Lorenz von Bibra

Lorenz von Bibra, Duke in Franconia (1459-1519), was Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg from (1495-1519). His life paralleled Maximilian I, (1459-1519), who served as Holy Roman Emperor from (1493-1519) to which Lorenz did serve as an advisor. 

Biography

Born in 1459, he attended school at Cloister Vessra and university at Heidelberg, Erfurt, and Paris. In 1487 he wrote a letter of introduction to Pope Innocent VIII for his half brother Wilhelm who was being sent to the Vatican as emissary of Archbishop Hermann IV of Cologne. In 1490, Wilhelm became ill when returning from Rome as an emissary of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. The grave of Wilhelm von Bibra is still to be seen in the Pelligrini Chapel of the Saint Anastasia Church in Verona.

Lorenz was a popular and well respected ruler. He was often called upon to serve as an arbitrator to solve disputes. An adherent of the German humanism movement of the late 1400's and early 1500's and renaissance man, he sought to bring reforms to the Catholic church from within.

Lorenz von Bibra and Martin Luther

He met with and got along well with Martin Luther. Apparently in January 1519, right before Luther's disputes with the Catholic Church heated up and right before Lorenz died in 1519. Following the meeting in Würzburg, Lorenz offered an escort to Luther and wrote a letter of recommendation to Duke Frederick the Wise of Saxony stating “Your beloved Excellency you should not allow this pious man, Dr. Martin Luther to leave your boundaries because something unjust might happen to him.” ("Euere Liebden wolle ja den frommen Mann Doktor Martinus nicht wegziehen lassen, denn ihm geschähe Unrecht".) Frederick recounted this in his own hand to George Spalatin. Frederick the Wise was the second most powerful man in the Holy Roman Empire and became Luther's greatest protector and champion during the Reformation. This letter has fueled speculation over Lorenz's sympathies.

Lorenz von Bibra and Riemenschneider

Contrary to his successor, Lorenz also had good relations with the famous sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider who at a time also served as mayor of Würzburg. Lorenz commissioned him to make an alter for the new church in Bibra. Lorenz also commissioned Riemenschneider to do both his predecessor's, Rudolf von Scherenberg,and his own grave marker in the cathedral in Würzburg. Today, the two gravestones stand side by side, same stone and motif, but in two different styles, late gothic and renaissance.

Lorenz von Bibra and Trithemius

Johannes Trithemius (1 February 1462 - 13 December 1516) in 1506 decided to take up the offer of the of Lorenz von Bibra to become abbot of the "St. Jakob zu den Schotten", the ""Schottenklöster" ("Scottish monastery") in Würzburg. The word steganography is taken from his book "Steganographia", a treatise on cryptography and steganography disguised as a book on black magic and his book "Polygraphia" (1518) was the first printed book on cryptography.

von Bibra Family

It has been noted that Lorenz appointed a very large number of his Bibra relatives to government positions in the Bishopric of Würzburg and that his successor, Konrad II von Thungen, also followed this same pattern but to an even greater degree.

Lorenz was a member of the aristocratic Franconian von Bibra family which among its members were Lorenz’ half brother, Wilhelm von Bibra Papal emissary, Conrad von Bibra, Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Duke in Franconia (1490-1544), Heinrich von Bibra, Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot of Fulda (1711-1788) and Ernst von Bibra (* 1806 ; † 1878), naturalist and author.

References

*JULIEN CHAPUIS, "Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages", National Gallery London Publications, October 11, 1999, ISBN-10: 0300081626 ISBN-13: 978-0300081626;
*WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, "Geschichte der Familie der Freiherrn von Bibra", 1870;
*WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, "Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Zweiter Band" (vol. 2), 1882;
*WERNER WAGENHÖFER, "Die Bibra: Studien und Materialien zur Genealogie und zur Besitzgeschichte einer fränkischen Niederadelsfamilie im Spätmittelalter", Verlag Degener & Co, 1998, 699 pages, ISBN 3-7686-9147-0;
*ALFRED WENDEHORST, "Das Bistum Würzburg: Teil 3. Die Bischofsreihe von 1455 -1617", 1978, ISBN 3-11-007475-3, pp. 51-72;

External links

*http://www.vonbibra.net/LorenzvonBibra.html Lorenz von Bibra page on vonbibra.net
*http://www.dr-bernhard-peter.de/Heraldik/Galerien/galerie70.htm Page on Lorenz von Bibra Grave