Pen needle

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The pin needle is a specialty of the nobility in the Holy Roman Empire, particularly in the late Middle Ages and in the early modern period . In a broader sense, the term stands for those nobles who formed the nobility in a spiritual territory, such as a bishopric . In the narrower and actual sense, this refers to the part of the nobility who had access to the cathedral chapters and comparable religious institutions (such as the Teutonic Knight Order ). The latter depended on the so-called pen ability .

Importance of the cathedral chapters for the nobility

Access to the cathedral chapters was desirable for the nobility for various reasons. Political, material and social reasons play a role here. The cathedral chapter itself had considerable political power. The cathedral chapters could therefore serve the nobility to consolidate their own influence. These positions were also lucrative. A canon position in the cathedral chapter of Münster, for example, brought in around 1214 thalers a year at the end of the Holy Roman Empire. A cathedral dean could hope for 6560 Reichstaler and more. This was significantly more than the highest officials in the country earned. Often it was not least the income of the canons that enabled the Catholic aristocratic families, especially in north-west Germany, to raise the growing representation expenses, for example for palace buildings and their furnishings, or to finance the proper education of their descendants. These incomes were also important in order to acquire new manors in order to improve the position of the family. The high social prestige that was associated with a canon should not be underestimated either.

Pen ability

Since the 14th century, the social demarcation of the cathedral chapters and comparable institutions increased. Since then, applicants have generally had to be able to prove sixteen noble ancestors. New noble families were excluded. The model was the particularly exclusive Cologne cathedral chapter . The so-called Domgraves even had to come from noble families. The pin nobility in the largest monastery in Münster initiated the so-called " hereditary dispute " against the city patriciate of Münster, with which it was defeated, however, against these (exclusive and very wealthy) families, which - like the important Munsterland noble family Droste zu Hülshoff - were also largely defeated came from the knighthood . The aim was to keep the hereditary canons away from the well-paid canon posts, even though they had occupied canon posts since the Middle Ages. In the 18th century, the emperors tried to reduce the demands on the aristocracy trials in the Rhenish-Westphalian region in order to enable access to newer aristocratic families. However, this attempt failed. Proof of the ability to hold a pen took place in the swearing-up procedure . A plaque with the names and coats of arms of the applicant's ancestors was exhibited in the respective chapter room for a certain period of time, thus enabling an examination of the suitability of the pen. Over time, books of coats of arms emerged from these heraldic tablets. Two canons then swore that it was correct. This enabled full membership in the respective chapter. This was known as emancipation . The demarcation policy was quite successful. In the 17th and 18th centuries, two thirds of the canons in the north-west German bishoprics came from the lower nobility.

distribution

Particularly in Catholic north-west Germany, the pin nobility was the defining type of nobility, which differed from the southern German imperial knighthood with its close ties to the empire. The land-based pin nobility occupied the cathedral chapters of Münster , Paderborn , Osnabrück and Hildesheim exclusively . However, more recent studies also use the term for southern Germany. The pin nobility was particularly important in the Prince Archdiocese of Salzburg . In the Rhineland, for example, the Metternich family was part of the nobility.

Characteristic

Even more than the imperial nobility, the pen nobility was dependent on the benefices of the Catholic Church. In Westphalia the situation was particularly favorable for the pin nobility, because they not only occupied the supply points in the corresponding clerical states, but also ruled the estates there and held the decisive offices. The pin nobility therefore dominated the principality of Paderborn and Münster, both politically and socially . In these areas the pin needle made up 0.2% of the population, but owned 96% of the manors there.

A fundamental problem for every noble family was that, on the one hand, in view of the high child mortality rate, a large number of offspring was required to ensure the continuation of the sex. On the other hand, having a large number of children born afterwards meant high costs and there was a risk of material losses.

One strategy to counteract this was the inheritance of property to an heir - increasingly secured by the establishment of a family entailment commission . The sons who were born afterwards were mainly promoted to canons and similar offices. The advantage was that should the actual heir die, one of his brothers could, if necessary, renounce his spiritual office and take over the family property, provided that a higher degree of ordination had not yet been reached. However, improper connections inevitably led to the loss of the ability to write a pen. The compulsion to enter into marriages commensurate with one's status narrowed the marriage circle considerably.

The history of the Fürstenberg family , which came from the Duchy of Westphalia in Cologne , but provided numerous canons, particularly in Münster and Paderborn, but also in other areas, has been particularly well researched . In this way, this formerly low-nobility family even managed to produce several prince-bishops.

In southern Germany families like Thun , Schönborn and the princes of Fürstenberg belonged to the pin nobility.

The end of the old empire also meant the end of the pen nobility. But not only their traditions continued. The former pin nobility was able to assert itself in the 19th century. The Westphalian nobility managed to triple its comparatively small possessions by 1890.

literature

  • Rudolf Endres : Nobility in the Early Modern Age. Oldenbourg, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-486-55742-4 ( Encyclopedia of German History 18), pp. 36-37, 45, 98-100.
  • Heinz Reif : Nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries. Oldenbourg, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-486-55022-5 ( Encyclopedia of German History 55), p. 71.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Lagers: The Paderborn pin needle to the middle of the 15th century. Studies on the establishment and expansion of power structures of lower nobility . Paderborn 2013, ISBN 978-3-89710-551-5 , p. 235 f.
  2. ^ Andreas Müller: Between continuity and change. The nobility in the Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Vol. 1: The Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , p. 433 f.
  3. ↑ Wilderich von Droste zu Hülshoff : 900 years Droste zu Hülshoff . Verlag LPV Hortense von Gelmini, Horben 2018, ISBN 978-3-936509-16-8
  4. ↑ To prove the ability to use a pen on lwl.org
  5. ^ Müller: Nobility in the Duchy of Westphalia. P. 434
  6. ↑ Claus Fackler: Stiftsadel and spiritual territories 1670-1803. Investigations into the official activities and development of the nobility, especially in the territories of Salzburg, Bamberg and Ellwangen. St. Ottilien 2006, review by Dieter J. Weiß online version
  7. ↑ See Lagers: Der Paderborner Stiftsadel, p. 269 f.
  8. ^ Horst Conrad: Splendor Familiae. Generational discipline and politics in the von Fürstenberg family. A sketch. In: Südwestfalenarchiv , 6th year, 2006, pp. 105–125.