Westphalia

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A province ofPrussia situated between the Rhine and the Weser. It is bounded on the northwest and north by theNetherlands andHanover, on the east by Schaumburg-Lippe,Hanover, Lippe-Detmold,Brunswick, Hesse-Nassau, and Waldeck, on the south and southwest by Hesse-Nassau, on the west by the province of the Rhine and theNetherlands. It is the tenth in size and the third in population of thePrussian provinces, having an area of 7804 square miles, and 4,125,096 inhabitants. Of its population 2,121,534 areCatholics, and 1,947,672 Evangelicals. The province has 107 cities and 1468 village communities. In the south and northeast it is mountainous, in the other sections it is level. The chief industries are agriculture, breeding of cattle, mining, and manufactures. The industrial section on the Ruhr River contains the most productive coal beds ofGermany and also the most valuable iron mines. Consequently this district is the seat of the most extensive mining industry, large iron forges, and innumerable factories for the manufacture of machinery and the working of iron. The relatively small district of 386 square miles contains some twenty towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants with altogether a population of 750,000. The other manufactures are chiefly linen and other textile products. 53.4 per cent of the inhabitants make their living in mining and manufacturing industries, 26.2 per cent in agriculture, 10 per cent in commerce and traffic. Still 42.4 per cent of the area is given up to farming and gardening.

History

In the earliest era the province was inhabited by the German tribes of the Sicambri, Bructeri,Marsi, and Cherusci. For a short time it was held by the Romans, having been conquered by Drusus andTiberius, the sons ofAugustus, in a series of campaigns during the years 12 B.C. to A.D. 5. The Romans were defeated in the great battle in the Teutoburg Forest (A.D. 9), and Germanicus was not able to reconquer the country. In the third century the Saxons pushed their way into the province from the Cimbrian peninsula; other tribes joined them, eithervoluntarily or under compulsion, and thus there arose a large confederation of tribes which bore the name of Saxons. The western part of the province between the Weser and the Lower Rhine appears from about the year 800 in the historical sources under the name of Westphalia, while the district on both banks of the Weser was called Engern, and the district between the Weser and the Elbe bore the name of Eastphalia. In the laterMiddle Ages the name Engern disappeared and the region of the Weser was then considered a part of Westphalia. No one has yet been able to give a satisfactory explanation of the names Westphalia and Eastphalia. Among the various meanings suggested have been:fâl, horse;fale, inhabitant of a lowland;vallum, boundary wall, etc.

The Westphalians were brought into contact withChristianity in the seventh century. The first apostles (about A.D. 695) were the twoEwalds, known from the colour of their hair as the White and the Black Ewald. However, the account ofBede (Hist. eccl. gent. Angl., lib. V, c.x) is uncertain and contradictory. At a later date the conversion of the Saxons especially engaged the attention ofSt. Boniface. He was not, however, able to carry out his desire, although Westphalian folk-lore has stories of the preaching ofBoniface and even of his founding of churches. Probably, even though theproof is lacking, the attempts to found missions among the Saxons proceeded from Cologne. No permanent success was gained by the campaigns of theFrankish King Pepin (751-68) against the Saxons. The country was finally subdued after several bloodywars (772-804) by Pepin's sonCharlemagne, who, as an apostle of the sword, brought the Saxons toChristianity. The questions asked the Saxon candidates forbaptism are still in existence, as well as the answers that were to be made in which they wereobliged to renounce the gods Donar, Wodan, and Saxnot. Thebaptism of the Saxon Duke Widukind (785) was of much importance; for afterbaptism he was unswervingly loyal toChristianity and itszealous promoter. The same istrue of the Westphalians in general. After they had once accepted theChristian faith, which "had been preached to them with an iron tongue by their bitterest enemies", hardly any other people were as loyally and devotedly attached toChristianity.Charlemagne's chief assistants in the missionary work were Sturm (who converted the country aroundPaderborn), Lebwin (who brought the western districts of Westphalia toChristianity), and Liudger (who converted the district surrounding Münster). At the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth centuries the missionary districts ofOsnabrück,Münster,Minden, andPaderborn were raised todioceses. The southern part of the province, in the neighbourhood of Ruhr and Lippe, fell to theArchdiocese of Cologne. Louis the Pious continued the work of hisfather. During his reign the firstmonasteries were founded; the most celebrated of these are theBenedictine Abbey of Corvey (815), and the Abbey of Herford (819) forBenedictinenuns.

