Nikolaus Georg von Reigersberg (1598 – 7 June 1651) was an

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imper ...

official, Chancellor in the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

and Mayor of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. He came to wider prominence as a delegate from

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

to the

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

that eventually ended the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Life

Provenance, early years and family

Born in 1598, Nikolaus Georg von Reigersberg was the son of a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

, also called Georg von Reigersberg, in

Diedenhofen Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

and his wife Anna Gudnacht. The younger Georg von Reigersberg studied

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

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 ...

and

, concluding his studies with a double doctorate in

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and civil law. His first marriage, which took place on 24 August 1624, was to Maria Salome von Faber, the daughter of the

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

Nikolaus Faber. She died in 1639, by which point the marriage had produced four recorded sons and one daughter. His second marriage was to the heiress Eva Maria von Münster, who brought the Collenburg into the family. The Collenburg (hill), and a century later the Schloss Fechenbach, would become the family seat for their heirs.

Career

His professional career began in 1622 with a court appointment as secretary in the electoral chancelry of

. From 1624 till 1651 he also served as

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...

.Carsten Pollnick: ''Aschaffenburger Stadtoberhäupter'' Würzburg: Volksblatt Verlagsgesellschaft mbH 1983, He also presided as

inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

witch trial A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...

s at

Großkrotzenburg Großkrotzenburg is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of around 7,500. The town is mainly known for its swimming lake and its Großkrotzenburg Power Station, coal-fired power station. Geography Lo ...

, Wörth und

Mönchberg Mönchberg is a market municipality in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community) of Mönchberg and a ...

. However, he was relieved of his inquisitorial responsibilities in 1628 following allegations that he was using the office to enrich himself. In 1635 Elector-Archbishop Anselm Casimir Wambold von Umstadt appointed him to the nobility. Between 1640 and 1643 he was a member of the Elector-Archbishop's privy council, and Chancellor of the Archbishopric of Mainz. The size of von Reigersberg's footprint on history results not merely from a succession of court appointments and meetings with princes, but also from his participation in the peace negotiations at

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

in March 1648 which led to the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

and the end of thirty years of exceptionally destructive warfare. As the representative of

Johann Philipp von Schönborn Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

, who had taken over as Elector-Archbishop of Mainz in 1647, on 24 October 1648 von Reigersberg placed his signature on the treaty document. His was the first of the signatures placed by or on behalf of the

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

s. His contribution was prominently acknowledged by Emperor Ferdinand. In 1651, his politics being no longer in tune with the times, he requested to be released from his chancellorship. He died in 1652 and was buried in The Church of Our Lady in Aaschafenburg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reigersberg, Nikolaus Georg von German people of the Thirty Years' War 17th-century German politicians History of Münster 17th-century German judges 17th-century jurists from the Holy Roman Empire Jurists from Rhineland-Palatinate Mayors of places in Bavaria 1651 deaths 1598 births Mayors of places in the Holy Roman Empire