Heinrich II of Virneburg
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Count Heinrich II of Virneburg (german: Graf Heinrich II. von Virneburg) (1244 or 1246 – 5 January 1332) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1304 to his death in 1332.


Life

Heinrich was the sixth son of Count Heinrich of
Virneburg Virneburg is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Virneburg Castle is located in the village. Geography Virneburg is a municipality in the Vulkaneifel. Next towns are Mayen in the East and A ...
(??1238-1290) and his wife Ponzetta of Oberstein (1253–1311). In 1288, together with his father and his brother Ruprecht, he took part in the
Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession ...
on the side of
John I, Duke of Brabant John I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious (1252/12533 May 1294) was Duke of Brabant (1267–1294), Lothier and Limburg (1288–1294). During the 13th century, John I was venerated as a folk hero. He has been painted as the perfect model ...
. From 1288 he held two prebends and was 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 ...
of St. Gereon's in
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, and in 1292 became chaplain of the German king Adolf of Nassau, to whom he was related. In the following years he became the occupant of a number of canonries. He was not only cathedral provost of
Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...
, but also archdeacon of both
Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
and Cologne. In 1300 he was elected
Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Diether of Nassau, until 1306. In 1304 however he was elected Archbishop of Cologne, although Papal ratification was not forthcoming until 1306. In the election of King Henry VII in 1308, Heinrich followed the example of
Baldwin of Luxembourg Baldwin of Luxembourg (c. 1285 – 21 January 1354) was the Archbishop- Elector of Trier and Archchancellor of Burgundy from 1307 to his death. From 1328 to 1336, he was the diocesan administrator of the archdiocese of Mainz and from 1331 to 1 ...
,
Elector of Trier The elector of Trier was one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and, in his capacity as archbishop, administered the archdiocese of Trier. The territories of the electorate and the archdiocese were not, however, equivalent. Histor ...
, and of Peter of Aspelt, Elector of Mainz, and took substantial payment for his vote. For his seat of government Heinrich II favoured
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
, where from 1313 to 1328 he was provost of the collegiate foundation of St. Cassius (''Cassius-Stift''). He issued over 110 writs and charters from here, declared invalid the renunciation of tolls to which his predecessor had been forced to agree and obtained permission from King Henry VII to set up a new toll in Bonn. However, as the burghers of Bonn courageously supported the archbishop in his feud with the lord of Falkenburg at the battle of
Euskirchen Euskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted to ...
, Heinrich II granted them exemption from the Rhine toll for all goods. Under Heinrich of Virneburg Bonn became the location of a king's coronation for the first time, when on 25 November 1314 he crowned Frederick the Handsome as King of the Germans in
Bonn Minster Bonn Minster (german: Bonner Münster) is a Roman Catholic church in Bonn. It is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the de facto cathedral for the Archbishopric ...
. Heinrich also advanced the building works on the cathedral in Cologne, where on 27 September 1322 he was able to consecrate the high choir of the new
Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...
. He was decisively involved in the
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
proceedings against
Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master Eckhart

Sources and external links


Meister Eckhart und seine Zeit - Leben - Heinrich von Virneburg

Heinrich II. von Virneburg in den Saarländischen Biografien
* * *


Further reading

* Seng, Ulrich, 1977: ''Heinrich II. von Virneburg als Erzbischof von Köln.'' ''Studien zur Kölner Kirchengeschichte.'' Siegburg: Schmitt * Niesen, Josef, 2007: ''Bonner Personenlexikon.'' Bonn: Bouvier Verlag {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich 02 of Virneburg Henry 02 Henry 02 1240s births 1332 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of Germany 14th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire