A diocesan feud (German: Stiftsfehde[1]) is either a warlike conflict between two contenders for the election of a prince-bishop, ruler of a bishopric or archbishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, or an armed conflict between two parties within such a territory. The introduction of the Imperial Church System in the 10th century had intended the position of prince-bishops to be non-hereditary, as all Catholic clergymen were required to be celibate and thus could not produce legitimate offspring to inherit their possessions. Instead, the Holy Roman Emperor would appoint one of his confidants as prince-bishop, upon whose death he could choose a successor himself.[2] However, after the decline of imperial authority over clerical appointments due to the Investiture Controversy (1076–1122), ending with the Concordat of Worms, the cathedral chapters started electing the bishops, and their choice had to be confirmed by the metropolitan bishop.[3] In the 14th century, the Holy See began to reserve the appointment of certain bishops to itself, after which the pope (himself the bishop of Rome) gradually laid claim to the exclusive right to appoint all bishops everywhere.[3]
In practice, all candidates to succeed a deceased prince-bishop, as well as the members of the cathedral chapters which were entitled to vote for these candidates, were either part of powerful aristocratic dynasties or, more commonly,[1] the lesser German nobility (by and large families of Imperial Knights) which sought to de facto add these prince-bishoprics to their Hausmacht.[4][5] In some cases, especially in the late Middle Ages (between 1300 and 1500), the result of the election did not satisfy one of the contending parties, and military conflicts ensued, which have become known as diocesan feuds, that bear a lot of similarities to wars of succession.[1]
The best known examples in the Holy Roman Empire were the:
Bremen Diocesan Feud (1258–59)
Cologne Diocesan Feud (1473–1480)
Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (1519–1523)
Mainz Diocesan Feud (1461–62)
Münster Diocesan Feud (1450–1457)
Strasbourg Bishops' War (1592–1604)
Utrecht Schism (1423–1449)
Utrecht war (1456–1458)
Utrecht war of 1481–83 (German: Utrechter Stiftsfehde[6])
An example of a diocesan feud outside the Holy Roman Empire was the War of the Priests (1467–1479) in the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, a semi-independent state under the mixed protection of the State of the Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Poland.
^ abcWilhelm Kohl. Die Bistümer der Kirchenprovinz Köln. Das Bistum Münster 7,1: Die Diözese. Berlin, 1999. Germania Sacra, New Series, Vol. 37,1; ISBN 978-3-11-016470-1 ([1], p. 170, at Google Books), pp. 170–184.
^Istvan Bejczý, Een kennismaking met de middeleeuwse wereld (2004) 76–77, 199. Bussum: Uitgeverij Coutinho.
^Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Investituurstrijd". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.
^Printy, Michael (2006). Enlightenment and the Creation of German Catholicism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 83–84. ISBN 9780521478397. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
^Welz, Reinhard (2006). Alte europäische Städte. Mannheim: Reinhard Welz Vermittler Verlag e.K. p. 415. ISBN 9783866563667. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
A diocesanfeud (German: Stiftsfehde) is either a warlike conflict between two contenders for the election of a prince-bishop, ruler of a bishopric or...
The Hildesheim DiocesanFeud (German: Hildesheimer Stiftsfehde) or Great DiocesanFeud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that...
The Mainz DiocesanFeud (German: Mainzer Erzstiftsfehde), also known as the Baden-Palatine War (Badisch-Pfälzischer Krieg), took place in 1461/1462 and...
The Cologne DiocesanFeud (German: Kölner Stiftsfehde, or Stiftsfehde zu Köln), also called the Neuss War (Neusser Krieg) or Burgundian War (Burgundischer...
Hildebold of Wunstorf (? - 1273), also Hildbold , was the Prince-Archbishop of Bremen from 1258 until his death. He was a son of Hildebold II, Count of...
Burgundian War may refer to: Burgundian Wars (1474-77) Cologne DiocesanFeud (1473-80) Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War (1407-35) This disambiguation page...
made no mention of Gutenberg. In 1462, during the devastating Mainz DiocesanFeud, Mainz was sacked by Archbishop Adolph von Nassau. On 18 January 1465...
near Dassel on which construction began in 1527. In the Hildesheim DiocesanFeud in 1519 he was initially defeated militarily in the Battle of Soltau...
The siege of Neuss, from 1474–75, was linked to the Cologne DiocesanFeud and part of the Burgundian Wars. The siege, led by Charles the Bold against...
Stanser Verkommnis of 1481. Battles of the Burgundian Wars Cologne DiocesanFeud Vaughan, Richard (1973), Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy...
by the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel as a result of the Hildesheim DiocesanFeud in 1521. Duke Eric I ordered to tear down Hunnesrück castle and had...
attack. At the beginning of the 16th century, and before the Hildesheim DiocesanFeud, it was therefore rebuilt under Eric I into a modern fortress, accessible...
remained loyal to Theodoric, Adolph declared war. The devastating Mainz DiocesanFeud continued for a year until, on 28 October 1462, Adolph captured the...
place on 28 June 1519 and was the military climax of the Hildesheim DiocesanFeud which lasted from 1519–1523. Some sources describe it as "the last knights'...
entirely into the possession of Hesse in 1462 after the end of the Mainz DiocesanFeud. In 1490 Landgrave William I (1466–1515) "built a fine hunting lodge...
to the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel after the Hildesheim DiocesanFeud (1519-1523). In retrospect, this Brunswick period constituted Alfeld's...
The Utrecht Schism (Dutch: Utrechts Schisma) was a diocesanfeud in the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht from 1423 to 1449. The legitimate prince-bishop of...
Global Information