Letter Braunschweig 1627 ( Copia ), Herzog Friedrich Ulrich An Cyriakusstift

You are bidding on one letter from 1627 out Brunswick.

Issued by duke Frederick Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1591-1634).

"Friedrich Ulrich is regarded as one of the most inept and unsuitable regents of the House of Brunswick. As a pawn in the hands of his councillors, he was essentially only interested in the pleasures of the table." (Source: wikipedia.)

addressed to the chapter of Cyriakusstift in Braunschweig, which, after the abbey building was demolished in 1545, was moved to the St. Blasiusstift's St. John's Chapel.

Present ascontemporary transcript ("Copia per Jürgen von Dom p.").

Dated Brunswick, April 4th Sep 1627.

Contents: Duke Friedrich Ulrich requests a report on a spiritual "Beneficium in our St. Syriaci Monastery", which was donated by the ancestors of Jürgen von Dom in Schwerin.

On the reverse, next to the brief synopsis and date, a note about the clerk's and clerical fee.

Format: 31.8x19.5 cm.

Condition: Strong paper somewhat stained, slightly trimmed at the upper edge. BPlease also note the pictures!

Internal note: Kostbhf. 22-10-1

About Friedrich Ulrich von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and the Cyriakusstift (source: wikipedia):

Friedrich Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (* 5. April 1591 in Wolfenbuttel; † 11 August 1634 in Brunswick), nominally Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1613 to 1634.

life:Friedrich Ulrich was the eldest son of Duke Heinrich Julius von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1564-1613) from his second marriage to Elisabeth (1573-1626), eldest daughter of King Friedrich II. from Denmark. His younger brother was the commander Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, called the mad Halberstadter.

Friedrich Ulrich received a scientific education that included studies at the universities of Tübingen and Helmstedt and was completed with a cavalier tour to England and France. When he died, his father left him with a considerable debt of 1.2 million thalers. Friedrich Ulrich married Anna Sophia (1598-1659), daughter of Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg. The marriage was unhappy and remained childless.

Shortly after he took office, there were disputes with the city of Brunswick, which did not want to pay the duke's considerable sums of money. Friedrich Ulrich besieged the city for three months in 1615 without success. Because of his unwillingness to govern, Friedrich Ulrich signed every document submitted to him without checking, Anton von der Streithorst rose to power and was appointed governor in 1616 and led the regiment of unfaithful Drosten. But Friedrich Ulrich's mother and her brother, the Danish King Christian IV, also had a significant influence on government affairs. In the Thirty Years' War he initially tried to remain neutral. He later allowed himself to be involved in a campaign with the Imperials that ended in defeat. The country, as one of the worst hit in Germany, suffered hard as it was at times completely in the hands of the soldiers.

He was accepted as a member of the Fruitful Society under the company name of The Permanent.

Friedrich Ulrich died at the age of 43 as a result of a double thigh fracture and was buried in the Marienkirche in Wolfenbüttel.

Friedrich Ulrich is regarded as one of the most inept and unsuitable regents of the House of Brunswick. As a pawn in the hands of his councillors, he was essentially only interested in the pleasures of the table. He lost most of his land and mediated himself through his extensive gifts to his councils. With his death, the Wolfenbüttel line of the House of Brunswick became extinct, and Wolfenbüttel reverted to the main Brunswick line under Augustus the Younger.

The St. Cyriakusstift was a in the 11th The collegiate monastery founded in the 19th century, south of the medieval city limits of Braunschweig.

The monastery buildings were demolished in 1545.

story:The monastery was donated around 1060 by Count Ekbert I († 1068), from the Brunonen family, and probably between 1068 and 1090 by his son Ekbert II. (* 1059/1061; † 1090) erected. The exact year of its completion is unknown. It is possible that the church was consecrated before 1079 by Bishop Hezilo of Hildesheim (* 1020/1025; † 1079). The crypt was intended for the Brunonen family burial place. Ebert II. was buried there in 1090.

Cyriakusstift: The extensive monastery complex was located outside the medieval city walls of Braunschweig, in front of the Wilhelmitor and the Bruchtor in the south of the city, on the site of the 19th The old train station built in the 19th century, today the seat of the Braunschweig State Savings Bank.

