Wilhelm II of Diest

Wilhelm II of Diest (Molsheim, Alsace)

Wilhelm II. Von Diest or "Wilhelm von Utrecht" († October 6, 1439 ) was first Elect from 1393 to 1439 , then Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg with the assistance of Auxiliary Bishop Hugo, Bishop of Nicopolis, under the rule of Kings Wenzel , Ruprecht , Sigismund and Albrecht II. He experienced the numerous consecutive pontificate of Boniface IX. , Innocent VII. , Gregory XII. , Martin V. and Eugen IV. As Elekt von Strasburg he was under the patronage of the Mainz Metropolitan Konrad II. Von Weinsberg , Gottfried von Leiningen , Johann II. Von Nassau , Konrad III. by Dhaun and Dietrich Schenk von Erbach .

Origin and family

In some sources he is called Wilhelm von Diesch . This is how his name is written in the epitaph in the Jesuit church (formerly in the hospital church) of Molsheim . This is what it is usually called in the Alsatian region, which may be due to the southwest German pronunciation of / S / as / SCH /. He came from the Brabant aristocratic Diest family .

Live and act

A non-consecrated Elect

On July 7, 1393, he was elected bishop against the competitor Burkhard II von Lützelstein and held this position until autumn 1439, although he had not been ordained a priest. Wilhelm solemnly took office on November 14, 1394. In terms of status, he was by source electus non consecratus : he was an elected but not a consecrated bishop. He lacked the ordination that would enable him to consecrate the true body of Jesus and to ordain priests . By papal mission he received the so-called "jurisdiction" that is, the power to his diocese or bishopric to manage. He was only allowed to give the priests the mission, but he was still not allowed to ordain them.

Wilhelm illustrates a practice that was widespread at the time in favor of the noble and patrician families who held ruling positions in numerous principalities and lordships: dioceses were sometimes reserved for their children shortly after their birth and were administered by a secular governor until they reached the age of majority, and spiritually, liturgically and by an auxiliary bishop pastorally administered. In the case of Wilhelm, it was the bishop of Nicopolis, Hugo. It is not uncommon for those bishops who received their episcopal dignity from childhood to step back into the secular class in order to marry or, as the only surviving descendants, to ensure the continuation of the sex. Since they had not been ordained a priest, it was legally a formality.

This did not apply to Wilhelm von Diest: he was finally ordained a priest in 1417 and a bishop in 1420, 27 years after he had been appointed.

Episcopate and political decisions

Due to his spending policy, Wilhelm incurred the displeasure of the Strasbourg citizens, mainly because he also gave spiritual benefices to secular masters. In 1401, for example, he pledged the monastery and town of Ettenheim to the town of Strasbourg, which provided the town fortifications with a second ring of walls.

In 1415 it was arrested by the citizens of Strasbourg for its waste. He sued the Council Court in Constance against it. The city of Strasbourg was represented by the Merseburg bishop Nikolaus Lubich . Among other things, because of the allegations of bribery raised against him, Wilhelm von Diest was acquitted and the citizens asked to reconcile with the bishop. The disputes between the bishop and the city continued to flare up and finally culminated in the Episcopal War from 1428 to 1429, which was fought primarily in Hanauerland .

Wilhelm II is considered to be the builder of the old episcopal palace in Saverne .

literature

• Hans Witte:  Wilhelm II of Diest . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 203-205.

See also

• Dachstein War

Web links

Wikisource: Excerpt from Zimmer's chronicle  - sources and full texts

• Jakob Wimpheling : Catalogvs Episcoporum Argentinensium ad sesquiseculum desideratus . Strasbourg 1651

Individual evidence

1. ^ Louis Gabriel Gloeckler: History of the diocese of Strasbourg. Verlag XH Le Roux, Strasbourg 1879, p. 319: " Anno Domini millesimo quadragintesimo tricesimo Nono, Pridie nonas Octrobris obiit Venerandus Pater Dominus Guillelmus de Diesch, Episcopus Argentinensis ", reference to the author at IDREF
2. ↑ Stèle de l'évêque Guillaume de Diest, Molsheim. (No longer available online.) Fr.topic-topos.com, archived from the original on August 28, 2016 ; accessed on August 28, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Glöckler p. 307.