Balthasar von Dernbach (1548 – 15 March 1606), was a Benedictine monk of

Fulda monastery The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day Ger ...

and its Prince-Abbot from 1570 to 1606.

Family

Balthasar was born into a branch (''called Graul'') of the ''von Dernbach'' family, a family of knights traceable to the 13th century in the vicinity of Giessen and Herborn as liegemen of the

landgraves of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse () was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early ...

. Born in 1548 in Wiesenfeld,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Balthasar was the youngest son of the fifteen children of Peter von Dernbach and his wife, Clara Klauer von und zu Wohra. Balthasar was baptized into the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church, although his father's religious leanings have been described as either "staunchly Lutheran" and the "only Catholic" in Hesse. A liegeman of

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...

, Peter von Dernbach fought in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

of 1546/47 despite adopting a critical attitude towards Philip's religious policies.

Fulda monastery

When Balthasar's father died in 1560, his mother sent the 12-year-old youth to

, where her brother, Wilhelm Hartmann Klauer von und zu Wohra, was prince-abbot. There, Balthasar was raised a Catholic, In 1566, he was ordained a priest in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. In 1570, he was elected his uncle's successor as prince-abbot and confirmed in that position by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

. As abbot, Balthasar helped his brothers Otto, Melchior, and Wilhelm attain high office. Otto became marshal-provost at Petersberg, Melchior a marshal-bailiff at Brückenau and William became commander of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

at Kapfenburg und Oettingen. Melchior's son, Peter Philip, entered the service of the

Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg () was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg, Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of Ki ...

and later became himself Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg.

Counter-Reformation

Balthasar immediately adopted a policy of counterreformation. In 1571 he called in the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

to found a school and college. He insisted that the members of the chapter should return to a monastic form of life. Whereas his predecessors had tolerated

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, resulting in most of the citizenry of Fulda and a large portion of the principality's countryside professing Lutheranism, Balthasar ordered his subjects either to return to the Catholic faith or leave his territories.Otto Schaffrath. ''Fürstabt Balthasar von Dermbach und seine Zeit. Studien zur Geschichte der Gegenreformation in Fulda'' (= ''Veröffentlichung des Fuldaer Geschichtsvereins''. Bd. 44, ). Parzeller, Fulda 1967, mit umfangreicher Literaturübersicht.

Exile and return

These measures were resisted by the chapter, the magistrates and the knights. After Balthasar repeatedly ignored threats of violence, the knights allied themselves to Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, prince-bishop of neighbouring Würzburg. In 1576, the combined opposition forced Balthasar at Hammelburg to sign a letter of abdication and made Julius Echter administrator on the condition that he would tolerate the knights' religion. Balthasar fled to the

Archbishop 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 ...

, who gave him Castle Bieberstein as residence. Gerrit Walther. Abt Balthasars Mission: Politische Mentalitäten, Gegenreformation und eine Adelsverschwörung im Hochstift Fulda. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2002.Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Balthasar von Dernbach. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2., unveränderte Auflage Hamm 1990; , Sp. 359.Franz Xaver von Wegele: Balthasar, Fürstabt von Fulda. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, S. 24–27. Balthasar revoked his abdication and sent complaints to Emperor Maximilian II and

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

to be reinstated. The Pope threatened Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn with excommunication if he refused to relinquish his claim to Fulda, but the latter insisted on the matter being settled by lawsuit, which would last more than a quarter century. During his years of banishment he directed his care and attention to the seminary at Fulda established by

for students of noble birth. Balthasar effected the creation of sixty additional free places for the needy sons of burghers. In 1602, the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

reinstated Balthasar and sentenced the chapter, the knights and the cities to pay a fine and the expenses of the proceedings. Upon his return, Balthasar continued his policy of counter-reformation and achieved a complete restoration of Catholicism in the city and the principality.

Witch trials

After 1602, he ordered witch trials. These were presided over by Balthasar Nuss, who had attached himself to the abbot during his exile and now was appointed Zentgraf of Hofbiebe and Malefizmeister. These trials resulted in the deaths of approximately 250 people. After Balthasar's death in 1606, Nuss was arrested by the new prince-abbott and spent 12 years in prison before being beheaded in 1618.Profile
, uni-protokolle.de; accessed 21 April 2015. Merga Bien, a woman convicted of witchcraft, was the most famous of the victims in the Fulda witch trials.

Literature

*Wolfgang Breul in: ''200 Jahre evangelische Gemeinde in Fulda.'' = ''200 Jahre evangelische Kirchengemeinde in Fulda.'' Evangelische Gemeinde, Fulda 2003, S. 15–26. * Heinrich Heppe
''Die Restauration des Katholizismus in Fulda, auf dem Eichsfelde und in Würzburg''
Elwert, Marburg 1850 *Josef Leinweber: ''Die Fuldaer Äbte und Bischöfe''. Knecht, Frankfurt am Main 1989;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dernbach, Balthasar von 1548 births 1606 deaths 16th-century German Roman Catholic priests Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Date of birth unknown Witch hunters Witch trials in Germany