Wilhelm Molitor

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Cathedral Chapter Wilhelm Molitor, Speyer, around 1860. Private photo in the possession of the author.
Wilhelm Molitor as a student, drawing by Adolph Grotefend (1812–1847), Munich, around 1840
Schraudolph fresco from the north transept of the Speyer Cathedral: "St. Bernhard hands over the cross banner to King Konrad III." The kneeling king has the features of the cathedral capitular Molitor, who was friends with the artist and who took an active part in the painting of the cathedral.
Birth of Christ, left wing of the Boßweiler Altar , discovered by Wilhelm Molitor in 1860 , from the circle of Martin Schongauer , approx. 1485; formerly cathedral, now St. Ludwig, Speyer

Wilhelm Molitor (actually Georg Wilhelm Molitor, writer pseudonyms Benno Bronner and Ulrich Riesler) (born August 24, 1819 in Zweibrücken , † January 11, 1880 in Speyer ) was an administrative officer, writer or poet and cathedral chapter in Speyer.

Life

Youth and civil service career

Wilhelm Molitor was born the son of the appellate judge Joseph Alois Molitor and his wife Aloysia geb. Mayer from Mainz . The later chief judge, composer and local historian Ludwig Alois Molitor (1817–1890) was his only brother.

He went to school in Zweibrücken , graduated from grammar school with an excellent grade and studied philosophy and law in Munich and Heidelberg . He passed both legal exams and entered the Bavarian civil service as a civil servant. From 1843 he worked for the district government in Speyer . In 1846 he became government secretary. In 1849 the revolutionary government of the Palatinate asked him to take an oath or to resign. Molitor took his leave and went to his company sponsor Archbishop (later Cardinal) Johannes von Geissel in Cologne , who advised him to study theology in Bonn . The man from Palatinate studied there for three semesters, then again in Munich and Heidelberg. He then entered the Speyer seminary and was ordained a priest on July 31, 1851 by Bishop Nikolaus von Weis .

Act as a clergyman

Wilhelm Molitor initially served as a chaplain in Schifferstadt . In 1851 he was appointed as cathedral vicar (bishop secretary) and episcopal house chaplain to Speyer. Finally he advanced to a clerical council and was elected to the Speyer cathedral chapter on November 11, 1857 . Molitor was the "right hand man" of Bishop Weis and lived with him in the bishop's house until his death in 1869. In the diocese administration, the cathedral capitular, as a lawyer, primarily had to deal with questions of canon law, but also questions of art history. He also taught art history and spiritual eloquence at the seminary. In his function as episcopal secretary, Molitor accompanied the Speyer shepherd on his confirmation, visitation and other trips. He also took part in the Bishops' Conferences and made friends with, among others, Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler of Mainz and the Archbishop of Munich and later Curia Cardinal Karl August von Reisach , who finally caught the attention of Pope Pius IX. steered towards him. The latter awarded him a doctorate in theology in 1864 and appointed the Speyer cathedral capitular in 1868 and 1869 to do preparatory work for the Vatican Council in Rome. He participated in this until it was abandoned prematurely as a result of the war in 1870. In addition to pastoral care, Molitor worked after his return also in the care of the Catholic journeyman's association Speyer and also founded a Catholic. Reading society in which literary lectures were given. Bedridden since Easter 1879, the priest died on January 11, 1880 in Speyer and was buried with great solemnity in the cathedral chapter cemetery.

Other work

From 1875, Molitor worked for the Neustadt an der Saale district as a member of the Bavarian state parliament for two years , but resigned because politics was not his profession. As a writer and local poet, he developed a very fruitful activity. Under the pseudonyms Benno Bronner and Ulrich Riesler , but also under his real name, he wrote numerous local history, church history, theological and art history works, but also dramas, poems and songs, etc. a. the local novel The beautiful Zweibrücker and an anniversary book about Pope Pius IX. On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral in 1861, Molitor composed the well-known Marian song "O Queen full of glory" , which is very common in the diocese, has now almost the character of a folk song and is also included in the Speyer edition of the Catholic hymn book "Gotteslob" is recorded (song No. 891). The painting of the imperial cathedral with historical frescoes also met with great interest and approval. The painter who carried out the work, Johann Schraudolph, immortalized Molitor on a monumental fresco of the north transept (removed in 1960) King Konrad III. (HRR) receives the cross banner from St. Bernhard von Clairvaux . King Konrad wears Molitor's facial features there. Finally, in 1860, during a visitation trip with his bishop, Wilhelm Molitor discovered several medieval painted wooden panels behind the high altar in the ancient church of Boßweiler in North Palatinate (near Grünstadt), which were considered rubbish there. He immediately recognized parts of an extremely valuable winged altar , which was put back together and restored. It went down in art history under the name Boßweiler Altar and is today one of the most important sights in Speyer. At his funeral in 1862, he gave the funeral oration, which was later published in print, to Priest Paul Josef Nardini , who was beatified in 2006 .

  • Grave of Wilhelm Molitor (original figure missing) in the cathedral chapter cemetery in Speyer

  • Epitaph

Works (selection)

  • The beautiful Zweibrücker. Ritter, Zweibrücken 1844. ( digitized version )
  • The maiden jump. Dramatic study in five acts based on a folk tale from the Vosges. Blumenauer, Zweibrücken 1845. ( digitized version )
  • Cathedral songs. Songs and romances from the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer. Wappler, Speyer 1846. ( digitized version )
  • The immunity of the Speyer Cathedral. A legal historical monograph. Kirchheim, Mainz 1859. ( digitized version )
  • Emmanuel, a dramatic celebratory poem for the eighth secular celebration of the Speyer cathedral consecration. Krantzbühler, Speyer 1861. ( digitized version )
  • The old German craft. Dramatic painting from the patriotic prehistory. Kirchheim, Mainz 1864. ( digitized version )
  • Ceremonial poem for the laying of the foundation stone for the continuation of the Cologne Cathedral. From the estate of the most blessed Archbishop of Cologne Johannes Cardinal von Geissel. Along with an outline of life and the image of the eternal. Bachem, Köon 1865. ( digitized version )
  • Nero's released. A dramatic poem. Kirchheim, Mainz 1865. ( digitized version )
  • Julian the apostate. A dramatic poem. Kirchheim, Mainz 1865. ( digitized version )
  • The theater in its meaning and in its present position. Hamacher, Frankfurt am Main 1866. ( digitized version )
  • The great power of the press. Pustet, Regensburg and New-York 1866. ( digitized version )
  • The organization of the Catholic daily press. Kleeberger, Speyer 1867. ( digitized version )
  • Christmas dream. A festival. Kirchheim, Mainz 1867. ( digitized version )
  • About Göthe's Faust. Kirchheim, Mainz 1869. ( digitized version )
  • Rome. A guide through the Eternal City and the Roman Campagna. Pustet, Regensburg, New York and Cincinnati 1870. ( digitized )
  • Mary Magdalene. Kirchheim, Mainz 1873. ( digitized version )
  • Lord of Syllabus. Criminal novella from the nineteenth century. 1873.
  • Book of Pius, Pope Pius IX. in his life and work. Kirchheim, Mainz 1873. ( digitized version )
  • Cardinal Reisach. Wörl, Würzburg 1874. ( digitized version )
  • Burning questions. Kirchheim, Mainz 1874. ( digitized version )
  • The emperor's favorite. Tragedy from the time of the martyrs in five acts. Heidelmann, Bonn 1874. ( digitized version )
  • The chaplain of Friedlingen. A didactic novella. Kirchheim, Mainz 1877.
  • Dramatic games. Kirchheim, Mainz 1878. ( digitized version )
  • The flower of Sicily. Dramatic legend in 5 acts. Kirchheim, Mainz 1880.

literature

  • Franz Brümmer :  Molitor, Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 52, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906, pp. 438-440.
  • Joseph Schwind : Dr. Wilhelm Molitor (1819–1880) in his life and work. After a lecture on his 100th birthday. Pfälzer Volksbote, Kaiserslautern 1920.
  • Jakob Bisson : Seven Speyer bishops and their time. 1870 to 1950. Contributions to the local church history. Pilger-Verlag, Speyer 1956.
  • Viktor Carl: Lexicon of Palatinate personalities. Hennig, Edenkoben 1998.
  • Bernhard Adamy: “A whole person”: Wilhelm Molitor (1819–1880). Jurist - theologian - man of letters, the poet of the “cathedral songs” . In: Herbert Pohl (Ed.): Habent sua fata libelli ...: Facets of a library history . Pilgerverlag, Annweiler 2015, pp. 89–122
  • Bernhard Adamy: Wilhelm Molitor: Cathedral songs (= writings of the Diocesan Archives Speyer , Volume 52). Peregrinus Verlag, Speyer, 4th expanded and annotated edition 2017.
  • Bernhard Adamy: "A huge poem from the old days". The Speyer Cathedral. The poetry of the cathedral and the cathedral poetry. On Wilhelm Molitor's "Domliedern" and on cathedral poems by other poets. In: Adamy: Domlieder 4th ed., S. o., pp. 197-242
  • Peter Pistorius: Georg Wilhelm Molitor (1819–1880). Canon, poet and prelate in Speyer and Rome . In: Ders .: I remember you, Josefine. Records from the real life of the Auracher and Molitor families . Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-86460-696-0 , pp. 325ff.
  • Bernhard Adamy: On the 200th birthday of the Speyer Cathedral Chapter Wilhelm Molitor (1819–1880). In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History 71 (2019), pp. 371–411.
  • Bernhard Adamy: Great spirits in the haunted castle. Wilhelm Molitor and Stift Neuburg. In: Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung 24/25 August 2019
  • Bernhard Adamy: Wilhelm Molitor or the beautiful soul of the bellicose church. Speyer 2020, ISBN 978-3-946777-00-7

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Molitor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Xaver Remling : History of the Bishops of Speyer , Volume 1, P. 27, Mainz, 1852; (Digital scan)
personal data
SURNAME Molitor, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Molitor, Georg Wilhelm; Bronner, Benno (pseudonym); Riesler, Ulrich (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German administrative officer, writer, cathedral chapter in Speyer and politician, MdL
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Zweibrücken , Palatinate
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1880
Place of death Speyer