Widerad from Eppenstein

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Widerad von Eppenstein († 1075 ) was abbot of the imperial abbey of Fulda from 1060 to 1075 . He became known for his role in the Goslar rank dispute 1062/63.

Life

Abbot of Fulda

Widerad, who was paralyzed on one foot as a boy, was a monk in Fulda. He probably came from the aristocratic family who later named themselves after their castle of Eppstein . When the Fulda abbot Siegfried , who is said to have been his relative, became Archbishop of Mainz, he made sure that Widerad followed him in Fulda. Widerad's term of office was, however, not under a lucky star and was marked by disputes and conflicts of various kinds. Archbishop Siegfried probably expected his younger relative to be accommodating in his long-term goal of bringing the wealthy Fulda Abbey under the control of the Archbishopric of Mainz. Widerad, however, proved to be uncooperative in this regard, and that should cause him and the abbey considerable trouble. Bishop Adalbero von Würzburg also tried to expand his rights and possessions at the expense of the Fulda Abbey; He also raised the charge that Widerad had obtained papal consecration through simony and was therefore later banned . And within his monastery, Widerad's administration of office generated dissatisfaction, especially since, in the opinion of many monks, he gave monastic estates in excessive amounts as fiefs to nobles from the area.

Goslar competition of rank

The most famous event in Widerad's tenure as abbot was the so-called Goslar rank dispute at Christmas 1062 and Pentecost 1063, during which Archbishop Siegfried pulled the strings in the background, according to some. At a meeting in Goslar at Christmas 1062, about the purpose and character of which there are contradicting information, there was a dispute over the place of honor next to the archbishop during the Vespers service in the St. Simon and Judas monastery . Widerad claimed the place due to the alleged old law of his abbey, but Bishop Hezilo von Hildesheim , Mainz suffragan , in whose diocese Goslar was located, claimed the place for himself. The dispute, which led to a scuffle between the two entourage, was only ended with the energetic intervening of Otto von Northeim , Duke of Bavaria ; he decided the dispute in favor of the Abbot of Fulda. The dispute flared up again a few months later. At Pentecost 1063 there was a bloody new edition at a court day in the presence of the 13-year-old King Heinrich IV , again at the Vespers service in the Goslar collegiate church of St. Simon and Judas. Followers of the two opponents attacked each other in the church with swords, and there were several deaths - including the Fulda standard-bearer Count Reginbodo and his brother Sigebodo. With difficulty, Widerad, to whom the king put the main guilt at a hearing the next day, was able to buy himself free of the threat of impeachment through substantial gifts of money to the king, to Hezilo and to the Goslarer Stift.

Monk revolt

In doing so, he resorted to property of the Fulda convent, which plunged the monastery into a severe financial crisis and, when he reduced the expenses for food and drink, triggered an uprising against him by the monks. They had already become dissatisfied beforehand because, in their opinion, he gave monastic estates as fiefs in excessive ways . Widerad was able to appease the majority of the monks, but sixteen of them traveled to the king to complain about Widerad's access to the monastery property. However, the court viewed the behavior of the monks as an attack on the spiritual and secular order and had them brought back to Fulda under strict surveillance for punishment by the abbot. Some of them were whipped, some were shaved and expelled from the order, and some were distributed to other monasteries after being whipped.

Thuringian tithe dispute

Widerad, however, continued to be harassed by Archbishop Siegfried von Mainz, Bishop Adalbero von Würzburg and others, and it took several clear interventions by Pope Alexander II to dismiss charges from his opponents and to confirm the privileges of his abbey. For almost his entire term of office, however, he still had to defend himself against Archbishop Siegfried's claim to the Thuringian tithe . The two abbeys of Fulda and Hersfeld were primarily affected because of their important Thuringian possessions. Even a settlement concluded in 1069 through the mediation of the king in Mühlhausen / Thuringia did not bring the dispute to an end, and at the Erfurt court in 1073 the archbishop was awarded half of all Thuringian tithe of the abbey, which was a considerable and permanent reduction in income for Fulda meant.

death

After the start of the Saxon uprising in 1073, Widerad is said to have initially behaved neutrally. After the sacking of the Harzburg collegiate church and the desecration of the royal family crypt there in the spring of 1074, he joined Henry IV, like many princes and prelates, out of indignation. He is said to have traveled to the royal army near Breitenbach and Blankenheim in June 1075 . There he suffered a stroke, of which he died. Whether this already happened in the army camp or only after his return to Fulda is not clear, nor is the date of his death (July 16 or August 17, 1075).

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Goeßmann, p. 347
  2. ↑ So z. B. Dietrich Christoph von Rommel: History of Hessen, first part. Marburg / Kassel 1820, pp. 170–179
  3. ↑ Rommel, p. 179
  4. ^ Walther Ribbeck:  Widerad, Abbot of Fulda . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, p. 343 f.
  5. ↑ Goeßmann, p. 360
predecessor Office successor
Siegfried Abbot of Fulda
1060-1075 		Ruothart
personal data
SURNAME Widerad from Eppenstein
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Widerad from Fulda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Abbot of the Imperial Abbey of Fulda (1060-1075)
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH 1075