Wolf helmet

Bronze figure of Bishop Wolfhelm in front of the Vitus Church in Olfen.

Wolfhelm († July 7 to 898 / 899 ) was from before 882 until his death in the sixth Bishop of Munster .

Life

Its origin is not clear. It is partly attributed to the Otton family . Wilhelm Kohl assumes, however, that he belonged to the Esikonen's environment . He had inheritance in Olfen .

It is known that an East Franconian king appointed him bishop. A legendary chronicle reports on this. It is to be assumed that it was Ludwig the Younger . This was related by marriage to the Esikonen. The appointment must then have been made before the king's death in January 882.

His time was marked by the Norman invasions . The Frisian part of the diocese was even occupied by Normans. Wolfhelm was first mentioned as a bishop at a provincial synod in Cologne in 887. Within the diocese, there were disputes between noble families. Relations between the bishop and the cathedral chapter also deteriorated . His own possession, Olfen, played an important role in this. In this context, the king sent Wolfhelm to Rome to see the Pope.

He returned with valuable relics. A legend reports that the sanctuaries prevented the city of Worms from being destroyed by fire on the bishop's return . In Aachen the bishop handed the relics over to the king. He was allowed to keep some of them. The bishop had the Clement Chapel built next to the cathedral in Münster as an episcopal oratory and burial place. This indicates a stronger separation from the cathedral chapter. Wolfhelm probably did not take part in the synod in Mainz 887.

Due to a serious illness in 888/889, with the consent of his brothers, he transferred his Olfen estate with thirty hooves to the Münster church in the event of his death. In the event of his recovery, he reserved the right to change the decision. Witnesses in the Vitus Church in Olfen were a number of counts. In fact, after his recovery, Wolfhelm transferred the property to Werden monastery . He received permission for this from King Arnulf of Carinthia in 889 in Frankfurt. The Münster clergy also agreed. Later on, Olfen came into possession of the Münster cathedral chapter through an unknown route. There is no evidence of an assumed royal immunity privilege for the diocese.

In recent years in particular, the bishop has been preoccupied with foreign affairs. In 890 he took part in the synod in Forchheim . Among other things, he was a witness when Provence was handed over to Boso's son Ludwig. In the dispute with Bishop Egilmar of Osnabrück over royal privileges in favor of the Corvey Monastery and Herford Monastery , he was one of the judges and, like Arnulf, left the decision to the Liudolfingers . In the dispute between Archbishop Hermann of Cologne and Pope Stephan about the separation of the Diocese of Bremen from the Cologne Church Province, Wolfhelm was called to Rome with other bishops belonging to Cologne. Before that could happen, the Pope died. Subsequently, Wolfhelm also emphasized Bremen's affiliation with Cologne. It is uncertain whether he was present at the Synod in Tribur in 895 . He is not mentioned as a participant.

The exact date of his death is also not known, but results from a mention in the Merseburg Necrolog. Only the date of his death is certain. Since his successor was probably installed in 898/899, this indicates the year of death. He was probably buried in the Clement Chapel.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Wilhelm Kohl: The diocese of Münster. The Diocese 3. Berlin, New York, 2003 p. 40
2. ^ Wilhelm Kohl: The diocese of Münster. The Diocese 3. Berlin, New York, 2003 p. 41

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl: The diocese of Münster. The Diocese 3. Berlin, New York, 2003 (Germania Sacra NF 7.3) pp. 40–44
• Gerd Althoff : Noble and royal families in the mirror of their memorial tradition. Studies on the commemoration of the dead of the Billunger and Ottonians. Wilhelm Fink, Munich 1984, pp. 190,309 B 74.

predecessor	Office	successor
Berthold	Bishop of Münster before 882–899	Nidhard