948G Weigand of Redwitz Bishop of Bamberg 1476-1556
Warhafftige Ableinu g vnd verantwortung vnser von Gottes gnaden Weiganden Bischouen zu Bamberg wid’ dz vnfüglich vñ vngründig aussschreibdë vñ schmachbüchlein :so der Hochgeborn Fürst Marggraff Albrecht zu Brandenberg/ gegen dem Hochwirdigen Fürsten/ Herrn Melchiorn Bischouen zu Wirtzburg : vnsern besondern lichen herrn vñ freünd vnd vns/ auch die wirdige vnsere Thumbcapittel vnter d dato Montags nach Palmar den 27.tag des Monats Marcij/ dieses lauffenden 53.jars im druck auss gehn lassen .
Nürmberg : Gabriel Hein, 1553 Price $1,100
Quarto 18 X 13 cm. signatures: A-K4 This is a disbound pamphlet
The Warhafftige Ableinung und Verantwortung belongs squarely to the polemical print battles unleashed during the Second Margrave War (1552–1555). In this conflict, Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach used the press as aggressively as he used his armies, issuing pamphlets that vilified his episcopal opponents in Bamberg and Würzburg as corrupt tyrants and enemies of evangelical liberty. These “Schmachbüchlein” (libelous booklets) were designed to justify his military campaigns and rally Protestant support by casting bishops as illegitimate rulers.
Weigand of Redwitz’s reply of 1553 is one of many defensive tracts from Catholic princes and prelates who could not allow such public charges to stand unanswered. Like his ally Melchior Zobel of Würzburg, Weigand understood that honor, legitimacy, and territorial rights were now fought out not only on the battlefield but also in the marketplace of print. Pamphlets functioned simultaneously as weapons of propaganda, legal briefs, and appeals to public opinion.
By issuing a “true refutation and defense,” Weigand placed himself within a recognizable pattern of Reformation-era polemic, where political disputes were reframed in the idiom of confessional struggle. His tract illustrates how the volatile years of the mid-1550s produced a flood of ephemeral print—now rare survivals—that document the intersection of territorial politics, confessional conflict, and the culture of honor.
Weigand of Redwitz became a canon in Bamberg in 1490. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
In 1520, he was the senior pastor of Kronach. Among his congregation was the reformer Johannes Grau, who had to flee to Wittenberg after he married the daughter of a citizen of Kronach. During his time as bishop, Weigand acted against Luther’s followers and removed Lutheran clergy from office. However, under the restraining influence of his veteran advisor John of Schwarzenberg, he was less radical than some of the people who had elected him would have liked.
At the time Weigand was appointed bishop, Adrian VI was Pope and Charles V was Emperor. During his reign, the Peasants’ War raged in the area. Over 70 manors and several monasteries were destroyed. Weigand attempted to resolve the conflict diplomatically. When military intervention appeared unavoidable, he turned to the Swabian League. The cathedral chapter also favoured intervention by the Swabian League. When the troubles began, the chapter had more rights than ever before, but now existential questions about their position were being posed. Although some of the canons may have sympathized with the Protestant faith, the demands of the peasant, which implied disempowering the canons, met with fierce resistance. The commander of the League’s forces, Georg, Truchsess von Waldburg, was a loyal, but also ruthless military leader. Weigand’s supporters were rewarded with properties confiscated from wealthy families in Bamberg. After the revolt was suppressed, Weigand, unlike some other feudal rulers, did not impose draconian punishments on the rebels. However, some rebel leaders were beheaded in the marketplace.
He pledged Veldenstein Castle to the Burgraviate of Nuremberg.
During the Second Margrave War, near the end of his reign, the Protestant Margrave Albert III Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach invaded his territory. Weigand was not prepared and had to give in to the Margrave’s excessive demands. He ceded almost half of his territory. To secure his claims, Albert occupied the key central cities Forchheim and Bamberg. Albert Alcibiades had made many enemies with his bellicose behaviour and was defeated in 1553. He died in exile in 1557.
VD16 B 278. This appears to be the only copy currently traceable in North America. A search of WorldCat / OCLC, VD16 (B 278), and KVK (Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog) locates copies only in German and European holdings; none are recorded at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, or other major North American research libraries.
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