Thomas Aderpul
Encyclopedia
Thomas Aderpul was a preacher
of the Protestant Reformation
who taught an extreme form of egalitarian religious polity; consequently, the German Democratic Republic
admired him as a proto-communist.
Aderpul came to public notice in 1529 in the Klützer Ort
, a district between Wismar
and Lübeck
, which was on Mecklenburg
territory but fell within the Bishopric of Ratzeburg
, and was mostly owned by the von Plessen family who had built up considerable debts to the diocese. They saw the Reformation as an opportunity to evade their financial obligations. Appointments to livings on estates were generally made by the lord of the manor with the approval of the diocesan bishop. Bernd von Plessen deliberately provoked the Bishop of Ratzeburg, Georg von Blumenthal
, by dismissing the two Catholic incumbents of the parish of Gressow
, which was on his estates, one of them on the non-theological grounds that he only had one eye, and to replace them with Aderpuhl, who was already married, as the pastor. The church bureaucracy was slow to react, but eventually on 20 December the Cathedral Provost Mus reported this irregularity to the Bishop. The latter complained to the Duke of Mecklenburg, reporting his letter that early in December 1529 Aderpul had preached that “All things above, below and in the earth, wood, water, meadow and game, should be held equally in common and belong to no-one in particular.”
Next day the Bishop had him seized in a night raid and locked up in the dungeon of his splendid official residence at Schönberg. When Bernd von Plessen demanded his release, the Bishop replied that the preacher was a knave and a trickster, that he knew perfectly well how to handle preachers, that he recognized only the higher authority of the Pope, and that the von Plessens had not even bothered to write to him in advance of making the appointment. Bernd von Plessen also complained to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg, arguing that Gressow was outside the Bishop’s jurisdiction and that the arrest was an act of war on Mecklenburg. The Duke tried to intercede on Aderpuhl’s behalf, and an angry correspondence about jurisdiction ensued.
When the von Plessens’ separate official letter of complaint to the Bishop was delivered, he showed it to his Castellan Bernd von Rohr and said:
"Was sollen die Klützörter tun! Wenn es eine gute große Kanne Bier wäre, so wären die Klützeorter gute Nachbarn dazu, sie söffen sie wohl aus” (What do you expect of the Klützer Ort people? If there had been a good big pin of beer, they would have been excellent neighbours to it and drunk it dry.) To which the castellan replied: "Gnädiger Herr, die Gesellen, die die große Kanne Bier wohl aussaufen können, die lassen sich auch wohl finden und halten, was sie zusagen." (My gracious Lord, our friends who can drain the pin of beer will let themselves be traced, and we will hold them to their promise).
As the Bishop would not budge, the following morning Bernd von Plessen got his brothers and relatives together and took matters into his own hands. With the exception of the von Bernstorfs, the von Plessens gathered together the entire nobility of the Klützer Ort. On Boxing Day
1529 the armed cavalcade – 100 knights and many men-at-arms, marched up to the castle gates where the bishop was lodged, with his prisoner in the dungeon below. They demanded entry with a fanfare of trumpeters and were answered with three gunshots. Bernd von Plessen's men rampaged through Bünstorf, Blüssen, Rodenberg, Rüschenbek, and Papenhusen
. All were looted, women in childbed were hauled out of bed and robbed of their bedlinen. In Blüssen they broke into the chapel, got out the church vestments and mocked them, and wounded the Bishop’s Vicar. Between them they stole 251 horses, 279 head of cattle, 465 sheep and 32 swine. Within ten days the Bishop was putting his case before the high court at Mecklenburg.
The records of the case show who took part in this rampage. There were thirteen von Plessens, Eggert von Quitzow and his three sons from Vogtshagen; five von Bülows; and nobles from the von Negendank, von der Brook, von Booth, von Schosse, von Passewitz, von Scharfenbereg, von Warnstedt, von Dambek, von Lützow, von Strahlendorf and von Bibow families. Most of these were locals, but some came from farther afield and one or two, notably Melchior von Warnstedt, even from the Bishop’s native Prignitz
.
The Duke of Mecklenburg ordered the von Plessens to keep the peace, but as this did not satisfy the Bishop he kept Aderpul locked up for a further year in Schönberg, when he was released with the remark that he had forever made himself an enemy in his domains. He ended his days as a Lutheran
parish priest in Bützow
.
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
who taught an extreme form of egalitarian religious polity; consequently, the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
admired him as a proto-communist.
Aderpul came to public notice in 1529 in the Klützer Ort
Klütz
Klütz is a town in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated near the Baltic Sea coast, 22 km northwest of Wismar, and 33 km northeast of Lübeck.-External links:...