The collegiate church was consecrated in honor of the holy martyrs Cyriacus and Quirinus and of the Holy Cross and was probably a Romanesque basilica with two towers on a square base. Next to the church were the cloister, the refectory, initially the dormitory and the collegiate school. in the 14th In the 19th century a Marienkapelle was donated, next to the 15th Century the abbey library was built. A hospital, the dormitory of the monastery students, extensive farm buildings and later also the residences of the canons are said to have been located in the vicinity of the monastic core complex.

Monastery: After the Brunonen died out, the patronage of the monastery went to Emperor Lothar III. to the Guelphs. The patron lord appointed the twelve canons, who formed the chapter of the monastery in the Middle Ages, and the provost, who managed the monastery's assets. The chapter in turn appointed the rector of the collegiate school, the vice-dominus, who collected the revenue from the collegiate, and the dean. The dean was the spiritual head of the monastery and, together with the chapter, had police power and secular jurisdiction over the members of the monastery and the members of the extensive estates.

Property: A property inventory from the period 1195 to 1227 provides the first detailed evidence of the abbey’s property. Count Palatine Heinrich V. (* 1173/1174; † 1227) confirmed the monastery's possessions in 34 villages, most of which were east of the Oker in Derlingau, the homeland of the Brunonen. The largest possessions were in Büddenstedt near Helmstedt, Apelnstedt, today a district of the municipality of Sickte, and Eisenbüttel, a town that became part of the 19th century. century in the heart of Braunschweig.

in the 13th In the 19th century, land ownership was significantly expanded through the acquisition of goods west of the Oker, including places in today's municipality of Vechelde, such as Sonnenberg and Vallstedt, and a salt works, probably near SalzInhibitororf in today's Hameln-Pyrmont district.

The income of the monastery justified extensive financial activities of the monastery. The Cyriakusstift acted as a lender for the Brunswick city council and the dukes, such as Wilhelm I in 1480, and noble families, such as those of Veltheim in 1478.

According to an inventory of goods from 1542, property ownership had already declined significantly before the Reformation and the monastery's previously excellent financial situation had deteriorated to such an extent that it had accumulated considerable debts.

Reformation and destruction: After the Braunschweig city council had decided in 1528 to carry out the Reformation in the city, the chapter of the monastery also converted to the Reformation in 1542, even before the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1568).

In order to get involved in a military conflict with Duke Heinrich II. To protect it from an imminent siege, the council decided to strengthen the city's fortifications by tearing down the monastery buildings. In 1545 the entire complex of St. Cyriakusstift was demolished. The tomb of Ekbert II. was transferred to the Braunschweig city area, to the crypt of the Collegiate Church of St. Blasius.

The convent also moved to the St. Blasiusstift, where the St. John's Chapel was made available to it. The St. Cyriakusstift existed as a corporation until secularization at the beginning of the 19th century. century. At times, both Braunschweig monasteries were headed by a joint provost, such as Duke Ernst Ferdinand (* 1682; † 1746) and before that his brother Ferdinand Christian (* 1682; † 1706). The last known canons included the museum director and Braunschweig privy councilor Ferdinand Emperius (* 1759; † 1822) and the writer and publisher Joachim Heinrich Campe (* 1746; † 1818), who was also appointed dean of the monastery in 1805.

Some reliquaries of the monastery's liturgical implements survive, including a carved statue of St. Cyriac covered with silver sheet. Along with other statues, monstrances and arm reliquaries, the Cyriacus statue came into the reliquary treasury of Braunschweig Cathedral, probably at the time the monastery was destroyed, and forms part of the so-called Guelph Treasure.

There are no remains of the buildings of the complex. Contemporary images of the collegiate church are rare. Only two woodcuts from the middle of the 16th century. Century show views of the city of Brunswick, with the towers of St. Cyriakus.

Apart from the assumption of the patron saint, there is no historical connection to the Catholic Church of St. Cyriakus, which was built elsewhere in Braunschweig in 1973.