St. Sebastianus Brotherhood Gymnich

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The St. Sebastianus Brotherhood Gymnich 1139 e. V. is one of the oldest rifle brotherhoods in Germany.

In 1947, during clean-up work after the Second World War, an ancient leather roll was discovered in the attic of an old farm. According to some members of the St. Sebastianus Brotherhood, it contained a document from 1139, from which the founding year of the brotherhood resulted. The content and whereabouts of the document, which was never published, are not known. Ludwig assumed Mathar Azelin von Gymnich, the Gymnicher Vogt of Siegburg Abbey , whom he referred to as Meier , to be the founder of the brotherhood . There is evidence of a comparison between Vogt Azelin von Gymnich and Abbot von Siegburg, who was recorded in 1139.

Until then, it was only known through tradition that the brotherhood had to be very old. Until then, nobody knew how old. In 1950 the 800th anniversary of the Sebastianus Brotherhood was rescheduled. The founding year 1139 was entered in the register of associations of the Lechenich district court.

The St. Sebastianus Brotherhood Gymnich was probably founded in the 14th century at the time of the plague epidemics as a church brotherhood for the care of the sick and for the burial of the dead. In later centuries, the involvement in church life remained through accompanying the processions, joint church services and memorials for deceased members as well as charitable tasks . Women were also accepted into the brotherhood. This comes from a document from 1510, the oldest known document for the St. Sebastianus Brotherhood. In the centuries that followed, the members of the brotherhood also turned to shooting. The kings of the riflemen who were entitled to special discounts have been known since the 18th century.

Today, under the motto “Faith, Customs, Home”, the association is dedicated to the maintenance and preservation of social and church traditions, as well as the continuation of the Gymnich ride. The Gymnicher Ritt is an annual equestrian procession, the origin of which the Vicar Joseph Weissenfeld traced back to a vow made by the crusader Arnold von Gymnich.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ludwig Mathar: The Gymnicher St. Sebastianus Brotherhood. In: Local calendar of the district of Euskirchen 1959 pp. 124–127. Reprint from: Der Schützenbruder 1950, year 10 and 1951 year 11.
  2. ↑ Erich Wisplinghoff : Documents and sources on the history of the city and abbey of Siegburg. I. Volume No. 45
  3. ^ Richard Knipping: Regest of the Archbishops of Cologne in the Middle Ages. Vol. II No. 376
  4. ^ Parish archive Gymnich document 1510 November 10

Web links