Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/96

 AUGSBURG

AUGSBURG

vated many churches and monasteries laid waste in the wars of the Franks and Bavarians, and during the incui-sions of the Avari; he built the first cathe- dral of Augsburg in honour of the Most Blessed Virgin; and obtained from the Emperor Charlemagne an exact definition of Ids diocesan limits. His ju- risdiction extended at that time from the lUer east- ward over the Lech, north of the Danube to the Alb, and south to the spurs of the Alps. Moreover, va- rious estates and villages in the \allej' of the Danube, and in the TjtoI, belonged to the diocese. Among the bishops of the following period a certain number are especially prominent, either on account of the offices they filled in the Empire, or for their personal qualifications; thus Witgar (8S7-S7), Chancellor and .A.rchchaplain of Louis the German; Adalbero (887 -910), of the line of the Counts of DiUingen, confi- dant and friend of Emperor Arnulf, who entrusted Adalbero with the education of his son, the German King Louis the Child, distinguished for generosity to the monasteries. The See of Augsburg reached the period of its greatest splendour under St. Ulrich (923-973); he raised the standard of training and disciphne among the clergy by the reformation of existing schools arid the establishment of new ones, and by canonical visitations and synods; he provided for the poor, and rebuilt decayed churches and mon- asteries. During the incursion of the Hungarians and the siege of Augsburg (955), he sustained the courage of the citizens, compelled the Hungarians to withdraw, and contributed much to the decisive vic- torj- on the Lechfeld (955). He built churches in hon- our of St. Afra and St. John, founded the nionasterj' of St. Stephen for Benedictine nuns, and undertook three pilgrimages to Rome. The diocese suffered much during the episcopate of his successor, Henry I (973-982), for he sided with the foes of Emperor Otto II, and remained for several montlis in prison. After his liberation he renounced his former views and bequeathed to his church his possessions at Gei- senhausen. The diocese attained great splendour under Bishop Bruno (1006-29), brother of Em- peror Henry II; he restored a number of ruined monasteries, founded the church and college of St. Maurice, placed Benedictine monks in the collegiate church of St. Afra, and added to the episcopal pos- sessions by the gift of his own inheritance of Strau- bing. Under Bishop Henrj' II (104 7-63), the guardian of Henry IV, the diocese secured the right of coinage and was" enriched by many donations; under Embrico (or Emmerich, 1063-77) "the cathedral was dedicated (1065), and the canonicate and church of St. Peter and St. Felicitas were built. During the last years of this episcopate occurred the quarrel of Emperor Heru^'IV with the papacy in which Embrico took the imperial side and only temporarily yielded to the papal legate. The struggle continued under his successors; four anti-bishops were set up in opposition to Siegfried II (1077-96). Hermann, Count von ^■ohburg (1090 or 1097-1132) supported with treachery and cunning his claim to the see he had purchased, violently perse- cuted the Abbot of St. Afra, and expelled him from the city. Only after the conclusion of the Concordat of Worms (1122) did Hermann obtain the confirma- tion of the pope and relief from excommunication. The political disturbances resulting from the dissen- sions between the popes and the German emperors reacted on the Church of Augsburg. There were short periods of rest, during which ecclesiastical life received a forward impulse, as, for instance, under Bishop Walther II, Count Palatine von Dillingen (1133-52), under whom the possessions of the dio- cese were again consolidated and increased by his own inheritance; under UdaLskalk (11S4-1202), who with great ceremony placed the recently discovered bones of St. I'lrich in the new church of Sts. Ulrich and Afra. These day.s of peace alternated with

periods of conflict into which the Bishops of Augsburg were drawn, often against their will, in their capacity as Princes of the Empire, and the life of the Church accordingly suffered decline. I'nder Siboto von Lech- feld (1227-47) monasteries of the newly founded men- dicant orders were first established in Augsburg. A celebrated member of the Franciscans was David of Augsburg, and of the Dominicans, Albertus Magnus of Lauingen. Additional causes of conflict were the troubles that arose between the Bishops of Augsburg and the city authorities. During the struggles be- tween the popes and emperors, Augsburg, like other large cities throughout the greater part of Germany, attained enormous wealth, owing to the industrial and commercial activity of the citizens. From time to time efforts were made to restrict as much as possible the ancient civil rights of the bishops and their stewards, and even to abrogate them entirely. From a state of discontent the citizens passed to open violence imder the Bishop Hartmann von DiUingen (1248-86), and wnmg from the bishops many municipal liberties and advantages. A characteristic instance is the con- firmation by Emperor Rudolph of Habsburg at the Reichstag held in Augsburg (1276) of the Stadibuch, or municipal register, containing the ancient customs, episcopal and municipal rights, etc., specified in detail; on the same occasion Augsburg was recognized as a Free City of the Empire. Hartmann bequeathed to the Church of Augsburg his paternal inheritance, including the town and castle of Dillingen. Peace reigned under the succeeding bishops, of whom Frederick I (1.309-31) acquired for his see the castle and stronghold of Fiissen; Ulrich II, von Schoneck (1331-37). and his brother Henr>- III (1337-48) remained faithful to Emperor Louis the Bavarian; Markward I, von Randeck (1348-65), again redeemed the mortgaged property of the diocese, and by the favour of Emperor Charles IV was made Patriarch of Aquileia (1365), New dissensions between the Bishop and the city arose under Burkhard von EUer- bach (1373-1404), whose accession was marked by grave discord growing out of the overthrow of the Patrizicr. or aristocratic government, and the rise in municipal power of the crafts or guilds. Irritated by Burkhard's support of the nobility in their struggle with the Swabian cities, the inliabitants of Augsburg plundered the dwellings of the canons, drove some of the clergj' from the city (1381), destroyed, after a short interval of respite (13SS), the episcopal strong- hold, the deanerj', and the mint, and became almost completely independent of the bishop. Burkhard proceeded with great energj' against the heresy of the Wyclifites who had gained a foothold in Augs- burg, and condemned to the stake fixe persons who refused to abjure. After the death of Eberhard II (1404-13), a quarrel arose in 1413 because the city of Augsburg declined to recognize the lawful Bishop, Anselm von Nenningcn (1413-23), and set up in opposition Friedrich von Grafeneck who had been presented by Emperor .Sigismund. This trouble was settled Ijy Pope Martin V, who compelled both bishops to resign, and on his own authority replaced them by Peter \ on Schauenberg, Canon of Bamberg and Wurzburg (1423-69).

Peter was endowed by the Pope with extraordinarj' faculties, made cardinal and legate a latere for all Germany. He worked with zeal and energj' for the reformation of his diocese, held sjTiods and made episcopal visitations in order to raise the decadent moral and intellectual life of the clergv-; he restored the discipline and renewed the fallen splendour of many monasteries, canonries, and collegiate churches. He completed the rebuilding of the cathedral in Gothic style, consecrated it in 1431, and in 1457 laid the cornerstone of the new church of Sts. Ilrich and Afra. Succeeding prelates carried on the refor- mation of the diocese with no less solicitude and zeal.