmers resulted from a combination of weak leadership and the breaking of tactical discipline. Despite a favorable spatial starting position in the face of the enemy, the peasants moved haphazardly backwards and were massacred by the enemy cavalry. On June 4, 1525, the events of Königshofen near Giebelstadt (approx. 15 km south of Würzburg) were repeated. Here a peasant army of 4,000 to 5,000 men was wiped out.

Tomb in Rentweinsdorf

The grave inscription of his epitaph in the parish church of the Holy Trinity in Rentweinsdorf reads: Ano 1534 died Herr Sebastian / Ritter avch der Rechtten Doctor vnd / Dan Anno * 59 * Hans vnd im * 60 / Mertten alle vom Rottenhan (zv) Rentweinnstorff gebrv (de) ren whose / Selen the Almechtige God gracious and * merciful Be Amen .

literature

Web links

Commons : Sebastian von Rotenhan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dedication " her Sebastian vom Rotenhan Ritter meinne [m] dear brother-in-law " in: Ulrich von Hutten: conversation büchlin . Schott, Strasbourg 1521, unpaginated ( Google Books ).
  2. ↑ Winfried Dotzauer: The German Imperial Circles (1383-1806). Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-515-07146-6 , p. 96 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  3. ↑ Hans Holger Lorenz: Great German Peasants' War, peasant revolts from 1476, peasant surveys 1524 to 1526. In: bauernkriege.de. February 5, 2014, accessed January 19, 2015 .
  4. ^ W. Dettelbacher: Würzburg a walk through its past. Würzburg 1974, pp. 67/68.
  5. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p. 70.
  6. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p. 73.
  7. ^ Rudolf Endres: The Peasants' War in Franconia. In: Peter Blickle (Ed.): The German Peasants' War of 1525. Darmstadt 1985, p. 172.
  8. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p. 73.
  9. ^ Andreas Lerch: The Peasants' War in Würzburg from a social-historical perspective 1525. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch der Geschichte. Volume 61, Volkach 2009, p. 84.
  10. ^ Max H. von Freeden: Fortress Marienberg. Würzburg 1982, p. 53.
  11. ^ Max H. von Freeden: Fortress Marienberg. Würzburg 1982, p. 53.
  12. ↑ Christian Leo: The Marienberg Fortress around 1525 - attempt of a historical-topographical construction. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch. Volume 61, 2009, p. 55.
  13. ^ W. Dettelbacher: Würzburg a walk through its past. Würzburg 1974, p. 68.
  14. ^ Ulrich Wagner: The city of Würzburg in the peasant war. In: Ulrich Wagner: History of the city of Würzburg. Volume III, Stuttgart 2004, p. 44.
  15. ↑ Christian Leo: The Marienberg Fortress around 1525 - attempt of a historical-topographical construction. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch. Volume 61, 2009, p. 53.
  16. ↑ Martin Cronthal: Attempt of the farmers to storm the Würzburgische Feste Unserfrauenberg. Report by the town clerk Martin Cronthal. In: Günther Franz (Ed.): Sources on the history of the peasant war. Darmstadt 1963, p. 359.
  17. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p. 75.
  18. ^ Max H. von Freeden: Fortress Marienberg. Würzburg 1982, p. 53.
  19. ^ Andreas Lerch: The Peasants' War in Würzburg from a social-historical perspective 1525. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch für Kunst und Geschichte. Volume 61, Volkach 2009, p. 84.
  20. ↑ Christian Leo: The Marienberg Fortress around 1525 - attempt of a historical-topographical construction. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch. Volume 61, 2009, p. 54.
  21. ↑ Martin Cronthal: Attempt of the farmers to storm the Würzburgische Feste Unserfrauenberg - report of the town clerk Martin Cronthal. In: Günther Franz (Ed.): Sources on the history of the peasant war. Darmstadt 1963, p. 358.
  22. ↑ Christian Leo: The Marienberg Fortress around 1525 - attempt of a historical-topographical construction. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch. Volume 61, 2009, p. 54.
  23. ↑ Martin Cronthal: Attempt by the peasants to storm the Wurzburg fortress. Report by the town clerk Martin Cronthal. In: Günther Franz (Ed.): Sources on the history of the peasant war. Darmstadt 1963, p. 359.
  24. ↑ Martin Cronthal: Attempt of the farmers to storm the Würzburgische Feste Unserfrauenberg. Report by the town clerk Martin Conthal. In: Günther Franz (Ed.): Sources on the history of the peasant war. Darmstadt 1963, p. 359.
  25. ↑ Martin Cronthal: Attempt of the farmers to storm the Würzburgische Feste Unserfrauenberg. Report by the town clerk Martin Conthal. In: Günther Franz (Ed.): Sources on the history of the peasant war. Darmstadt 1963, p. 57.
  26. ^ Andreas Lerch: The Peasants' War in Würzburg from a social historical perspective 1525. In: Mainfränkische Jahrbuch für Kunst und Geschichte. Volume 61, Volkach 2009, p. 85.
  27. ↑ Christian Leo: The Marienberg Fortress around 1525 - attempt of a historical-topographical construction. In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch. Volume 61, 2009, p. 55.
  28. ^ Max H. von Freeden: Fortress Marienberg. Würzburg 1982, p. 54.
  29. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p. 74.
  30. ^ Klaus Arnold: The peasant war. In: Peter Kolb, Ernst-Günter Krenig (Hrsg.): Lower Franconian history. Würzburg 1995, p75.
  31. ^ Ulrich Wagner: The city of Würzburg in the peasant war. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume III, Stuttgart 2004, p. 45.
  32. ^ Ulrich Wagner: The city of Würzburg in the peasant war. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume III, Stuttgart 2004, p. 45.
personal data
SURNAME Rotenhan, Sebastian von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German knight, cartographer and humanist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1478
PLACE OF BIRTH Rentweinsdorf
DATE OF DEATH 1534
Place of death Rentweinsdorf