Count Heinrich II of Virneburg (german: Graf Heinrich II. von Virneburg) (1244 or 1246 – 5 January 1332) was

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-Pala ...

from 1304 to his death in 1332.

Life

Heinrich was the sixth son of Count Heinrich of Virneburg (??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

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

s 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 can ...

of St. Gereon's in Cologne, and in 1292 became chaplain of the

German king This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empi ...

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 of ...

, but also

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most ...

of both

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley b ...

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 Peter of Aspelt (aka ''Peter von Aichspelt, Peter von Basel, Peter von Mainz''; born 1240/45, died 5 June 1320 in Mainz) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1306 to 1320, and an influential political figure of the period. He brought the archbishopric to ...

Elector of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

, 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-Ruhr ...

, 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 Frederick the Fair (german: Friedrich der Schöne) or the Handsome (c. 1289 – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-kin ...

King of the Germans This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until German ...

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

. 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

. According to contemporaries, Heinrich was a chatterer and too fond of drink. He died on 5 January 1332 in Bonn and was buried in St. Barbara's Chapel in Bonn Minster, next to his sister, the abbess Ponzetta of Dietkirchen. His grave is no longer extant.

Sources and external links

Meister Eckhart und seine Zeit - Leben - Heinrich von Virneburg

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

Life

Sources and external links

Further reading