Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg
Encyclopedia
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg (10 November 1547 – 21 May 1601) was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. After pursuing an ecclesiastical career, he won a close election in the Cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst of Bavaria. After his election, he fell in love with and later married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
, a Protestant Canoness at the Abbey of Gerresheim. His conversion to Calvinism
and announcement of religious parity in the Electorate triggered a war.
On 19 December 1582, a proclamation in his name established parity for Catholics and Calvinists in the Electorate of Cologne, causing a scandal in the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire
, and after his marriage in February 1583, he sought to convert the Electorate into a dynastic dignity. For the next six years, his supporters fought those of the Catholic cathedral chapter for the right to hold the electorship and the archdiocese in the so-called Cologne War
or Seneschal War. After brutal fighting, plundering of villages, cities, and abbeys throughout the Electorate, Gebhard surrendered his claim on the electorate and retired to Strasbourg. He died there in 1601 and was buried in the Cathedral.
Gehard's conversion and marriage was the first major test of the principle of ecclesiastical reservation established in the Peace of Augsburg
, 1555. His loss of the Electorate strengthened the Catholic counter reformation in the northern German states, gave the Jesuits a stronghold in Cologne, and expanded the Wittelsbach
family influence in imperial politics.
, the second son of William, known as the younger, (6 March 1518–17 January 1566), Freiherr and Seneschal of Waldburg
and an Imperial Councilor, and his wife, Johanna v. Fürstenberg
(1529–1589). His family was an old Swabia
n house and he was descended from the Jacobin line of the House: Jakob I Truchseß von Waldburg, also known as the Golden Knight (for his blond hair). The family owned extensive properties that bordered on the Abbey of Kempten and various Habsburg territories in present-day southwestern Bavaria; In 1429 and 1463, the three surviving sons of Johann II, Jakob, Everhard, and George, and their surviving sister Ursula, concluded a covenant of inheritance to protect the family property. In the future, they would occupy and own the property as one; the inheritance of the daughters could not exceed 4000 gulden. They guaranteed each other the right of first refusal on potential property sales.
Gebhard's grandfather had been a commander for the Swabian League army in 1531; a cousin of his grandfather, Jörg Truchsess von Waldburg, also known as Bauernjörg, had been a commander of the imperial army in the Peasant Wars (1525). His uncle, Otto (1514–73), was the bishop of Augsburg, later a Cardinal
, and founded University of Dillingen
in Augsburg. His younger brother, Karl
(1548–1593), trained for a military career; a second younger brother, Ferdinand, died at the siege at 's-Hertogenbosch in 1585.
As a younger son, Gebhard was prepared early for an ecclesiastical career. He received a broad, Humanist education, learned several languages, including Latin, Italian, French, and German, and studied history and theology. After studying at the universities of Dillingen, Ingolstadt
, Perugia
, Louvain
and elsewhere, he began his ecclesiastical career in 1560 at Augsburg
, serving as prebendary
in the Cathedral church. His life at Augsburg caused some scandal; Uncle Otto, the archbishop, petitioned the Duke of Bavaria to remonstrate with Gebhard about his conduct, which apparently led to some improvement in his behavior. In 1561, he became a deacon at the cathedral in Cologne (1561–77), a canon of St. Gereon in Köln (1562–67), a canon in Strassburg (1567), in Ellwangen (1567–83), and in Würzburg (1569–70). In 1571, he became deacon of the Strassburg Cathedral, a position he held until his death in 1601. In 1576, by papal nomination, he became provost of the Cathedral in Augsburg. From all of these positions he would have drawn a stipend.
In December 1577, he was chosen elector of Cologne after a contest with Ernst of Bavaria, the youngest brother of the ruling Duke. He won the election by two votes. Although it was not required of him, Gebhard agreed to undergo priestly ordination, which his predecessor had not done.
The initial years of his office were relatively uneventful. Gebhard continued some of the work of Salentin, chiefly in the reconstruction of the Arnsberg castle in Westphalia.
, a canoness of Gerresheim. After living in concubinage
with Agnes for two years, he decided, perhaps by the persuasion of her brothers, to marry her, doubtless intending at the same time to resign his see
. Other counsels, however, prevailed.
