Adam Adami, O.S.B. (1603 or 1610 – 19 February 1663) was a German

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Born in

Mülheim am Rhein Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

, Adami seems to have made his first studies in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. At the age of 19, he entered the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey of

Brauweiler Brauweiler is a part of Pulheim, west of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The former Benedictine abbey, Brauweiler Abbey, founded 1024, is used today by the ''Rhein Department for the Care of Historic Monuments''. In Brauweiler in the ...

and occupied himself with

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

studies. In 1633, he received the ordination to priesthood, one year later he became rector of the Benedictine seminary in Cologne, where he also acquired a doctorate in theology. In 1637 he followed a call to the abbey of St. Jacob in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, where he served as

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

and acquired a good reputation as a diplomat. In the following year, Adami was elected to become

of the monastery of Murhart. Murhart, like many surrounding abbeys, was subject of an administrative dispute between the

Diocese of Würzburg In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and the dukes of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

. Adami was chosen because he was expected to be able to best defend the rights of the abbeys in the years to come, during and following the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

. Therefore he was sent in 1643 as the envoy of the ''restituted monasteries and chapels of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

'' to the peace negotiations. During the negotiations, his legitimation as envoy was disputed, but he could obtain a second authorisation from the prince-abbot of Korvei. Adami's records of the proceedings of the negotiations are today the primary source of information on the Peace of Westphalia. He belonged to "Trimuvirate" of Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg and Johann von Leuchselring to the group of Catholic maximalists against Trauttmansdorff and the Emperor. From his point of view, the negotiations failed, though. Later he was sent to Rome by the

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

and

archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

Maximilian Henry of Bavaria Maximilian Henry of Bavaria (german: Maximilian Heinrich von Bayern: 8 October 1621 – 3 June 1688) was the third son and fourth child of Albert VI, landgrave of Leuchtenberg and his wife, Mechthilde von Leuchtenberg. In 1650, he was named Ar ...

. With a recommendation from the former papal legate

Fabio Chigi Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice-papal legate, and ...

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

appointed Adami as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Hierapolis Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classica ...

. Maximilian Henry also offered him the post as

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

out of gratitude. Adami served in Hildesheim until his death there, while publishing several tracts on national law.

Publications

*''Arcana pacis Westphaliae'',

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, 1698,

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

publication. Published under his name in 1707, later as ''Relatio historica de pacificatione Osnabrugo-Monasteriensi. Accurante Jo. God. de Meiern'', Leipzig 1738, 672 pages 4°.

Sources

*''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' - online version at

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image version
Adamus_Adami.jpg, Adam Adami Johann Gottfried de Meier - Acta pacis Westphalicæ publica - 1734 - Adam Adami - PPL 1265.tif, The grave of Adam Adami in Hildesheim. Etching by C.F. Fritzsch Filius, 1734. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adami, Adam 17th-century births 1663 deaths Clergy from Cologne People from the Electorate of Cologne 17th-century German Roman Catholic bishops German diplomats German Benedictines Benedictine priors Benedictine bishops Auxiliary bishops of Hildesheim People from Mülheim