Conrad

von Bibra The House of Bibra () was one of the leading ''Uradel'' (ancient noble) families in Franconia (northern part of Bavaria) and present day Thuringia from the mid-15th century to about 1600. Later on the family rose from ''Reichsrit ...

(or Konrad III von Bibra), Duke in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

(1490–1544) was

Prince-Bishop of Würzburg A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the Bis ...

from 1540 to 1544. Born in 1490, he studied at the universities of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

and

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

. His whole life Conrad seemed to have had a hard time making up his mind about being a priest. Three times between 1520 and 1532 he entered a priestly position and then resigned. In 1525 during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

, Conrad was among the defenders of the Fortress Marienberg at

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 ...

which was under siege. Afterwards he served on the commission determining damages. Finally in February 1539 he entered a priestly position again. On 28 April 1540 he became Provost of Neu Münster in Würzburg. Already on 1 July 1540, he was surprisingly elected Prince Bishop. Afterwards he showed an independent even uncooperative attitude. Seven times he put off his ordination as a priest and bishop. Also despite the Emperor's admonitions, he gave excuses and refused to personally attend meetings of the Imperial Diet. In 1542 when the plague broke out in Würzburg, he moved his court to Aschach and Neustadt. In August 1544 after reigning only four years he died which apparently solved the problem of his never having completed his ordination vows or formal installation as bishop. Conrad is also known for the

Bishopric of Würzburg In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

exchanging

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

in 1542 to the

House of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German Graf, comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, princely county ( ...

in exchange for the administrative district (''Amt'') of Mainberg.

Grumbach-Zobel Affair

Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt death marker

Just before dying, Conrad gave

Wilhelm von Grumbach Wilhelm von Grumbach (1 June 150318 April 1567) was a German adventurer, chiefly known through his connection with the so-called "Grumbach Feud" (), the last attempt of the Imperial Knights to prevail against the power of the territorial Princes o ...

10,000 gold florins as a gift, without obtaining the consent of the

Cathedral Chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

. When, after the death of Conrad, Melchior Zobel of Giebelstadt, the new Prince Bishop asked for the money back from Grumbach. Grumbach paid, but the harmonious relationship between lord and vassal were destroyed. Conrad left behind two natural children named Conrad and Katherine Biber. Katherine married a Christoph Kretzen. Kretzen later murdered the next prince bishop, Meichior von Zobel (as well as

Florian Geyer Florian Geyer von Giebelstadt (also spelled ''Geier''; 1490 – 10 June 1525) was a German nobleman, diplomat, and knight. He became widely known for leading peasants during the German Peasants' War. Early life Florian Geyer was born around ...

) on behalf of his employer Wilhelm von Grumbach. Grumbach's adventures including this incident made him famous. The spot was marked next to the All Saints Bridge in Würzburg on the fortress side. Grumbach declared he was innocent of this crime, but his story was not believed, and he fled to France. Kretzer was captured on the French border in Schaumburg Castle in what was then Lorraine, confessed to the act in 1558, but hanged himself before he could be tried.

Family

Conrad was a member of the aristocratic Franconian

family which among its members were

Lorenz von Bibra Lorenz von Bibra, Duke in Franconia (1459, Mellrichstadt – 6 February 1519, Würzburg) was Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg from 1495 to 1519. His life paralleled that of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I (1459– ...

, Prince-Bishop of

, Duke in

(1459–1519), Lorenz’ half brother,

Wilhelm von Bibra Wilhelm von Bibra (1442–1490) Knight of the Golden Spur (HRE), (''Eques auratus'') was a Papal emissary. Papal emissary Wilhelm functioned as a Papal Emissary for both the archbishop of Cologne and Kaiser Friedrich. Wilhelm’s half brothe ...

Papal emissary,

Heinrich von Bibra Heinrich von Bibra (Heinrich VIII of Fulda), Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot of Fulda (1711–1788) was Prince-Bishop and Prince-Abbot from 1759 to 1788. As part his role as Prince-Abbot of Fulda, he had the additional role as Archchancellor ...

, Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot of Fulda (1711–1788) and Ernst von Bibra (*1806 ; † 1878), naturalist and author.

Grave

The main part of his body was buried at the

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

(see diagram below). His tomb monument (#32) by Peter Dell the Elder and the bronze plate (#37) are both on display. The bronze plate was apparently damaged in World War II. Photo of undamaged bronze plate is linked.

References

*THEOBALD FREUDENBERGER, ''Die Fürstbischöfe von Würzburg und das Konzil von Trent'', Reformationsgeschichtliche Studien und Texte, 128. Münster: Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung,, , 1989; *WERNER WAGENHÖFER, ''Die Bibra: Studien und Materialien zur Genealogie und zur Besitzgeschichte einer fränkischen Niederadelsfamilie im Spätmittelalter'', Verlag Degener & Co, 1998, 699 pages, ; *WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, ''Geschicte der Familie der Freiherrn von Bibra'', 1870; *WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, ''Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Zweiter Band'' (vol. 2), 1882; *ALFRED WENDEHORST, ''Das Bistum Würzburg: Teil 3. Die Bischofsreihe von 1455 -1617'', 1978, , pp. 100–109;

External links

German BiographyConrad von Bibra Page on vonbibra.net include photo of bronze grave plate prior to WWII damage
Wuerzburg Dom enlargednumbers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibra, Conrad von 1490 births 1544 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria Prince-bishops of Würzburg Dukes in Germany

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

University of Cologne alumni University of Bologna alumni University of Erfurt alumni University of Ingolstadt alumni Burials at Würzburg Cathedral Dukes of Franconia