Encouraged by Protestant supporters, including several in the Cathedral chapter, he declared he would retain the electorate, and in December 1582 he formally announced his conversion to the reformed faith and the parity of Calvinism with Catholicism in the Electorate and archdiocese of Cologne. The marriage with Agnes was celebrated on 4 February 1583, and afterward Gebhard remained in possession of the see. This affair created a stir in the Holy Roman Empire
.
The clause concerning ecclesiastical reservation in the religious Peace of Augsburg
was interpreted in one way by his friends, and in another way by his foes; the former held that he could retain his office, the latter insisted that he resign. The conversion of the ecclesiastic see to one ruled by a Calvinist prince challenged the principle of ecclesiastical reservation
. Hermann von Wied, a previous prince-elector and archbishop had also converted to Protestantism, but had resigned from his office; Gebhard's predecessor, Salentin von Isenburg-Grenzau, had resigned from the office upon his marriage, necessary to perpetuate his house. Unlike his predecessors, Gebhard proclaimed the Reformation, in the style of Calvinism, from the cathedral, angering Cologne's Catholic leadership and alienating the Cathedral chapter. He placed the evangelical confession on parity with the Catholic one; furthermore, Gebhard adhered not to the teachings of Martin Luther, but to those of John Calvin
, a form of religious observation not approved of in the Augsburg conventions of 1555.
Anticipating events, Gebhard had collected some troops and had taken measures to convert his subjects to Protestantism. In April 1583, he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIII
; the unsuccessful candidate of 1577, Ernest
, who was also bishop of Liège, Freising
and Hildesheim
, was chosen as the new elector. Initially, Gebhard was supported by Adolf von Neuenar and his own brother, Karl, who commanded most of his troops. Although he sought assistance from several of the Lutheran princes of Germany, especially Augustus I, elector of Saxony
, these princes were not enthusiastic to support Gebhard's cause; his association with the Calvinists was not to their liking. Henry of Navarre, later Henry IV of France
, tried to form a coalition to aid Gebhard, but the only assistance which he obtained came from John Casimir
, who took command of Gebhard's troops in the spring of 1583. Later that summer, after fruitlessly marching the troops up and down the Rhine, a process of intimidation, he disbanded his army to administer the Palatinate of the Rhine for his ten-year-old nephew, the new Elector Palatine, Frederick IV
.
Ernest had the support of the previous Elector, Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau, Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
, and, probably most important, several thousand Spanish
troops hired by the pope. While representatives from the Cathedral chapter, the seven imperial electors, the emperor, and the pope tried to resolve differences around the negotiating table, first in Frankfurt am Main, and then in Muhlhausen
in Westphalia
, the armies of both sides rampaged throughout the southern portion of the Electorate, called the Oberstift, plundering abbeys and convents, burning villages and small cities, and destroying crops, bridges, and roads. None of the combatants were prepared to commit their troops in a fixed battle; it was far more lucrative, and safer as well, to use them in a show of force, intimidating the peasantry, besieging walled towns and small cities, and limiting trade and the sale of food-stuffs in the marketplaces.
By the end of March, Salentin, Frederick, and the few thousand Spanish troops drove Gebhard from Bonn
, then Bad Godesberg
; he and his wife took refuge into Vest Recklinghausen
, a fiefdom of the electorate. There, he and Agnes encouraged a spurt of iconoclasm
by their troops, alienating many heretofore supporters, including Hermann von Hatzfeld, seneschal
of Balve
. Ferdinand
, the brother of the rival archbishop, drove Gebhard and Agnes to the Netherlands; they escaped with approximately 1000 cavalry and some infantry. Initially, they sought refuge in Delft
, with William I of Orange
. Living in the Netherlands, they became acquainted with Elizabeth's
envoy, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
, and entered into lengthy negotiations with Elizabeth's Court to obtain support for his cause; these efforts failed to garner assistance for renewing the war either from the English queen or in any other quarter.
