Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/701

 MUNSTER

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MUNSTER

Munster until the Reformation, which somewhat re- duced its size; what was left was retained until the secularization.

St. Ludger established his see as Mimegerneford and founded there a monaslciv, fnllcnving the rule of Bishop Chrodegang of INIclz, liislmii and clergy living in community. But the most im])iirtant monastery founded by St. Ludger was the Benedictine Abbey of Werden, which became a nursery for the clergy of the diocese. He also assisted in founding the convent of Nottuln, under his sister Heriburg. He was suc- ceeded in the administration of the diocese by two nephews, Gerfrid (809-39) and Altfrid (839-49), both of whom also presided over the monastery of Werden. The special connexion of Werden with the diocese ceased on the appointment of the next bishop, Luit- bert (849-71), who was not related to the family of the founder. There were even disputes between the bishop and the monastery, which the Synod of i\Iainz settled in favour of the latter, awarding it the right of freely electing its abbot. Bishop Wulfhelm (87.5-95) changed the collegiate body founded by Ludger into a cathedral chapter, with which he divided the property till then held in common, the bishop having thence- forth his special residence. Among the religious foun- dations of the diocese in the ninth century should be mentioned the monasteries for women at Liesborn (814), Vreden (about 839), Freckenliorst (before 857), and Metelen (before 889). The development of reli- gious and intellectual life was checked in the first part of the tenth century by political disquiet. Better days did not begin until the reign of Emperor Otto I (936- 73). Under Bishop Duodo (867-93), in 968, the abbey of Borghorst was founded for women ; the same bishop built a stone cathedral near the old wooden one. Hermann I (1032-42) founded the Abbey of Our Lady of Ueberwasser; Bishop Frederick I, Count of Wettin (1064-84), established the collegiate church of St. Moritz at Mtinster; Bishop Erpho (1085-97) built the church of St. Lambert. Both the two just named and Bishop Burchard of Holte (1098-1118) were partisans of the emperor in the investiture conflict. During the episcopate of Dietrich II, Count of Zutphen (1118-27), several Pra>monstratensian and Cistercian abbeys arose. Hermann II (1174-1203) founded collegiate churches for the canons of St. Ludger and St. Martin.

The twelfth century was marked by a considerable growth of the bishops' secular power. Bishop Ludwig

I, Count of Tecklenburg (1 169-73), restored to the see the temporal jurisdiction over its domains previously exercised by the Counts of Tecklenburg. Hermann

II, like his immediate predecessors, Frederick II, Count of Are (11.52-68), and Ludwig I, was a partisan of JVederick Barbarossa. With the overthrow of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, the last obstacle in the way of t he complete sovereignty of the bishops was removed, and Hermann appears as a great feudatory of the empire. During the episcopate of his second suc- cessor, Dietrich III of Lsenburg (1218-26), the posi- tion of the bishop as a prince of the empire was for- mally acknowledged in 1220by Frederick ll. Hermann II was the last bishop directly appointed by the em- peror. Dissensions arose about the election of his successor, Otto I, Count of Oldenburg (1204-18), and Emperor Otto IV decreed that thenceforward the cathe- dral chapter alone should elect the bishop. The See of Cologne retained the right of confirmation, and the emperor that of investiture. The bishop's temporal authority was limited in important matters, particu- larly in taxation, the consent of representative bodies of his subjects was necessary. Among these, the cathe- dral chapter appears early in the thirteenth century; later, the lower nobility, and, lastly, the city of Mtin- ster. In course of time the cathedral chapter extended its rights by agreements made with bishops before election.

The temporal power of the see increased greatly during the episcopate of Bishop Otto II, Count of Lippe (1247-59). The city, at the same time, strug- gled to become independent of the bishop, not, how- ever, with complete success, notwithstanding its alliance with the cathedral chapter. Even as early as the eleventh century the bishops all belonged to noble families, generally to those possessing lands in the neighbourhood ; only too often the diocese was admin- istered for the benefit rather of the bishop's family than of the Church. The bishops were, in conse- quence, frequently involved in the quarrels of the nobility; ecclesiastical affairs were neglected and the prosperity of the inhabitants of the prince-bishopric suffered. Conditions were at their worst during what is known as the Mtinster Diocesan Feud (1450-57). The arbitrary conduct of Bishop Henry ll of Mors (1424-50) had aroused a very bitter feeling in the city. After his death the majority of the cathedral chapter elected Walram of Mors, brother of Henry and also of the Archbishop of Cologne, while the city and a minor- ity of the chapter demanded the election of Eric of Hoya, brother of Count John of Hoya. Although the election of Walram was confirmed by the pope, open war for the possession of the see broke out, and Wal- ram was unable to gain possession of the city of Munster. In 1457, after his death, a compact was made by which Eric of Hoya received a life income, and the prvileges of the city were confirmed, while both parties recognized the new bishop appointed by the pope, John II, Count Palatine of Simmern (1457- 66). After order had been re-established, the ecclesi- astical reform of the diocese was taken seriously in hand. Bishop Henry III of Schwarzburg (1466-96), Conrad of Rietberg (1497-1508), and Eric of Saxe- Lauenburg (1508-22) produced excellent results by holding synods and reforming religious foundations. Rudolf of Langen and John Murmellius made the car thedral school a nursery of humanism.

Under the indolent and thoroughly worldly Fred- erick III (1522-32), brother of the Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann of Wied, Lutheranism spread rapidly after 1524, especially in the city. Scarcely any opposition to the innovation was made by the next bishop, Franz of Waldeck (1532-53), who from the first planned to aid the Reformation in his three dioceses of Mtinster, Minden, and Osnabriick, in or- der to form out of these three a secular principality for himself. He was obliged, indeed, for the sake of his endangered authority, to proceefl against the Ana- baptists in the city of Mtinster; but he did little for the restoration of the Faith, and at last joined the Smalkaldic League. WilUam of Ketteler (1553-57) was more Protestant than Catholic: although he re- garded himself as an administrator of the old Church, and took the Tridentine oath, he refused to comply with the demands of Rome, and resigned in 1557. Bernhard of Raesfeld (1557-66) was genuinely de- voted to the Catholic Faith, but he, too, finding him- self unequal to the difficulties of his position, resigned. John of Hoya (1566-74), a faithful Catholic, in order to reorganize ecclesiastical affairs, undertook a gen- eral visitation of the diocese in the years 1571-73. The visitation revealed shocking conditions among clergy and people, and showed to what extent the Ref- ormation had spread in the diocese under previous bishops. Not only were Protestant ideas predomi- nant in the northern part of the country, or "lower diocese", but the western part as well had been almost entirely lost to the Church. In the cities in other parts of the diocese, too, the Faith had suffered greatly.

The good this bishop accom[)lished was almost un- done after his death. His successor, John William of Cleves (1574-85), inherited the Duchy of Cleves in 1575, married, and gaveTrp the administration of the •diocese. A long diplomatic battle as to his successor arose between the Catholic and Protestant powers,