Sophia Agnes von Langenberg

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Sophia Agnes von Langenberg (* 1597 or 1598 ; † January 30, 1627 in Lechenich ) was a nun ( Klarissin ) in the monastery of St. Klara in Cologne and was executed as a witch . Sophia's path from being venerated as a “living saint” to being condemned to death as a witch received national attention.

history

Entry to the monastery

St. Clara Monastery and Church, Cologne. Mercator Plan 1571

Sophia was a daughter of Nikolaus von Langenberg from Wipperfürth and Gertrud Degener. In 1614 she entered the monastery of St. Klara in Cologne. In 1615, at the age of 17, she made her profession . In her first years as a Poor Clare, she led an ascetic life according to the ideals of the Franciscans, which included special veneration of the Eucharist, contemplative contemplation of the Passion of Christ, and the desire to suffer with Christ. In Cologne, Sophia had the reputation of a living saint whose intercessory prayer was able to heal other people. This reputation, which Sophia von Langenberg had in Cologne, was spread by her confessor, a Franciscan priest . He wrote a biography in which he tried to justify Sophia's holiness.

Notes of the Franciscan Father

According to her own statements, she had a series of visions during her long, serious illness in 1621-22, which led her to the threshold of death .

In a diary kept by her confessor from August 1621 to April 1622, Sophia's visions were presented as journeys into the hereafter, on which she had received from Christ her calling to return to her earthly life and to suffer patiently, not so much for her sins as for them Sins of the world and for the Christian Church. He will then answer their requests for the salvation of their neighbors. The father and confidante who cared for her also reported on Sophia's descriptions that she had successfully defended herself against the temptations of the devil, to which saints would be exposed to following Christ. In these notes, the complaints of Sophia were reproduced, which dealt with what she believed to be the "sad state of Christianity", which she attributed to the failure of church superiors and also to the too high education of leading Franciscans - measured against the religious poverty law of the founder of the order. She prophesied the wrath of God to the people, should they not make the required radical conversion.

Her reputation as a "living saint" was strengthened after a nun from St. Vincent's hermitage suddenly recovered from a painful leg problem at Sofia's intercession in February 1622.

Actions of the Papal Nuncio

The papal nuncio Pietro Francesco Montoro in Cologne expressed initial doubts about her holiness . He confiscated the biography written by her confessor and the diary entries of the same author about the life of Sophia and sent them to Rome. When in April 1622, on Easter Sunday, a crucifix suddenly began to bleed in Sophia's cell, the Franciscans saw a miracle . The papal nuncio Pietro Francesco Montoro in Cologne prohibited the Franciscans from making the apparition public. The commission of inquiry he appointed had doubts about the authenticity of the miracle. Sophia's known demonic temptations and their origins gave reason to assume a possible diabolical deception . Her father was the adviser to a Protestant prince, her mother was said to be involved in sorcery . After the investigation, the confiscated crucifix was removed from the monastery by order of the nuncio .

Subsequently, in his reports to the Curia in Rome, the nuncio objected to the liberal handling of the monastic enclosure. In the case of Sophia, he saw the problem of her demonic temptations in connection with the unhindered visits of the very young confessor, and in 1622 he stopped this contact.

Investigations and responsibilities

As in many places, there were several cases of possession in the Franciscan convent of St. Klara in Cologne . In the exorcism carried out by the Franciscans , the “possessed nuns” accused Sophia of having bewitched her. The dispute that had become the Sophia von Langenberg case escalated into a power struggle between the papal nuncio and the elector and archbishop of Cologne over supervision of the Franciscan convents. According to papal privileges, the Franciscans were not subject to the archbishopric jurisdiction . Vicar General Johannes Gelenius , who in 1626, on behalf of Elector Ferdinand , demanded a renewed examination of the "miracle" four years ago, appealed to the newly appointed nuncio Pier Luigi Carafa that according to church law miracles should be checked for authenticity by the bishop. The nuncio gave permission to examine the miracle of the bleeding cross without realizing that it would trigger a wave of witch trials .

Imprisonment

Lechenich 1646, after Matthäus Merian

To avoid further turbulence, Vicar General Johannes Gelenius decided to remove Sophia Agnes von Langenberg from the monastery. On May 28, 1626 she was personally brought to the electoral palace in Lechenich by the vicar general and imprisoned there. The waiter was instructed to provide accommodation and meals appropriate to their stand. Sophia spent eight months in a heated room in the castle, the part of which was called the spiritual house . The inmate was allowed to have a maid to serve her until her death. From October 24, 1626 to January 10, 1627 a priest was also near her. Elector Ferdinand had given the instruction to examine the "miracle" and to find clarity, also with the help of the ordeal , in order to come to a definitive judgment. However, he did not want to act without the consent of the Holy Office . When he received the letter authorizing him to use the torture in November 1626, the interrogations began.