By 1588, Gebhard's joint pain (Gelenkenschmerz) prevented him from riding a horse; the climate of Cologne, damp and cold, made his condition worse, so he relinquished his claim on the Electorate to the protection of Adolf von Neuenahr and Martin Schenck, which they pursued until their deaths later that year. In the summer 1588, Gebhard established his residence at Strassburg, where he had held the office of dean of the cathedral since 1574 and had maintained it concurrently with his position in Cologne.
. Bavarian Jesuits went to the Electoral territories to bring the population back to Catholicism, a process rife with violence and coercion. Gebhard also opened the doors for Spanish incursions into the Rhineland; blocked from water access to the rebellious Dutch, Spanish military commanders sought a land route to the Dutch Provinces and by providing troop support for Ernst, they established valuable bridgeheads in the Rhine valley. Finally, the Cologne War marks the beginning of the "internationalization" of the German religious question, which was not resolved until 1650, after the disasters of the Thirty Years Wars.
Shortly after his marriage in 1583, Gebhard had written his Testament in which he left his estate to his brother, Karl, and a life-time annuity to Agnes, and charging Karl with her safety and protection. Karl died on 18 June 1593, and was buried in the Strasbourg cathedral; Gebhard wrote a codicil leaving Agnes to the care and protection of the Duke of Württemberg. He spent his last years diseased and crippled, and he died on 21 May 1601. With great pomp and ceremony was buried in a grave with Karl on 8 June 1601.
, was perhaps the most generous: "Few men personally insignificant have made more stir in the world." Walter Goetz described him in less complimentary terms: he "was impelled by no great idea, nor could he claim through virile activity the title to any high striving ambition" and was wanting in both depth and tenacity. Goetz was not particularly kind to Ernst either: Ernst was not Gebhard's superior; the victory that placed him in the Electorate belonged to his brothers' influence and the Curia (papacy), not to his own striving ambition; Ernst was, fundamentally, on a tide of Counter Reformation that lifted all boats, which Gebhard was not. Philip Motley describes him thus: despite his swearing an oath to renounce his see if he should marry, "the love of Truchsess for Agnes Mansfeld had created disaster, not only for himself but for all of Germany." Like Goetz, he describes both Gebhard and Ernst as cut from the same cloth: "two pauper Archbishops without men or means of their own were pushed back and forth, like puppets, by the highwaymen" on either side, while murder and robbery, in the name of Catholicism and Protestantism, were the "for a time the only motive or result of the contest."
Sibling Connections
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben was Countess of Mansfeld and the daughter of Johann Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben. She converted Gebhard, Seneschal of Waldburg, the Prince-Elector of Electorate of Cologne and archbishop of the Diocese of Cologne to the Protestant faith, leading to the Cologne War...
, a Protestant Canoness at the Abbey of Gerresheim. His conversion to Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
and announcement of religious parity in the Electorate triggered a war.
On 19 December 1582, a proclamation in his name established parity for Catholics and Calvinists in the Electorate of Cologne, causing a scandal in the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, and after his marriage in February 1583, he sought to convert the Electorate into a dynastic dignity. For the next six years, his supporters fought those of the Catholic cathedral chapter for the right to hold the electorship and the archdiocese in the so-called Cologne War
Cologne War
The Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
or Seneschal War. After brutal fighting, plundering of villages, cities, and abbeys throughout the Electorate, Gebhard surrendered his claim on the electorate and retired to Strasbourg. He died there in 1601 and was buried in the Cathedral.
Gehard's conversion and marriage was the first major test of the principle of ecclesiastical reservation established in the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
, 1555. His loss of the Electorate strengthened the Catholic counter reformation in the northern German states, gave the Jesuits a stronghold in Cologne, and expanded the Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
family influence in imperial politics.
Family and early career
Gebhard was born in the Fürstenburg fortress of HeiligenbergHeiligenberg
Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, in Germany.-Location and climate:...
