Die Kanoniker von St. Blasius

Secular clergy around 1400 - successful in acquiring benefices and traveling on behalf of their Braunschweig chapter and the Welf land lords. Who does not know the Braunschweig Cathedral of Henry the Lion? The duke and his ruling descendants "of Braunschweig (and Lüneburg)" were patrons of this church and the associated institution in the ducal castle in the heart of the city. The appointment of the 22 canon positions of the collegiate chapter was the responsibility of the Welf dynasty, distributed proportionally among the various lines and branches. But who were the holders of these positions? Ulrich Schwarz compiles biographies of canons from two decades based on local, regional, and curial sources. Secular clergy from esteemed noble and bourgeois families of the Welf lands and cities, as well as from even further afield, come into focus. In addition to their origins, the circumstances of their admission to the chapter, university studies, roles as notaries for the dukes, the assumption of special chapter offices, and the possession of external benefices—often more significant than the canonries themselves—are examined. Through these biographies, both the Braunschweig castle chapter and the Welf land rule are presented in a new light, structurally and historically. The significance of the chapter in the ecclesiastical life of the surrounding city is also to be re-evaluated.