, a district between Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
and Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, which was on Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
territory but fell within the Bishopric of Ratzeburg
Bishopric of Ratzeburg
The Bishopric of Ratzeburg , centered on Ratzeburg in Northern Germany, was originally a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Hamburg, which transformed into the Archdiocese of Bremen in 1072.- History :...
, and was mostly owned by the von Plessen family who had built up considerable debts to the diocese. They saw the Reformation as an opportunity to evade their financial obligations. Appointments to livings on estates were generally made by the lord of the manor with the approval of the diocesan bishop. Bernd von Plessen deliberately provoked the Bishop of Ratzeburg, Georg von Blumenthal
Georg von Blumenthal
Georg von Blumenthal was a German Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg and Prince-Bishop of Lebus. He also served as a Privy Councillor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Chancellor of the University of Frankfurt , commonly called the Viadrina.Bishop von Blumenthal negotiated the second marriage of ...
, by dismissing the two Catholic incumbents of the parish of Gressow
Gägelow
Gägelow is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-Hamlets of Gägelow:-Jamel:Jamel, one of the hamlets in Gägelow, has become famous because it is ruled by neo-nazis.-External links:...
, which was on his estates, one of them on the non-theological grounds that he only had one eye, and to replace them with Aderpuhl, who was already married, as the pastor. The church bureaucracy was slow to react, but eventually on 20 December the Cathedral Provost Mus reported this irregularity to the Bishop. The latter complained to the Duke of Mecklenburg, reporting his letter that early in December 1529 Aderpul had preached that “All things above, below and in the earth, wood, water, meadow and game, should be held equally in common and belong to no-one in particular.”
Next day the Bishop had him seized in a night raid and locked up in the dungeon of his splendid official residence at Schönberg. When Bernd von Plessen demanded his release, the Bishop replied that the preacher was a knave and a trickster, that he knew perfectly well how to handle preachers, that he recognized only the higher authority of the Pope, and that the von Plessens had not even bothered to write to him in advance of making the appointment. Bernd von Plessen also complained to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg, arguing that Gressow was outside the Bishop’s jurisdiction and that the arrest was an act of war on Mecklenburg. The Duke tried to intercede on Aderpuhl’s behalf, and an angry correspondence about jurisdiction ensued.
When the von Plessens’ separate official letter of complaint to the Bishop was delivered, he showed it to his Castellan Bernd von Rohr and said:
"Was sollen die Klützörter tun! Wenn es eine gute große Kanne Bier wäre, so wären die Klützeorter gute Nachbarn dazu, sie söffen sie wohl aus” (What do you expect of the Klützer Ort people? If there had been a good big pin of beer, they would have been excellent neighbours to it and drunk it dry.) To which the castellan replied: "Gnädiger Herr, die Gesellen, die die große Kanne Bier wohl aussaufen können, die lassen sich auch wohl finden und halten, was sie zusagen." (My gracious Lord, our friends who can drain the pin of beer will let themselves be traced, and we will hold them to their promise).
As the Bishop would not budge, the following morning Bernd von Plessen got his brothers and relatives together and took matters into his own hands. With the exception of the von Bernstorfs, the von Plessens gathered together the entire nobility of the Klützer Ort. On Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1529 the armed cavalcade – 100 knights and many men-at-arms, marched up to the castle gates where the bishop was lodged, with his prisoner in the dungeon below. They demanded entry with a fanfare of trumpeters and were answered with three gunshots. Bernd von Plessen's men rampaged through Bünstorf, Blüssen, Rodenberg, Rüschenbek, and Papenhusen
Papenhusen
Papenhusen is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
. All were looted, women in childbed were hauled out of bed and robbed of their bedlinen. In Blüssen they broke into the chapel, got out the church vestments and mocked them, and wounded the Bishop’s Vicar. Between them they stole 251 horses, 279 head of cattle, 465 sheep and 32 swine. Within ten days the Bishop was putting his case before the high court at Mecklenburg.
The records of the case show who took part in this rampage. There were thirteen von Plessens, Eggert von Quitzow and his three sons from Vogtshagen; five von Bülows; and nobles from the von Negendank, von der Brook, von Booth, von Schosse, von Passewitz, von Scharfenbereg, von Warnstedt, von Dambek, von Lützow, von Strahlendorf and von Bibow families. Most of these were locals, but some came from farther afield and one or two, notably Melchior von Warnstedt, even from the Bishop’s native Prignitz
Prignitz
Prignitz is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, the district Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt and the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower...
.
The Duke of Mecklenburg ordered the von Plessens to keep the peace, but as this did not satisfy the Bishop he kept Aderpul locked up for a further year in Schönberg, when he was released with the remark that he had forever made himself an enemy in his domains. He ended his days as a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
parish priest in Bützow
Bützow
Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany, with a population of 8,122 .The town was first mentioned in 1171....
.