, the second son of William, known as the younger, (6 March 1518–17 January 1566), Freiherr and Seneschal of Waldburg
House of Waldburg
The House of Waldburg is a princely family of Upper Swabia, founded some time previous to the 12th century; the cadet lineages are comital families....
and an Imperial Councilor, and his wife, Johanna v. Fürstenberg
Fürstenberg (princely family)
Fürstenberg is the name of a noble house in Germany, based primarily in southern Baden-Württemberg. The family derives its name from the fortified town of the line's founder, Count Heinrich von Fürstenberg, today part of Hüfingen...
(1529–1589). His family was an old Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n house and he was descended from the Jacobin line of the House: Jakob I Truchseß von Waldburg, also known as the Golden Knight (for his blond hair). The family owned extensive properties that bordered on the Abbey of Kempten and various Habsburg territories in present-day southwestern Bavaria; In 1429 and 1463, the three surviving sons of Johann II, Jakob, Everhard, and George, and their surviving sister Ursula, concluded a covenant of inheritance to protect the family property. In the future, they would occupy and own the property as one; the inheritance of the daughters could not exceed 4000 gulden. They guaranteed each other the right of first refusal on potential property sales.
Gebhard's grandfather had been a commander for the Swabian League army in 1531; a cousin of his grandfather, Jörg Truchsess von Waldburg, also known as Bauernjörg, had been a commander of the imperial army in the Peasant Wars (1525). His uncle, Otto (1514–73), was the bishop of Augsburg, later a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, and founded University of Dillingen
University of Dillingen
The University of Dillingen, at Dillingen an der Donau in southern Germany, existed from 1551 to 1803. It was located in Swabia, then a district of Bavaria.-Foundation:...
in Augsburg. His younger brother, Karl
Karl, Truchsess von Waldburg
Karl, Truchsess von Waldburg , Baron and Steward of Waldburg in Trauchburg , Imperial minister. Karl was born in the Fürstenburg fortress of Heiligenberg, the third son of William, known as the younger, , Freiherr and Seneschal of Waldburg and an Imperial Councilor, and his wife, Johanna v...
(1548–1593), trained for a military career; a second younger brother, Ferdinand, died at the siege at 's-Hertogenbosch in 1585.
As a younger son, Gebhard was prepared early for an ecclesiastical career. He received a broad, Humanist education, learned several languages, including Latin, Italian, French, and German, and studied history and theology. After studying at the universities of Dillingen, Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
, Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and elsewhere, he began his ecclesiastical career in 1560 at Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, serving as prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
in the Cathedral church. His life at Augsburg caused some scandal; Uncle Otto, the archbishop, petitioned the Duke of Bavaria to remonstrate with Gebhard about his conduct, which apparently led to some improvement in his behavior. In 1561, he became a deacon at the cathedral in Cologne (1561–77), a canon of St. Gereon in Köln (1562–67), a canon in Strassburg (1567), in Ellwangen (1567–83), and in Würzburg (1569–70). In 1571, he became deacon of the Strassburg Cathedral, a position he held until his death in 1601. In 1576, by papal nomination, he became provost of the Cathedral in Augsburg. From all of these positions he would have drawn a stipend.
In December 1577, he was chosen elector of Cologne after a contest with Ernst of Bavaria, the youngest brother of the ruling Duke. He won the election by two votes. Although it was not required of him, Gebhard agreed to undergo priestly ordination, which his predecessor had not done.
The initial years of his office were relatively uneventful. Gebhard continued some of the work of Salentin, chiefly in the reconstruction of the Arnsberg castle in Westphalia.
Archbishop goes to war
Gebhard is chiefly noted for his conversion to the reformed doctrines, and for his marriage with the reportedly beautiful Agnes von Mansfeld-EislebenAgnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben was Countess of Mansfeld and the daughter of Johann Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben. She converted Gebhard, Seneschal of Waldburg, the Prince-Elector of Electorate of Cologne and archbishop of the Diocese of Cologne to the Protestant faith, leading to the Cologne War...
, a canoness of Gerresheim. After living in concubinage
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
with Agnes for two years, he decided, perhaps by the persuasion of her brothers, to marry her, doubtless intending at the same time to resign his see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
. Other counsels, however, prevailed.
