Wilhelm von Grumbach

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Wilhelm von Grumbach
Coat of arms of the von Grumbach family according to Siebmacher's book of arms
Not contemporary representation of Wilhelm von Grumbach

Wilhelm von Grumbach (born June 1, 1503 in Rimpar near Würzburg , † April 18, 1567 in Gotha ) was a Frankish imperial knight. He owned a large number of goods around Würzburg, including Grumbach Castle in Rimpar. It is best known for the so-called Grumbachian Handel in the last years of his life.

Family relationships

Wilhelm von Grumbach came from a line of the Franconian noble family Wolfskeel , which in this line initially called itself "Wolfskeel von Grumbach", but at the time of Wilhelm only called itself " von Grumbach ".

His parents were Conrad and Eva von Grumbach, geb. from Schwaigern. In 1523 he married Anna von Hutten, daughter of Hans von Hutten zu Frankenberg and Barbara, geb. from Wallenfels to Katschenreuth. The couple had 8 children:

  • Elisabeth, † 1544
  • Ursula, married 1541 with Kaspar Zöllner von Hallburg
  • Margarethe, married with Philipp Truchseß from Pommersfelden
  • Sophia, married with Carl von Grumbach zu Estenfeld
  • Barbara, married with Albrecht von Maßbach
  • Anna, † 1544
  • Amalia, married with Martin Sützel from Mergentheim zu Balbach
  • Conrad, Hochfürstlich Würzburg bailiff zu Karlstadt, † 1599, who was married successively to Barbara von Vellberg, Brigitta von Ehrenberg and Maria von Brempt and had six children:
    • Wilhelm, † 1603 (as the last of the line)
    • Martha, † 1577
    • Wolf, to Burggrumbach, † 1601
    • Agatha, † 1577
    • Brigitta, † 1571
    • Elisabetha, married with Christoph von Bastheim

Beginnings

Wilhelm von Grumbach enjoyed his upbringing at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg , Lorenz von Bibra . Wilhelm spent some time at the court of Margrave Kasimir von Brandenburg-Kulmbach in Bayreuth , for whom he fought in the German Peasants' War in 1524 and 1525 . Allegedly he used the troubled times to stab and rob Florian Geyer , who had also been in Margrave Kasimir's service until 1519, in the Gramschatzer Forest .

In 1540 he became friends with Albrecht Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach , whom he then served in times of peace and war. In 1552 he was governor on the mountain .

As a knight and landowner, he was a vassal of the prince-bishops of Würzburg. Wilhelm von Grumbach was held in high regard by Konrad III because of his courtly education and his services in the armed forces . von Bibra , who was Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1540 to 1544 and made him court marshal. Shortly before his death, the Prince-Bishop gave him 10,000 gold guilders as a gift without having obtained the approval of the cathedral chapter. When, after the death of Konrad Melchior, Zobel von Giebelstadt became Prince-Bishop, he demanded the money back from Wilhelm. He paid, but the harmonious relationship between lord and vassal was destroyed.

Wilhelm later achieved great services in the Schmalkaldic War on the side of the Protestants, where he mediated between the parties several times. After the peace agreement in Passau in 1552, Wilhelm von Grumbach accompanied Albrecht Alcibiades on his raids in Franconia during the Margrave War .

Feud against Prince-Bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt

The misunderstandings and demands between the Würzburg bishop and Wilhelm von Grumbach persisted until June 11, 1552. In gratitude for Wilhelm von Grumbach's services in the Schmalkaldic War, Bishop Melchior wanted to settle him with the Maidbronn monastery and six other villages ( Sulzwiesen, Erbshausen , Hausen , Bergtheim , Oberpleichfeld , Kürnach ) instead of cash . The value of this overwriting with all rights and the total income was about 80,000 guilders. Like all other possessions of Wilhelm von Grumbach, they were raised to hereditary property. On behalf of Albrecht Alcibiades, Wilhelm traveled to Passau with two other Albrecht confidants in order to obtain recognition of the contracts concluded between the Würzburg bishop and the city of Nuremberg. However, Margrave Albrecht was excluded from the Passau Treaty . Out of anger and disappointment, he continued his looting and devastation. As a result, Emperor Charles V declared all contracts invalid and asked the bishops to get their property back. Therefore, the transaction in favor of Wilhelm never took place. A related complaint by Wilhelm von Grumbach against the bishop was rejected by the Reichshofrat .

The bishop raised a counterclaim for the imposition of imperial ban on Wilhelm. Since the court had to serve the emperor and the empire and a judgment in favor of the bishop would have been an obvious injustice, it issued no judgment at all. But when Albrecht was given the imperial ban in July 1553 after his defeat in the Battle of Sievershausen and had to flee to France, Bishop Melchior confiscated Grumbach's property.

