Bishop von Blumenthal was born at Horst, administratively now part of Heiligengrabe. He came from the Prignitz landed gentry and was a member of the von Blumenthal noble family in Brandenburg. His father Hans von Blumenthal († 1524) owned the Horst manor and villages of Vehlow, Blumenthal, Brüsenhagen, and a share of Rosenwinkel.
Blumenthal is mentioned as early as 1507 as secretary to Bishop Dietrich von Bülow. In 1513, as cathedral dean of Lebus, he also became rector of the Brandenburg University in Frankfurt and later received his Dr. iur. utr. PhD. In 1520, he received a position as canon at Ratzeburg Cathedral. In the same year, he was elected Bishop of Havelberg and also confirmed by the Pope, but could not accept the election because of the objection of the Elector of Brandenburg. From 1521 he was (with an interruption from 1526 to 1529) as the holder of a Great Prebendary also canon in Lübeck.[1] In 1524, he became Bishop of Lebus and shortly afterwards Bishop of Ratzeburg as successor to Heinrich Bergmeier – against the bitter resistance of Duke Magnus I of Lauenburg.
He stayed mostly in the Diocese of Lebus and was represented in Ratzeburg by the cathedral provost. In 1528, he became involved in a feud with aristocrats from the Brandenburg region and narrowly escaped an attack on the episcopal palace in Fürstenwalde. In 1529, however, he came to Ratzeburg and had the reformist-minded preacher Thomas Aderpul imprisoned, which led to a feud with the nobles of the Klützer Winkel and to a lengthy Imperial Chamber Court process, which only ended in 1540 with a verdict in favor of the bishop.
In 1530, he accompanied Elector Joachim I to the Augsburg Diet. Here he obtained an imperial ban against Duke Magnus I for the robbery of church property and in 1536 he also won an imperial chamber trial against him. To finance the processes, the bishop and the Ratzeburg cathedral chapter had to sell the cathedral treasure from 1530 onwards.
He negotiated the second marriage of Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, to the Catholic Hedwig of Poland. Known in his lifetime as the "Pillar of Catholicism", he used his position as Chancellor of the Viadrina to combat the Reformation. He acquired the respect of his opponents, including the Margrave Joachim II himself, for his principled stand against reforms which he believed to be wrong and opposed by every legal means possible. For this, Luther said he should be "generally hated".[This quote needs a citation]
The Episcopal Palace of Georg von Blumenthal at Fürstenwalde, from a photo taken in the 1880s. Georg escaped through one of the windows
However, some of his opponents were not so respectful. He was twice besieged in his palaces by Protestant brigands; once at Fürstenwalde by the robber-baron Nickel von Minkwitz, an event which drew Martin Luther into the controversy, and once at Ratzeburg. At Fürstenwalde the Bishop escaped through a window in disguise, while his brother Matthias held the place. As Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg he was the last Catholic sovereign ruler in northern Germany, and as Bishop of Lebus, the only Bishop in Brandenburg during the Protestant Reformation to die a Catholic. He died in Lebus and was buried in St Mary's Cathedral, Fürstenwalde upon Spree.
External linksEdit
Literature about Georg von Blumenthal in the state bibliography MV
George Gottfried Küster (ed.): Martin Friedrich Seidel's picture collection. Berlin 1751, p. 23 ff. (digitized in the Google book search; with CVs and portraits of the Bishops of Havelberg).
Gottlieb Matthias Carl Masch: History of the Bishopric of Ratzeburg. F. Aschenfeldt, Lübeck 1835, pp. 455–494 (full text in Google book search).
Karl Schmaltz: Church history of Mecklenburg. Volume Two: Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Friedrich Bahn, Schwerin 1936, p. 37 f.
Bernhard Stasiewski: Georg von Blumenthal. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN3-428-00187-7, p. 224 (digitized).
^Prange, Wolfgang (2007). Der Wandel des Bekenntnisses im Lübecker Domkapitel, 1530-1600. Lübeck: Schmidt-Römhild. ISBN978-3-7950-0484-2. OCLC 80749498.