Encouraged by Protestant supporters, including several in the Cathedral chapter, he declared he would retain the electorate, and in December 1582 he formally announced his conversion to the reformed faith and the parity of Calvinism with Catholicism in the Electorate and archdiocese of Cologne. The marriage with Agnes was celebrated on 4 February 1583, and afterward Gebhard remained in possession of the see. This affair created a stir in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
.
The clause concerning ecclesiastical reservation in the religious Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
was interpreted in one way by his friends, and in another way by his foes; the former held that he could retain his office, the latter insisted that he resign. The conversion of the ecclesiastic see to one ruled by a Calvinist prince challenged the principle of ecclesiastical reservation
Reservatum ecclesiasticum
The reservatum ecclesiasticum was a measure inserted into the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 to balance the principal proviso of cuius regio, eius religio in ecclesiastical lands...
. Hermann von Wied, a previous prince-elector and archbishop had also converted to Protestantism, but had resigned from his office; Gebhard's predecessor, Salentin von Isenburg-Grenzau, had resigned from the office upon his marriage, necessary to perpetuate his house. Unlike his predecessors, Gebhard proclaimed the Reformation, in the style of Calvinism, from the cathedral, angering Cologne's Catholic leadership and alienating the Cathedral chapter. He placed the evangelical confession on parity with the Catholic one; furthermore, Gebhard adhered not to the teachings of Martin Luther, but to those of John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
, a form of religious observation not approved of in the Augsburg conventions of 1555.
Anticipating events, Gebhard had collected some troops and had taken measures to convert his subjects to Protestantism. In April 1583, he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...
; the unsuccessful candidate of 1577, Ernest
Ernest of Bavaria
Ernest of Bavaria was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Freising and Liège....
, who was also bishop of Liège, Freising
Freising
Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport...
and Hildesheim
Bishopric of Hildesheim
The Diocese of Hildesheim is a diocese or ecclesiastical territory of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rheims, Ebbo, as bishop...
, was chosen as the new elector. Initially, Gebhard was supported by Adolf von Neuenar and his own brother, Karl, who commanded most of his troops. Although he sought assistance from several of the Lutheran princes of Germany, especially Augustus I, elector of Saxony
Augustus, Elector of Saxony
Augustus was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586.-First years:Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He consequently belonged to the Albertine branch of the Wettin family...
, these princes were not enthusiastic to support Gebhard's cause; his association with the Calvinists was not to their liking. Henry of Navarre, later Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, tried to form a coalition to aid Gebhard, but the only assistance which he obtained came from John Casimir
Johann Casimir of Simmern
John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern was a German prince and a younger son of Elector Frederick III, Count Palatine of the Rhine. A firm Calvinist, he was a leader of mercenary troops in the religious wars of the time, including the Dutch Revolt...
, who took command of Gebhard's troops in the spring of 1583. Later that summer, after fruitlessly marching the troops up and down the Rhine, a process of intimidation, he disbanded his army to administer the Palatinate of the Rhine for his ten-year-old nephew, the new Elector Palatine, Frederick IV
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine , only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" .-Life:Born in Amberg, his father died in October 1583 and...
.
Ernest had the support of the previous Elector, Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau, Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
Frederick of Saxe-Lauenburg , was a cathedral canon at Strasbourg Minster, chorbishop at Cologne Cathedral and cathedral provost , a function including the presidency of the chapter, at Bremen Cathedral.-Life:...
, and, probably most important, several thousand Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
troops hired by the pope. While representatives from the Cathedral chapter, the seven imperial electors, the emperor, and the pope tried to resolve differences around the negotiating table, first in Frankfurt am Main, and then in Muhlhausen
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
in Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
, the armies of both sides rampaged throughout the southern portion of the Electorate, called the Oberstift, plundering abbeys and convents, burning villages and small cities, and destroying crops, bridges, and roads. None of the combatants were prepared to commit their troops in a fixed battle; it was far more lucrative, and safer as well, to use them in a show of force, intimidating the peasantry, besieging walled towns and small cities, and limiting trade and the sale of food-stuffs in the marketplaces.