Interrogations, torture and accusations

Embarrassing interrogation

The lay judges of the electoral High Secular Court in Cologne, Dr. Blankenberg and Dr. Romeswinkel, conducted several interrogations, to which the two commissioners traveled. Under the torture Sophia accused the Cologne postmaster Katharina Henot of witchcraft in the monastery of St. Klara. The communication of the Elector Ferdinand to the Hofrat that the Langenbergerin imprisoned in Lechenich had accused Katharina Henot of having perpetrated "Maleficia and magic" with her in the monastery of St. Klara in Cologne was the occasion for the electoral councilor on December 11, 1626 Handing over charges against Katharina Henot to the official . The indictment led to the arrest of Katharina Henot in Cologne on January 9, 1627, who was executed on May 19, 1627 in Cologne Melaten . Katharina's sister Franziska Henot, conventual of the St. Klara Monastery in Cologne, was probably imprisoned in Lechenich from January 22, 1627 to February 18, 1628 after an accusation by Sofia von Langenberg.

Sentencing, execution and burial place

Heddinghoven, land map around 1752

Sophia von Langenberg was sentenced to death for witchcraft and other excesses. Various influential intercessors failed to prevent their sentencing and execution. However, they managed to ensure that after the execution the Poor Clare was not burned but buried. Sofia von Langenberg was strangled on January 30, 1627 in the Zwengell of the castle and then buried at Hettikoven . In Heddinghoven at that time the burial place for the deceased of the Lechenich suburbs Konradsheim and Blessem was around the Heddinghovener chapel . Presumably Sofia was buried in a place outside the enclosure.

Notes

The monastery of St. Clare had to bear the costs caused by the Poor Clares. The bill for Sofia von Langenberg totaled 1642 guilders, for Franziska Henot 1841 guilders. The bill for the commissioners assigned to Lechenich was 1,247 guilders.

Historical meaning

Sophia von Langenberg was one of those people who - at least temporarily - were venerated as saints in their environment during their lifetime ("living saints"). Since she could not maintain this call after her death and the church did not recognize her visions, she is one of the so-called false saints.

The witch trial against Sophia Agnes von Langenberg, along with the trial against Maria Renata Singer von Mossau, was one of the few in which a clergyman was publicly accused of being a witch and was also executed.

In terms of regional history, it was the beginning of the series of witch trials in the Electorate of Cologne in Lechenich, to which numerous women and men fell victim from 1627.

literature

  • Albrecht Burkardt: Sophia Agnes von Langenberg. “Fausse saint” in Cologne (1621–1627) . In: Rives Nord-Méditarranéennes , 2e série 3 (1999), pp. 29-39. Online edition
  • Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint in Cologne in the 1620s. The case of Sophia Agnes von Langenberg . In: Illness and Healing Alternatives in Western Europe (Eds. M. Gijswijt-Hofstra, H. Marland, H. de Waardt), London 1996, pp. 80-97.
  • Albrecht Burkardt: The visions of Sophia Agnes von Langenberg . In: Confessional Sanctity (Eds. J. Beyer, A. Burkardt, F. van Lieburg, M. Wingens), Mainz 2003, pp. 271-290.
  • Franz Josef Burghardt: The Langenberg from Wipperfürth in the 16th - 18th century . In: Journal of the Bergisches Geschichtsverein 101 (2009), pp. 21–69.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Josef Burghardt: The Langenbergs zu Wipperfürth in the 16th to 18th centuries , pp. 21–69
  2. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint in Cologne in the 1620s , p. 88
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Albrecht Burkardt: Sophia Agnes von Langenberg “fausse sainte” à Cologne dans les années 1620 . Here after [1]
  4. ↑ Vatican Apostolic Archive (ASV), Cologne Nunciature 83, quoted from: Burkardt: Visionen , p. 272 ​​and Burkardt: A false living saint , p. 82–85
  5. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint in Cologne in the 1620s p. 85
  6. ↑ Burkardt: Visionen , pp. 286–287
  7. ↑ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , pp. 80–82
  8. ^ Vatican Apostolic Archives (ASV), Cologne Nunciature 83, quoted from: Burkardt: Visionen , p. 272
  9. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , p. 86
  10. ↑ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , pp. 87-89
  11. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , p. 88
  12. ↑ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , p. 89.Burkardt: Visionen , p. 289
  13. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , p. 90
  14. ^ Albrecht Burkardt: A false living saint , pp. 91–92
  15. ↑ HSTAD Kurköln IV 3486 sheet 121
  16. ↑ HSTAD Kurköln IV 3486 sheet 127
  17. ↑ HSTAD Kurköln IV 3486 p. 127 and p. 129
  18. ^ FW Siebel: The witch hunt in Cologne . Bonn 1959. Pages 51–54
  19. ↑ HSTAD Kurköln III vol. 22 p. 578b
  20. ↑ a b HSTAD Kurköln IV 3486 Bl. 129–130
  21. ↑ HSTAD Kurköln III vol. 23 p. 247b
  22. ^ Hanna Stommel: witch hunt in the former Electoral Cologne office of Lechenich . Yearbook of the city of Erftstadt 2002. Pages 24–46
  23. ↑ K. and H. Stommel: Sources on the history of the city of Erftstadt, vol. IV. Erftstadt 1996. No. 2332–2363
personal data
SURNAME Langenberg, Sophia Agnes from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Langenberg, Sophia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Poor Clares and "false saints"
DATE OF BIRTH 1597 or 1598
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1627
Place of death Lechenich