Sigwin (Speyer)

Sigwin ruled as Bishop of Speyer around 709 to 725. In the official census of Speyer bishops, he ranks as No. 7.

Sigwin is listed in the oldest Speyer bishops list, which was created between 1078 and 1088 in the Schäftlarn Abbey , under the name "Sigiwin" and in the correct 7th position.

According to Jakob Baumann ( The Pilgrim , 1906) there are no documents about him - just like his predecessor Atto - and he is only known by name from the aforementioned list of bishops or from tradition. The other available sources say nothing more about Sigwin than his presumed government data.

Sigwin's pontificate, however, falls during the decline of the Merovingians . Constant wars among themselves and with neighboring empires weakened rulers and subjects. Instead of the kings, it was mainly their deputies or caretakers who ruled , such as Pippin the Middle († 714) and Karl Martell († 741). They initiated the rise of the Carolingian family . The caretakers of the last Merovingian shadow kings cared less about religion, customs and culture than about strengthening their household power and streamlining the organization of their empires. Not infrequently they harnessed the church and its representatives for their political purposes and sometimes brought their favorites to the bishopric, sometimes just as belligerent and worldly as they were.

At the same time, towards the end of Bishop Sigwin's reign, the activities of St. Philip of Zell , St. Pirminius and St. Boniface began , which form a counterpoint to that moral and religious decline. Their revival of the Christian faith in Germany was so profound and lasting that Pirminius is called the apostle of southwest Germany and Boniface the "apostle of the Germans". Pirminius was also active in the Speyer diocese, where the city of Pirmasens bears his name. Philipp von Zell worked exclusively in the area of ​​today's diocese of Speyer and is the patron of the Northern Palatinate. There the town of Zellertal and especially its district of Zell reminds of him and his veneration is still alive today.

literature

• Sigmund Joseph Zimmer : Article Speyer ; in: Wetzer and Welte's Church Lexicon or Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology and its auxiliary sciences , Volume 11; Freiburg: Herder'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1882–1903;
• Jakob Baumann: History of the Bishops of Speyer, " The Pilger ", born in 1906
• Ludwig Stamer : Church history of the Palatinate , Volume 1, Speyer, 1936
• Hans Ammerich : The Diocese of Speyer and its history , Volume 1: From the beginnings to the end of the Salier period (1125) ; Kehl am Rhein 1998; ISBN 3-927095-36-2 . P. 20.

predecessor	Office	successor
Atto	Bishop of Speyer 709–725	Luido