By the end of March, Salentin, Frederick, and the few thousand Spanish troops drove Gebhard from Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, then Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
; he and his wife took refuge into Vest Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
, a fiefdom of the electorate. There, he and Agnes encouraged a spurt of iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
by their troops, alienating many heretofore supporters, including Hermann von Hatzfeld, seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Balve
Balve
Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpesee, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sauerland, near Dortmund...
. Ferdinand
Ferdinand of Bavaria (soldier)
-Youth:In 1565, the 15 year old Ferdinand made a widely publicized journey to Florence, to attend the wedding of his maternal aunt, Johanna of Austria, to Francesco I de' Medici, and to visit with other maternal aunts in the city. Johanna's marriage to the Medici was a politically expedient one:...
, the brother of the rival archbishop, drove Gebhard and Agnes to the Netherlands; they escaped with approximately 1000 cavalry and some infantry. Initially, they sought refuge in Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, with William I of Orange
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
. Living in the Netherlands, they became acquainted with Elizabeth's
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
envoy, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, and entered into lengthy negotiations with Elizabeth's Court to obtain support for his cause; these efforts failed to garner assistance for renewing the war either from the English queen or in any other quarter.
By 1588, Gebhard's joint pain (Gelenkenschmerz) prevented him from riding a horse; the climate of Cologne, damp and cold, made his condition worse, so he relinquished his claim on the Electorate to the protection of Adolf von Neuenahr and Martin Schenck, which they pursued until their deaths later that year. In the summer 1588, Gebhard established his residence at Strassburg, where he had held the office of dean of the cathedral since 1574 and had maintained it concurrently with his position in Cologne.
Consequences of Gebhard's conversion and marriage
Gebhard's conversion and marriage were exceptionally costly, in terms of lives and property, and historians have made no actual estimate of its actual cost, although 19th century historians tend to criticize him for acting rashly. Perhaps its greater cost, however, lay in the impact his actions had on Protestantism and Catholicism in the northern territories of the German states. Although fighting continued until 1589, by early 1588, Ernst controlled most of the Electorate. Gebhard's defeat was a serious blow to Protestantism in northern Germany, and marks a critical stage in the history of the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Bavarian Jesuits went to the Electoral territories to bring the population back to Catholicism, a process rife with violence and coercion. Gebhard also opened the doors for Spanish incursions into the Rhineland; blocked from water access to the rebellious Dutch, Spanish military commanders sought a land route to the Dutch Provinces and by providing troop support for Ernst, they established valuable bridgeheads in the Rhine valley. Finally, the Cologne War marks the beginning of the "internationalization" of the German religious question, which was not resolved until 1650, after the disasters of the Thirty Years Wars.
Later years
In 1589, Gebhard and his wife moved to Strasbourg, where he had held a prebendary position in the Cathedral chapter since 1574, and had maintained concurrently with his position in Cologne. Before his arrival some trouble had arisen in the chapter when three excommunicated canons, refugees from the Cologne strife, persisted in retaining their offices after they had accepted the reformed doctrines. He joined this party, which was strongly supported in the city, and took part in a double election to the bishopric in 1592. Despite some opposition, he retained his office until his death in 1601.Shortly after his marriage in 1583, Gebhard had written his Testament in which he left his estate to his brother, Karl, and a life-time annuity to Agnes, and charging Karl with her safety and protection. Karl died on 18 June 1593, and was buried in the Strasbourg cathedral; Gebhard wrote a codicil leaving Agnes to the care and protection of the Duke of Württemberg. He spent his last years diseased and crippled, and he died on 21 May 1601. With great pomp and ceremony was buried in a grave with Karl on 8 June 1601.
Historical assessments
Historians have not been kind to Gebhard. E.A. Benians, in the Cambridge Modern HistoryCambridge Modern History
The Cambridge Modern History is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in the United Kingdom and also in the United States....
