Albert of Palatinate-Mosbach or Albert of Bavaria (German: ''Albrecht von Pfalz-Mosbach'' or ''Albrecht von Bayern'') (6 September 1440 – 20 August 1506 in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
) was a Roman Catholic clergyman who was
bishop of Strasbourg
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg):
Bishops and prince-bishops
*Amandus
*Justinus vo ...
from 1478 to 1506.
Family
He was descended from the
house of Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
. His parents were
Otto I, Count Palatine of Mosbach
Otto I (24 August 1390 – 5 July 1461) was the Count Palatine of Mosbach from 1410 until 1448, and the Count Palatine of Mosbach-Neumarkt from 1448 until 1461.
Life
Otto was born in Mosbach in 1390 as the youngest son of Rupert III of the Pal ...
(son of
Rupert, King of Germany
Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...
and younger brother of
Louis III Louis III may refer to:
* Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882)
* Louis III of France (865–882)
* Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928)
* Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911)
* Louis I ...
) and his wife
Joanna of Bavaria-Landshut (eldest daughter of
Henry XVI, Duke of Bavaria
Henry XVI of Bavaria (1386 – 30 July 1450, in Landshut), (), since 1393 Duke of Bavaria-Landshut. He was a son of duke Frederick, Duke of Bavaria, Frederick and his wife Maddalena Visconti, a daughter of Bernabò Visconti.
Life
Duke Henry XVI w ...
). Albert's brother
Rupert became
bishop of Regensburg
The Bishops of Regensburg (Ratisbon) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. , whilst his other brother
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
became a canon and went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Life
Albert initially served as a
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
in the chapter of
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
, then as its
provost. He was a cousin of his predecessor as bishop
Rupert of Palatinate-Simmern but pursued a less confrontational policy than Rupert, making Strasbourg a more uniformly managed territory with clearer, securer borders, fortifying towns and cities and buying back territories. To pay off the high cost of getting his election confirmed by the pope, he put a tax on eating butter during Lent, which was also partly used to fund the casting of cannon - the tax caused some resentment among his
prince-bishopric's population but this and other measures improved its financial position.
The
Bundschuh movement
The Bundschuh movement (German: ''Bundschuh-Bewegung'') refers to a series of localized peasant rebellions in southwestern Germany from 1493 to 1517. They were one of the causes of the German Peasants' War (1524–1526). The Bundschuh movement w ...
coincided with this term as bishop and in 1502 he warned his officers, the Unterlandvogt in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and other cities about the movement's resurgence. He wished to set up a common defence network for the cities and rural areas within the prince-bishopric and he put in place surveillance measures. At a meeting in
Schlettstadt he also established an alliance.
His relationship with the cathedral chapter was generally good and he involved himself in reform in the diocese, particularly fighting abuses in its monasteries, to which end he convened a diocesan
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
in 1482 and carried out
visitations in 1492. However, he did not oppose
papal indulgences.
He was strongly influenced by
Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg
Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg (16 March 1445 – 10 March 1510) was a priest, considered one of the greatest of the popular preachers of the 15th century. He was closely connected with the Renaissance humanists of Strasbourg, whose leader was ...
, who was a preacher at Strasbourg Cathedral from 1478 and urged Albert to reform the church, and by
Jakob Wimpfeling Jakob Wimpfeling (25 July 1450 – 17 November 1528) was a Renaissance humanist and theologian.
Biography
Wimpfeling was born in Sélestat (Schlettstadt), Alsace, Lorraine. He went to the school at Sélestat, which was run by Ludwig Dringenberg, ...
, who lived in Strasbourg from 1501 onwards. In 1506 Albert defended Wimpfeling against
pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
, but Albert and Geiler's joint hopes of reform foundered - for example, their plan to dissolve the discredited order of St Stefan (a group of penitential canons) and replace it with a community of clergy failed after a visitation of it had to be abandoned due to the cathedral chapter's opposition.
Francis Rapp
Francis Rapp (27 June 1926 – 29 March 2020) was a French medievalist specializing in the history of Alsace and medieval Germany. An ''emeritus'' university professor, he was a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres since 199 ...
: Geiler von Kaysersberg, Johannes (1445–1510) In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie, Teil I Band 12 Berlin, 1984 S. 161
In 1493 he built an aisle alongside the main nave of the church of
Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
as his burial chapel - his gravestone still survives and the aisle has become a chapel dedicated to the Mother of God, but the aisle's tombs were desecrated and destroyed during
secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
ary era.
References
Bibliography
* Friedrich Wilhelm Ebeling: ''Die deutschen Bischöfe bis zum Ende des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts.'' Volume 2, Leipzig, 1858 S. 479f.
* Harry Gerber
''Albrecht (von Bayern), Bischof von Straßburg.''In: ''
Neue Deutsche Biographie
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...
'' (NDB). Voume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, , S. 175
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palatinate-Mosbach, Albert of
1440 births
1506 deaths
Bishops of Strasbourg
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...