Wilhelm von Grumbach tried to get an order for the restitution of his possessions, especially the Gramschatzer Forest and the inheritance from the estate of Bishop Konrad, before the Reich Chamber of Commerce, but this was unsuccessful. Thereupon he left no stone unturned in seizing the Bishop of Würzburg. On April 15, 1558, Kretzer, Wilhelm's closest confidante, and his helpers disguised themselves as Frankfurt merchants and waited for the bishop at the Old Main Bridge , at that time the only river crossing. Wilhelm von Grumbach had made all the preparations, but was not personally present. The bishop rode down from the castle to get to the cathedral or to the government chancellery at the Kürschnerhof, which is right next door. The highwaymen waited for the bishop in the restaurant "Zum Rebstock" on Zeller Strasse. Around 10 o'clock the group came near the “Tellsteige” and was politely greeted by Kretzer and his people. However, Kretzer pulled a pistol or a rifle from under his coat and shot the bishop and two of his companions, the court lords Fuchs von Wonfurt and Carl von Wenkheim . Kretzer and his people escaped unrecognized. Since Wilhelm actually wanted to bring the bishop alive to his Rimpar castle in order to force a ransom, historians assume that the kidnapping was unsuccessful under the influence of alcohol. Since his assertion that he had nothing to do with the murderers was not believed, he too fled to France. The new Prince-Bishop Friedrich von Wirsberg took up the pursuit. Kretzer was captured on the French border in Schaumburg Castle in what was then Lorraine, confessed to the act in 1558, but hanged himself before he could be tried.

Today, the so-called "sable columns" on the footpath from the bridge to the castle are a reminder of the terrible events.

Wilhelm von Grumbach and the Duke of Saxony

Even before Wilhelm appeared before the Reich Chamber of Commerce, he was looking for a new ally. He found this in Duke Johann Friedrich II. The Middle of Saxony, whose father had lost part of his lands and the electoral dignity in the Schmalkaldic War . Wilhelm von Grumbach offered the duke the prospect of regaining his electoral dignity and mediated his courtship for Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate .

After his return from France in 1559 he pleaded unsuccessfully to the Reichstag in Augsburg for his innocence. At that time, Wilhelm stayed mostly in his son's castle in Hellingen . There he discovered his later, somewhat strange helper, the "angel seer" Hannes Tausendschön, a farmer's son from Sundhausen near Gotha . He claimed to be in constant spiritual contact with angels who announced the future to him. With the help of this child and the court clerk at the Duke of Gotha, Wilhelm von Grumbach managed to convince the Duke that it was God's advice to let him regain the electoral dignity lost in the battle of Mühlberg on the Elbe without any fighting. He also announced the resurgence of German chivalry and the installation of Johann Friedrich as King of Denmark.

With the support of the Duke and the Angel Seer, Wilhelm was able to carry out a successful coup against Würzburg in 1563. The cathedral chapter had left the city because of an epidemic. For several days Wilhelm von Grumbach was the almighty lord of Würzburg and the diocese , which he plundered, in place of the bishop who had fled . On October 4, 1563, the city was handed over to him. For the release of Würzburg, he dictated harsh conditions to Prince-Bishop Friedrich von Wirsberg, which included the return of his lands.

First imperial ban

By Wilhelm's attack on Würzburg, not only the bishop but also the emperor felt humiliated, and he rejected the validity of the treaty because it had been enforced militarily. On November 6, 1563, he declared Wilhelm von Grumbach and his friends von Stein and von Mandelslohe in the eight . He also forbade Duke Johann Friedrich to take in the outlaws. The following Reichsdeputationstag in Worms approved this ban.

Grumbachian Handel

With the decision of Emperor Maximilian II to have the matter decided by the next Reichstag, Wilhelm von Grumbach gained two years. Wilhelm used these two years by stirring up political schemes between the European rulers and preparing a general rebellion. This was imminent in the spring of 1565. The only reason that it did not take place was that Wilhelm von Grumbach could not raise the necessary money. In a U-turn, he tried a grandiose move to win the emperor for himself. Through the younger Justus Jonas , Philipp von Farnroda and Baumgärtner, he had the emperor explain in writing and orally that the knightly revolt was directed not against him but against the princes, that he had taken up a thought of Charles V and that the knighthood became the emperor Offer to fight the Turks . Despite a two-hour audience with Husanus from Eisenach, the emperor stuck to his decision to have a decision brought about by the Reichstag.