, was perhaps the most generous: "Few men personally insignificant have made more stir in the world." Walter Goetz described him in less complimentary terms: he "was impelled by no great idea, nor could he claim through virile activity the title to any high striving ambition" and was wanting in both depth and tenacity. Goetz was not particularly kind to Ernst either: Ernst was not Gebhard's superior; the victory that placed him in the Electorate belonged to his brothers' influence and the Curia (papacy), not to his own striving ambition; Ernst was, fundamentally, on a tide of Counter Reformation that lifted all boats, which Gebhard was not. Philip Motley describes him thus: despite his swearing an oath to renounce his see if he should marry, "the love of Truchsess for Agnes Mansfeld had created disaster, not only for himself but for all of Germany." Like Goetz, he describes both Gebhard and Ernst as cut from the same cloth: "two pauper Archbishops without men or means of their own were pushed back and forth, like puppets, by the highwaymen" on either side, while murder and robbery, in the name of Catholicism and Protestantism, were the "for a time the only motive or result of the contest."
Family
GenealogySibling Connections
- Friedrich, (4 August 1546 – 22 December 1570). Imperial Legal Chambers President. Married in 1568 to Johanna, Countess of Helfenstein-Gundelfingen (1540–1572), daughter of George II, Count of HelfensteinHouse of HelfensteinThe House of Helfenstein was a German noble family during the High and Late Middle Ages. The family was named after the family castle, Castle Helfenstein, located above Geislingen an der Steige in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
von and zu GundelfingenGundelfingenGundelfingen im Breisgau is a municipality directly north of the city Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.Gundelfingen is one of the larger municipalities in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district...
, and Marie de Bowert de Gomignies.
- Karl, (7 August 1548 – 18 June 1593), Freiherr and Truchseß von Waldburg in Trauchburg (1580), Imperial Legal Chambers President, buried in Strassburg, Münster; married in Sigmaringen on 6 May 1572 to Countess Eleonore von Hohenzollern (15 February 1551 – after 1605), daughter of Charles I Count of Hohenzollern and Anna Mark-countess of Baden-Durlach.
- Christoph, (24 August 1551 – 28 February 1612), Freiherr and Truchseß von Waldburg in Friedberg und Scheer (1580). Married in 1577 to Countess Anna Maria von Fürstenberg-HeiligenbergFürstenberg-HeiligenbergFürstenberg-Heiligenberg was a County of southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the historical territory of Heiligenberg. It was created as a partition of Fürstenberg-Baar in 1559, and suffered one partition: between itself and Fürstenberg-Donaueichingen in 1617...
(3 February 1562 – December 1611).
- Anna, died 5 October 1607; 1m: 1565 Heinrich IV Count of Lupfen, Landgrave of StühlingenStühlingenStühlingen is a town in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the border with Switzerland, with a border crossing to the village of Oberwiesen in Schleitheim municipality, 15 km northwest of Schaffhausen town....
(6 October 1543 – 26 December 1582), no issue, and upon his death his line became extinct; 2m: 10 February 1592 to Peter Freiherr von Mörsperg (before 1555–1594).
- Sibylle, born before 1548-died 5 August 1585.
- Margarete, died 30 May 1612; m.1570 Georg Leo Freiherr Staufen (died 23 April 1602).
- Ferdinand, Deacon in Cologne (1575–83), in Straßburg (1578–85), canon of St. Gereon in Cologne (1578–82), Deacon in Würzburg (1582–85), born 1554, Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch, 19–20 January 1585
- Eleonore, died 29 August 1609; married in 1573 Melchior Hannibal Freiherr von WolkensteinWolkensteinWolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the Zschopau River, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz....
1537–1596.
Sources
- Goetz, Walter, "Gebhard II and the Counter Reformation in the Lower Rhinelands" in Herzog (1909).
- Jolly, Anna, "Netherlandish Scultpors in Sixteenth Century Northern Germany and their Patrons," Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art. 27:3 (1999), pp. 119–143.
- Marek, Miroslav Waldburg, March 17, 2008 version, Accessed October 2009 Waldburger, Michaela, Waldburg und Waldburger - Ein Geschlecht steigt auf in den Hochadel des Alten Reiches 2009, Accessed 15 October 2009.
- Vochezer, Joseph, Geschichte des fürstlichen Hauses Waldburg in Schwaben, v. 3 (1907), Kempten, Kösel, 1888–1907
- This article also incorporates text from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia.