Siegfried III. from Eppstein

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Archbishop Siegfried III. von Eppstein, oldest grave monument in Mainz Cathedral

Siegfried III. von Eppstein (* around 1194 ; † March 9, 1249 in Bingen ), from the family of the Lords of Eppstein , was Archbishop of Mainz and thus ex officio Arch Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire . In the late Middle Ages, the Eppsteiners succeeded in building one of the most important aristocratic rule in Hesse; By 1200 they were already wealthy in Spessart, Taunus and Wetterau. As gentlemen, they were aristocratic and in the 13th century appointed four Archbishops of Mainz .

Life

The nephew of Archbishop Siegfried II of Eppstein (on his father's side) and of the Archbishop of Trier , Theoderich von Wied , (on his mother's side) became canon in Mainz around 1220, provost of St. Bartholomew (Frankfurt am Main) and of St. Peter and Alexander ( Aschaffenburg) . In October or November 1230 he was elected to succeed his uncle.

Siegfried III. was above all a Reich politician. Although he had a Hohenstaufen spirit, he, like all other imperial princes, pursued the expansion of Mainz sovereignty due to the Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis of 1220. He always managed to keep the goodwill of Emperor Frederick II . In 1232 he transferred the very wealthy Lorsch Imperial Abbey to him .

In 1234 King Heinrich rebelled against his imperial father, after he had already quarreled with the imperial princes who were striving for sovereignty. Heinrich tried it, Siegfried III. to win as an ally, which he did not succeed. In June 1235, the emperor himself returned from Italy because of the uprising, which immediately collapsed the uprising. Heinrich was dethroned and imprisoned in Apulian prisons. Friedrich II stayed in Germany and in August 1235 held a grand, magnificent imperial assembly in Mainz with Archbishop Siegfried. There, on August 23, 1235, the “Reichslandfriede” or “ Mainz Landfriede ” was passed.

In the term of office of Siegfried also falls canonization in Marburg died Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235, the Siegfried despite a feud with the Thuringian Ludowingern had supported. In 1237 Frederick II had his second son, Konrad IV, born in 1228, elected king and gave Siegfried III. both guardianship and the office of Reich Governor . Soon afterwards, another dispute broke out between Pope Gregory IX. and Friedrich II. In 1239 the emperor was excommunicated twice . Siegfried III. initially refused to oppose his mentor and was therefore excommunicated on April 26, 1240, but remained inflexible. Only the Mongol storm prevented a war between the parties.

After the death of Gregory on August 22, 1241 Siegfried III allied himself. but suddenly with the Archbishop of Cologne Konrad against the emperor. The reasons for this are not known; they probably lie in the sovereign aspirations of that time. Friedrich immediately deposed Siegfried as Reichsgubernator and appointed Heinrich Raspe , Landgrave of Thuringia, as his successor. Wars broke out immediately. Gregory IX's successor, Celestine IV , was Pope for only 17 days; then the Holy See remained vacant for 19 months , so there was no Pope to arbitrate.

The city privilege of Siegfried III. von Eppstein for the Free City of Mainz from 1244.

In June 1243 Innocent IV became Pope. He continued the fight against Friedrich II and made Siegfried III. to the papal legate . To win the Mainz over, Siegfried granted Mainz the great city ​​privilege in 1244 , which made Mainz a Free City (→ Free City of Mainz ). In addition, Siegfried III. Heinrich Raspe on his side. Siegfried then instrumentalized this as an exponent of the anti-Staufer party in the empire and had him elected as the opposing king by a minority of German princes and counts in May 1246 in Veitshöchheim near Würzburg . The sudden death of Heinrich Raspe in February 1247 was for Siegfried III. a brief setback. Together with the other Rhenish archbishops, he made Wilhelm of Holland the new anti-king in 1248 .

Siegfried III. died on March 9, 1249 in Bingen. He was buried in the Mainz Cathedral , the late Romanesque western building of which was completed during his tenure and which he consecrated in 1239. Its epitaph is the oldest of the grave monuments in Mainz Cathedral. It shows him as the royal crown.

literature

Web links

Commons : Siegfried III. von Eppstein  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegfried II. Von Eppstein , Siegfried III., Werner von Eppstein and Gerhard II. Von Eppstein . Regina Schäfer: The Lords of Eppstein - Exercise of power, administration and possession of a high nobility in the late Middle Ages , 2000. ISBN 393022108X , EAN 9783930221080
predecessor Office successor
Siegfried II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
1230–1249 		Christian II of Bolanden
personal data
SURNAME Siegfried III. from Eppstein
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Mainz, Imperial Arch Chancellor, Imperial Administrator and Papal Legate
DATE OF BIRTH around 1194
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 1249
Place of death Bingen