georg, blumenthal, 1490, september, 1550, german, prince, bishop, ratzeburg, bishop, lebus, also, served, privy, councillor, margraviate, brandenburg, chancellor, university, frankfurt, oder, commonly, called, viadrina, most, reverendbishop, lebuschurchroman, . Georg von Blumenthal 1490 25 September 1550 was a German Prince Bishop of Ratzeburg and Bishop of Lebus He also served as a Privy Councillor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Chancellor of the University of Frankfurt Oder commonly called the Viadrina The Most ReverendGeorg von BlumenthalBishop of LebusChurchRoman CatholicDioceseDiocese of LebusIn office1524 1550PredecessorDietrich von BulowSuccessorJohn VIII HorneburgOther post s Prince Bishop of Ratzeburg 1525 1550 Personal detailsBorn1490Horst modern HeiligengrabeDied25 September 1550LebusBuriedSt Mary s Cathedral Contents 1 Biography 2 External links 3 Literature 4 ReferencesBiography EditBishop von Blumenthal was born at Horst administratively now part of Heiligengrabe He came from the Prignitz landed gentry and was a member of the von Blumenthal noble family in Brandenburg His father Hans von Blumenthal 1524 owned the Horst manor and villages of Vehlow Blumenthal Brusenhagen and a share of Rosenwinkel Blumenthal is mentioned as early as 1507 as secretary to Bishop Dietrich von Bulow In 1513 as cathedral dean of Lebus he also became rector of the Brandenburg University in Frankfurt and later received his Dr iur utr PhD In 1520 he received a position as canon at Ratzeburg Cathedral In the same year he was elected Bishop of Havelberg and also confirmed by the Pope but could not accept the election because of the objection of the Elector of Brandenburg From 1521 he was with an interruption from 1526 to 1529 as the holder of a Great Prebendary also canon in Lubeck 1 In 1524 he became Bishop of Lebus and shortly afterwards Bishop of Ratzeburg as successor to Heinrich Bergmeier against the bitter resistance of Duke Magnus I of Lauenburg He stayed mostly in the Diocese of Lebus and was represented in Ratzeburg by the cathedral provost In 1528 he became involved in a feud with aristocrats from the Brandenburg region and narrowly escaped an attack on the episcopal palace in Furstenwalde In 1529 however he came to Ratzeburg and had the reformist minded preacher Thomas Aderpul imprisoned which led to a feud with the nobles of the Klutzer Winkel and to a lengthy Imperial Chamber Court process which only ended in 1540 with a verdict in favor of the bishop In 1530 he accompanied Elector Joachim I to the Augsburg Diet Here he obtained an imperial ban against Duke Magnus I for the robbery of church property and in 1536 he also won an imperial chamber trial against him To finance the processes the bishop and the Ratzeburg cathedral chapter had to sell the cathedral treasure from 1530 onwards He negotiated the second marriage of Joachim II Elector of Brandenburg to the Catholic Hedwig of Poland Known in his lifetime as the Pillar of Catholicism he used his position as Chancellor of the Viadrina to combat the Reformation He acquired the respect of his opponents including the Margrave Joachim II himself for his principled stand against reforms which he believed to be wrong and opposed by every legal means possible For this Luther said he should be generally hated This quote needs a citation nbsp The Episcopal Palace of Georg von Blumenthal at Furstenwalde from a photo taken in the 1880s Georg escaped through one of the windowsHowever some of his opponents were not so respectful He was twice besieged in his palaces by Protestant brigands once at Furstenwalde by the robber baron Nickel von Minkwitz an event which drew Martin Luther into the controversy and once at Ratzeburg At Furstenwalde the Bishop escaped through a window in disguise while his brother Matthias held the place As Prince Bishop of Ratzeburg he was the last Catholic sovereign ruler in northern Germany and as Bishop of Lebus the only Bishop in Brandenburg during the Protestant Reformation to die a Catholic He died in Lebus and was buried in St Mary s Cathedral Furstenwalde upon Spree External links EditLiterature about Georg von Blumenthal in the state bibliography MV Entry on Georg von Blumenthal on catholic hierarchy orgLiterature EditGeorge Gottfried Kuster ed Martin Friedrich Seidel s picture collection Berlin 1751 p 23 ff digitized in the Google book search with CVs and portraits of the Bishops of Havelberg Gottlieb Matthias Carl Masch History of the Bishopric of Ratzeburg F Aschenfeldt Lubeck 1835 pp 455 494 full text in Google book search Karl Schmaltz Church history of Mecklenburg Volume Two Reformation and Counter Reformation Friedrich Bahn Schwerin 1936 p 37 f Bernhard Stasiewski Georg von Blumenthal In New German Biography NDB Volume 6 Duncker amp Humblot Berlin 1964 ISBN 3 428 00187 7 p 224 digitized Reno Stutz Ratzeburger Land Neuer Hochschulschriften Verlag Rostock 1996 ISBN 3 929544 37 7 pp 101 104 References Edit Prange Wolfgang 2007 Der Wandel des Bekenntnisses im Lubecker Domkapitel 1530 1600 Lubeck Schmidt Romhild ISBN 978 3 7950 0484 2 OCLC 80749498 Georg von Blumenthalvon BlumenthalBorn 1490 in Horst in the Prignitz Died 24 or 25 September 1550 in LebusCatholic Church titlesRegnal titlesPreceded byDietrich von Bulow Bishop of Lebus1524 1550 Succeeded byJohn VIII Horneburgas Lutheran bishopPreceded byHenry III Bergmeier Prince Bishop of Ratzeburg1525 1550 Succeeded byChristopher I von der Schulenburgas Lutheran bishop nbsp This article about a member of the German nobility is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Georg von Blumenthal amp oldid 1150745070, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