This conference took place in March 1566 in Augsburg . Here Wilhelm became a political pawn in the dispute between the Lutheran - Calvinist party and the Catholic one . Elector August von Sachsen led the Protestant camp with superior diplomacy and also convinced Johann Friedrich's father-in-law, Friedrich von der Pfalz and all Protestant princes not to let the Grumbach case become an obstacle to the emperor's concessions on the religious question. The Gotha councilors Husanus and Obernitz saw through the situation and tried in vain to bring about an immediate separation from Wilhelm von Grumbach and the outlaws for the duke.

Eighth declaration of Emperor Maximilian II against Wilhelm von Grumbach on May 13, 1566

On May 7th, the Reichstag passed the unanimous resolution on the renewal and enforcement of the eight against all those involved for breach of the peace . Elector August von Sachsen was commissioned with the execution and the necessary funds were made available from the Reich treasury. At the same time, an embassy traveled to Duke Johann Friedrich's court to ask him to dismiss the outlaws.

Johann Friedrich, however, ignored all warnings from his friends and relatives. He received the embassy very kindly, entertained them properly and explained to them in response to the Reichstag and the Kaiser that Wilhelm had called off the aristocratic revolt just for his sake and that he was unable to arrest him and his friends or expel them from the country.

After this open affront against Reich and Kaiser, the violent enforcement of the Eight had to be expected. The Duke and Wilhelm von Grumbach were in good spirits in Gotha and did not believe in military intervention. It was only when August of Saxony gathered troops in Erfurt and Johann Friedrich was asked by three imperial commissioners for the last time to hand over Wilhelm and his helpers that he believed in a military conflict and gathered his troops around Gotha. However, the Gotha nobility did not participate, and therefore its military presence was limited.

When August of Saxony , a bitter enemy of Johann Friedrich, appeared before Gotha, he limited himself to the siege of the city and Grimmenstein Castle . Overall, the war was waged rather listlessly on both sides. There were occasional failures by Gothaer, which were mostly quite favorable for them and hardly caused any major losses on either side, but otherwise there were no major disputes.

August had chosen a different tactic: he relied on ideological warfare. Incitatory and warning texts were smuggled into the city in abundance and distributed to the defenders and the population. They showed their effect after a relatively short time. The citizens refused to obey the duke at a general roll call in the courtyard if he did not part with Wilhelm immediately, and took the knight out.

On December 12, 1566, Duke Friedrich was decreed eight.

death

On December 30, 1566, August advanced with 4,600 riders and 5,000 infantry against Gotha. The staff initially quartered in Goldbach , but moved to neighboring Remstädt after a fire that destroyed Goldbach . August had the city bombarded until it surrendered on April 11, 1567.

Duke Johann Friedrich tried to defend Wilhelm von Grumbach, but this did not help much. Wilhelm's helpers, Chancellor Christian Brück , the angel seer Hannes Tausendschön, Wilhelm von Stein and a few others were also arrested.

The city gates were opened to Elector August on April 14, 1567, and he moved into Gotha. The destruction in the city, the lack of water and food and the damage to the mills and farms in the city, as well as illnesses led to great dissatisfaction among the population. Due to the surrender, August only asked the city to pay homage . The outlaws were brought to trial immediately .

In the “ Notarial instrument containing the trial files against Grumbach and his fellow prisoners, dated April 22, 1567”, which is in the Saxon Main State Archive Dresden, Secret Archive Loc. 4414/2, Bl. 155 - 193 have been preserved as originals, the indictments on the execution sentences from Gotha for Wilhelm von Grumbach and his followers are included.

Elector August, thaler on the capture of Gotha (1567)

Wilhelm von Grumbach, Chancellor Christian Brück and Wilhelm von Stein were quartered on April 18, 1567 on the market square in Gotha . (The place of her execution is still marked today by a plaster made of “Tambacher Rotliegends” in the pavement on the south side of the town hall, the renovation of which was initiated by the relatives of Chancellor Brück in April 1997 on the occasion of the 430th anniversary of the execution). Wilhelm and Brück had their chests opened beforehand, their hearts torn from their bodies and punched in the face, while the executioner called out to him: "See Grumbach, your false heart". Stone received the grace to be judged with the sword before being quartered. The angel seer Hannes Tausendschön was hanged. The rest of the outlaws were judged with the sword . The body parts of the quartered were hung on twelve poles in front of the gates of Gotha. The sword of atonement is now being kept by the Lower Monument Authority in Würzburg and was on loan for a short time in Grumbach Castle in Rimpar. Until 2002, the sword was owned by the Barons Zobel von Giebelstadt, the descendants of Prince-Bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt . The ax with which Wilhelm von Grumbach was quartered has also been preserved.

Grimmenstein Castle was razed . In 1567, Elector August left a thaler in his mint in Dresden for the capture of Gotha (1567) with a demonstratively large Kurschild and the Latin inscription: “Finally the good thing wins” and the inscription on the reverse: “When the city of Gotha was taken in 1567 , the punishment was carried out on the outlawed besieged enemies of the empire and the rest were put to flight, August, Duke of Saxony and Elector, had (this coin) made. "(Translation from HAUPT)

Duke Johann Friedrich came first to Dresden , later to Vienna , where he was driven around in an open car in pouring rain to amuse the crowd. He was then imprisoned in the imperial prison in the castle in Wiener Neustadt for 22 years . His wife Elisabeth stood by his side until her death in 1594. Then he came to Steyr , where he died completely lonely on May 9, 1595 at the age of 66.

On the hill on the outskirts of Gotha at that time, where Grimmenstein Castle once stood, is now Friedenstein Castle , which Ernst the Pious , a grandson of the brother of Johann Friedrich II the Middle, had built as a residence for his duchy established in 1640. On October 26, 1643, the foundation stone for the new castle was laid on the site of the old Grimmenstein fortress, which was destroyed in 1567.

Wilhelm von Grumbach's widow died in 1572, while Conrad von Grumbach, the only son from this marriage, was reconciled with the Würzburg monastery, concluded an alchemical contract with Julius Echter in 1593 as a “gold maker” and received some of the goods confiscated in 1566 back. In 1603 the von Grumbach family died out, as Wilhelm's grandchildren remained childless. The Grumbach property fell back to the Würzburg monastery.

reception

In Gotha, memories of Wilhelm von Grumbach and his end have been preserved in two popular legends to this day.

The one from Grumbachskopf and Mohrengesicht reports on the alleged escape of Wilhelm from Grimmenstein Castle and the betrayal of his hiding place in the city by a servant (a Moor). The gold-plated head (commonly known as the Grumbach's head ) attached to the north side of the Gotha town hall above the clock is said to have been placed there in memory of the beheaded knight. A mechanical peculiarity of the head is the movable lower jaw, which folds down every full hour when the town hall clock strikes.

The second tradition, entitled Grumbach's bones , describes the secret removal of the dismembered remains of the executed man from the poles in front of the city gates and their whereabouts in a simple wooden box in the crypt under the castle church of Friedenstein . However, the legend does not explain how the remains of Wilhelm were supposed to have come to the princely crypt , which was only established in 1679, over 100 years after his death , and where they had remained in the meantime. The tradition, which has long been believed to be true in the vernacular, was unequivocally refuted years ago by an examination of the crypt.

References

literature

swell

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm von Grumbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Anecdote from the private life of Wilhelm von Grumbach  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jost Weyer: Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn and Count Wolfgang II. Von Hohenlohe. Their correspondence and their position on alchemy. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 13, 1995, pp. 253-266; here: p. 255 f.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Dieter Schnabel: Ritter Wilhelm von Grumbach , URANIA Kultur- und Bildungsverein Gotha eV, 2012
  3. ↑ Mainpost of September 13, 2002; S. A 3rd Mainpost of September 14, 2002; S. B 1.
  4. ↑ Fig. In the report by Bayerischer Rundfunk on the Bavarian state exhibition "Knights, Farmers, Lutherans" in Coburg 2017.
  5. ^ Walter Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde , Berlin 1974, pp. 275 and 279
  6. ^ Jost Weyer : Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn and Count Wolfgang II. Von Hohenlohe. Their correspondence and their position on alchemy. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 13, 1995, pp. 253-266; here: pp. 255–259.
  7. ^ Andreas M. Cramer, Die Gothaer Sagen , Gotha 2005, p. 38
  8. ↑ Grumbachskopf and Mohrengesicht on www.echt-gothsch.de
  9. ^ Andreas M. Cramer, Die Gothaer Sagen , Gotha 2005, p. 40
  10. ↑ Grumbach's remains at www.echt-gothsch.de

Remarks

  1. ↑ This statement casts Schnabel doubts and considers the later upbringing of Wilhelm at the court of Kasimir and Georg von " Ansbach-Bayreuth " (better: Principality of Bayreuth ) to be safer.
  2. ↑ According to Schnabel, this statement can no longer be substantiated today.
personal data
SURNAME Grumbach, Wilhelm von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Knights and adventurers
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1503
PLACE OF BIRTH Rimpar near Würzburg
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 1567
Place of death Gotha