Wilhelm von Vercelli

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Wilhelm von Vercelli in a painting by Bernardino Zenale , around 1490; Uffizi Gallery

Wilhelm von Vercelli , also Wilhelm von Montevergine (* around 1085 in Vercelli , † June 24, 1142 in San Salvatore di Goleto ) was a hermit and founder of the order. His cult as a saint was confirmed in 1785, and his remains have been in Montevergine since 1807 . He is from Pius XII. has been declared the patron saint of Irpinia .

After returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , Wilhelm planned to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as well. In southern Italy, however, he turned to the hermit life and no longer continued the pilgrimage. He was influenced by Johannes von Matera , founder of the Benedictine Congregation of Pulsano , with whom he later lived for some time on Monte Laceno near Bagnoli Irpino . Before 1125/1126 Wilhelm founded a hospice on the Montevergine near Avellino , where a community of hermits and penitents developed. This included men and women, laypeople and priests who, according to Wilhelm's rules, earned their livelihood by doing their own work, observing the daily prayers and doing charity for the poor. The priests who belonged to the community prevailed with the argument that their task was the worship, the building of a church on the mountain and the procurement of liturgical books and vestments . Since Wilhelm's ascetic claim and the ideas of the priests constantly led to tension, Wilhelm left Montevergine between 1128 and 1129, initially accompanied by five confreres who, however, were unable to cope with the strict hermit life that Wilhelm wanted to lead and withdrew again. Wilhelm continued his hermit life in various places. Between 1133 and 1134 he founded the later San Salvatore al Goleto on Ofanto near Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi , originally conceived as a double monastery, but then mostly settled by nuns. Wilhelm died on the night of June 24th as a result of an illness. He was buried in Goleto, where he remained until the translation in 1807.

The main source for his life is the Legenda de vita et obitu sancti Guilielmi (legend of the life and death of St. Wilhelm), which was probably not written down until the end of the 12th century and is preserved in a manuscript from the 13th century, which is in the archive from Montevergine is located. The vita constructs a relationship with King Roger II of Sicily, the historiography of the 17th century made it a longer stay at the court of Palermo. The Rogers diplomas for Wilhelm and Montevergine are just as forgeries as the documents in the name of Wilhelm II.

The influence of Wilhelm on the establishment of San Giovanni degli Eremiti by Roger II in Palermo is also fictitious , even if the Legenda tries to establish a reference, although it at least admits that the process did not take place until after Wilhelm's death.

literature

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ There are no direct sources for an origin from Vercelli, but the medieval sources use this place name to identify the person. The year of his birth is also uncertain.
  2. ↑ Today Abbazia San Guglielmo al Goleto
  3. ^ Carlrichard Brühl : Documents and Chancellery of King Rogers II of Sicily, Cologne Vienna 1978, pp. 177–186. Wilhelm was no longer in Montevergine in 1137 and 1140.
  4. ↑ Horst Enzensberger : I privilegi normanno - svevi a favore della "congregazione" Verginiana , in: La società meridionale nelle pergamene di Montevergine: i Normanni chiamano gli Svevi (Atti del secondo Convegno Internazionale, 12-15 ottobre 1987), Montevergine 71-89.
  5. ↑ Critically already Lynn Townsend White : Latin Monasticism in Norman Sicily , Cambridge (Massachusetts), Mediaeval Academy of America, 1938, pp. 124–126; most recently Carlrichard Brühl: Diplomi e cancelleria di Ruggero II . Palermo 1983, pp. 171-177.


personal data
SURNAME Wilhelm von Vercelli
ALTERNATIVE NAMES William of Montevergine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Order founder and saint
DATE OF BIRTH around 1085
PLACE OF BIRTH Vercelli
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1142
Place of death San Salvatore di Goleto