Westphalia, as has already been said, was only a part ofSaxony, and in about the year 900 Saxony was made a duchy, after Ludolf, the ancestor of the ducal house, had been made a margrave in 850 during the reign of Louis the German. The duchy continued to exist until 1180. The last and greatest of the dukes was Henry the Lion, who lost the duchy through disloyalty to the emperor. This led to the division of Westphalia into numerous principalities. The southern part, the "Sauerland", fell as the Duchy of Westphalia to theArchdiocese of Cologne which retained it until 1803. This duchy had its own constitution and its own diet. The head of theecclesiastical government was the court of the officiality. Up to 1434 the court was held at Arnsberg, and after that at Werl. The attempts of theArchbishops of Cologne to extend the ducal power even over the northern part of the province were unsuccessful. Instead of thejurisdiction of Cologne, the Bishops of Münster,Osnabrück,Paderborn, and Minden, who had long had secular sovereignty, became independent ruling princes. At the same time numerous smaller principalities were created, such as the countships of Mark, Ravensberg, Tecklenburg, Rietberg, and Steinfurt, the free imperial city of Dortmund, the principality of theAbbot of Corvey. In 1394 the Countship of Mark was united with Cleves. In 1346 the Countship of Ravensberg was united with Julich and in 1511 also with Cleves. In this article the Diocese of Osnabrück, as is generally the case, is not taken into consideration, although it belongs to the original territory of Westphalia and in earlier ages included large districts of the presentdioceses of Münster andPaderborn, because from 1648 it was entirely independent, and in 1815 it became a part of the Kingdom ofHanover with which, in 1866, it was incorporated intoPrussia.

In the meantime theChurch had developed in all directions. The number ofmonasteries and religious foundations that were established during theMiddle Ages exceeded 250. Among these should be mentioned: theBenedictineabbeys at Grafschaft (1072), Marienmünster (1128), St. Moritz atMinden (1042), Abdinghof atPaderborn (1015); theCistercianabbeys at Bredclar (1196), Hardchausen (1140), and Marienfeld (1185); thePremonstratensianabbeys at Kappenberg (1122), Klarholz (1133), and Varlar (1128); the Augustinianmonasteries atOsnabrück (1288), Herford (before 1288), and Lippstadt (1281); theDominicanmonasteries at Dortmund (1310), Minden (1236), Münster (1346), Soest (1231), and Warburg (1280); theMinoritemonasteries at Soest (1232),Paderborn (1232), Münster (about 1247), and Herford (1223?). In theConflict of Investitures the Westphalianbishops, with few exceptions, held to the EmperorsHenry IV and Henry V, and only at times, and then under strong compulsion, did they support theChurch. In the same way they were partisans ofEmperor Frederick I (1152-90) in his quarrel with thepope. During the reign ofFrederick II (1215-1250), on the contrary, they were actively connected with thepope. The strong religious feeling of themedieval Westphalians is shown by the large number ofecclesiastical institutions dependent upon the charity of the people. Thus Lippstadt, with a population of 2700, had fourparish churches, and there werehospitals in very small places. Numerouspilgrimages were undertaken as far asSpain andFrance. Many also took part in theCrusades. In 1217 one of the leaders was Count Gottfried II of Arnsberg. In the fourteenth century the object of theCrusades was theheathen land of thePrussians. Thus in 1337 the Counts of Lippe, Arnsberg, and Wittgenstein joined the expeditions against thePrussians.

TheCarthusian Werner Rolevinck (b. in 1425 in the District of Münster; d. in 1502) said of his countrymen: "I am bold to assert that the people are genuinelypious, especially infasting, in hearing the Divine Word, in attendance at church, in the acceptance of theirpastors, in frequentpilgrimages, in the giving ofalms, hospitality to strangers, and other works ofChristian charity". It is probable, however, that Rolevinck describes the beautiful and earlier period of the fathers. At the beginning of the fourteenth century Westphalia was in a terrible state of disorganization caused by the political schemes of itsecclesiastical princes, as, for instance, by the three counts of Mors who occupied thesees of Cologne,Paderborn,Osnabrück, and Münster, or more especially by the Soest feud (1441-49), and the Münster feud (150-56). After 1456 better conditions prevailed for a time; order was restored in themonasteries; thebishops encouragedreligious life; thediocesansynods were more regularly held, and favourably influenced bothclergy and people. But conditions again grew bad when suddenly, in the year 1508, all the Westphalian sees were vacant and the former competentbishops were succeeded bypersons unequal to theduties of their office. Until towards the end of theMiddle Ages Westphalia inintellectual matters was under the influence of Cologne and itsuniversity. Yet in the era ofHumanism a vigorous independent life was developed in the province. Many Westphalians attended theschool at Deventer which flourished under the guidance of Alexander Hegius, a native of Westphalia. At Münster, Rudolf of Langen and Johannes Murmellius exerted an active and far-reaching influence for the spread ofhumanistic training. The Westphalian Hermann von dem Busche was one of the greatest wanderers among the itineranthumanistic teachers. Although a eulogist like Hermann Hamelmann goes too far when he asserts, as Hamelmann continually does, that the Westphalians were the first to revive Classical learning inGermany, nevertheless a large share must be ascribed to them in this revival.

During the first years of the era of theReformation Westphalia was little affected. It istrue that here, as elsewhere inGermany, a strong anti-clerical opposition had been in existence for a long time, but this antagonism did not at once join the new dogmatic opposition ofLuther. The revolts which in 1525 arose inMinden and Münster, were social in the main, and were aimed both against abuses in the lives of the upper and lowerclergy which were inconsistent with the dignity of theclerical calling and which had become intolerable, and against historically sanctioned privileges ofecclesiastics in civil and political affairs. The earliest adherents ofLuther in Westphalia were Augustinianmonks and Humanists. The Augustinians studied at theUniversity of Wittenberg and brought the newdoctrine home with them. Thus in 1524 theLutheran opinions were preached at Lippstadt by the prior Westermann, and thelector Koiten, and at Herford by the prior Kropp. Among the Humanists who maintained theLutheran cause were Hermann Marburg von dem Busche, who watched and supported from Marburg the advance of the newdogma in his native region, Jacob Montanus at Herford, and a large number ofschool teachers of the younger generation of Humanists, as Gerhard Cotius, John Glandorp, and Adolf Clarenbach at Münster. It was not until after 1525 thatLutheranism gained ground among the common people in Westphalia. As the common people had little comprehension of the dogmatic controversies, the success of theReformation is rather explicable by the fact that the old popular opposition to the life and constitution of theChurch learned to look uponLuther as its leader. The adherents of the movement continually grew in number by means of the accounts given by itinerant merchants, by the agitation carried on by preachers and students ofWittenberg University, and by popular literature. Among the cities, Lippstadt, Soest, and Herford were the first to introduce the Evangelical Confession; Tecklenburg was the first of the countships. The secular principalities gradually becameProtestant. In theecclesiastical principalities the position of the ruler was of great importance. Münster was won for the newdoctrine by the preacher Bernhard Rothmann; it was recognized as aLutheran city by thebishop in the Treaty of 14 February, 1533. TheProtestantfaith was also established in a number of country towns in theDiocese of Münster. However, in the years 1534-35, theAnabaptists carried on their wild regime atMünster, and their overthrow put an end for a time to the progress of theReformation. TheArchbishop ofCologne andBishop ofPaderborn, Hermann von der Wied, sought to introduce theReformation in the Duchy of Westphalia and in theDiocese of Paderborn, but he was deposed in 1547 and his successor re-establishedCatholicism in both districts. In Minden thebishops themselves were friends of the newdoctrine, consequentlyProtestantism was able to maintain itself. The check given by the Augsburg Interim (1548) toProtestantism was only a partial and temporary one, especially as a number of the princes rejected it altogether. After the Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555) theChurch lost Dortmund, a large part of theDiocese of Münster, as is shown by the visitation of 1571, andPaderborn, which was under theProtestantBishop of Lauenburg (1577-85).

Lutheranism was also partially superseded byCalvinism, as in the countships of Mark and Tecklenburg, in theDiocese of Münster, and in Southern Westphalia (Wittgenstein and Nassau-Siegen), while the flourishing cities of Soest, Lippstadt, Herford, Bielefeld, and Dortmund held to theLutheranfaith, the stronghold and pattern ofLutheranism being Soest. However, after theChurch had been re-invigorated by theCouncil of Trent, it took more decisive steps againstProtestantism in Westphalia as well as other regions. Here also theJesuits deserve the most credit for theCounter-Reformation. Their firstcollegium was established atPaderborn in 1580, the next at Münster at 1589. During the following century other collegiate foundations and missions were added to these. By means of their gymnasialschools they gained over the rising generation and brought large numbers back to theChurch, in districts far beyond the places of their settlement, by means of missions, retreats, brotherhoods, and sodalities. The newCapuchin andFranciscanmonasteries, a fairly large number of which were founded between 1600 and 1650, exerted influence in the same manner. It must, however, be said, that the "secular arm" had a large share in theCounter-Reformation, often a larger one than spiritual weapons. The exercise of the Evangelical religion was forbidden and the non-Catholicclergy, teachers, and officials were deposed and expelled. TheCounter-Reformation was begun in theDiocese of Münster by Bishop John von Hoya (1566-74), and brought to a victorious close by Ernst ofBavaria (1585-1612), and Ferdinand ofBavaria (1612-50).

InPaderborn Henry of Lauenburg was followed by Theodore of Fürstenberg (1585-1618), who defeated theProtestant opposition by the taking ofPaderborn in 1604; he restoredCatholicism with the aid of theJesuits, and gave theCounter-Reformation a centre by founding the University of Paderborn in 1614. In 1623Paderborn was once more entirelyCatholic. TheArchbishop ofCologne, Gebhard Truchess of Waldburg (1577-84), made a second fruitless attempt to introduceProtestantism in the Duchy of Westphalia. The three successors of Truchess made the duchy once more completelyCatholic. TheCounter-Reformation was introduced in the domains of the Abbey of Corvey by the Prince Abbot Dietrich of Beringhauses (1585-1616), but it made little progress under the inactive and incapable Abbot Henry of Aschebrock (1616-1624), and Hoxter remainedProtestant. In the same way the attempts of the dukes of Cleves, who had returned to theChurch, to driveProtestantism out of the countships of Mark and Ravensberg failed, especially as in 1614 both countships became a part ofBrandenburg. Rietberg was completely regained forCatholicism by the conversion toCatholicism of the heiress of the Countship of Rietberg, Sabina Katharina, and by her marriage with the convert John III of East Freisland, a grandson of King Gustavus Vasa. In 1610 the exercise ofProtestantism was forbidden in Rietberg. The ruler of Buren, Elizabeth, was converted in 1613; her son Moritz became aJesuit, and presented his seigniorial domain to the order. The attempts to re-establishCatholicism which were undertaken during theThirty Years War, on account of the Edict of Restitution of 1629, had only a temporary success. Among these efforts were the one atMinden, where theJesuits laboured for a short time and where in 1632 adiocesan synod was held, and that at Herford.

The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) established as the basis ofecclesiastical affairs the conditions of the year 1624. Accordingly, since then the territories ofMinden, Ravensberg, Mark, Tecklenburg, Rheda, Hohenlimburg, Siegen-Hilchenbach, Wittgenstein, and the imperial city of Dortmund have been entirely or mainlyProtestant, while Münster,Paderborn, the Duchy of Westphalia, and Rietberg have beenCatholic. The Countship of Steinfurt and the Seigniory of Gemen gradually became for the most partCatholic. Until modern times territorial boundaries were also denominational boundaries, especially in Westphalia. With the present era the denominational compactness was broken by the growth of the cities and the immigration of large numbers of factory hands from all parts ofGermany. In 1648 Brandenburg-Prussia received by the Treaty of Westphalia theDiocese of Minden, in 1702 the Countship of Lingen by inheritance from the line of Orange, and in 1707 the Countship of Tecklenburg by purchase. From the end of the seventeenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century Church life was torpid and little progress was made. Thecathedral chapters at Münster andPaderborn withdrew more and more from their spiritualduties. From the fifteenth century they were open only to members of the oldfamilies of the nobility, of whom but a few wereordained. The others did not live differently from the secular nobility. The oldBenedictine andCistercianabbeys had also become very worldly, but little was done for the training of their inmates in learning, although, in general, good discipline and order were maintained. Only themendicant orders, especially theFranciscans, laboured actively for thecure of souls. The system ofschools was very defective. In theDiocese of Münster theseminary forpriests founded by the Prince-Bishop Ferdinand in 1613 was allowed to fall into decay, so that the training ofpriests was very unsatisfactory.

Much was done at the end of the eighteenth century for the improvement ofeducation by the distinguished minister and Vicar- General of Münster,Freiherr Franz von Fürstenberg. His work affected at first only theDiocese of Münster, but the example had an influence on the whole of Westphalia, and indeed was felt throughoutGermany. He reorganized the entireschool system of Münster from the lowest elementary instruction up to theuniversity on a well constructed plan, founded theUniversity of Münster in 1771, re-established theseminary forpriests, and founded the normalschool over which he placed Overberg. The era of theFrench Revolution and of theNapoleonic empire brought violent changes. On account of the Peace of Luneville (1801) and of the Enactment of the Imperial Delegation (1803), the secular sovereignty of thebishops was suppressed and their territories used to compensate the princes who wereobliged to yield their possessions on the left bank of the Rhine toFrance. ThusPrussia received theDiocese of Paderborn and a part of theDiocese of Münster, that is the half of the upper section of thediocese with the capital. The other half was used to form petty principalities for the Princes of Salm, Croy, and Looz-Corswaren; the lower diocese and the district called Emsland were given to the Dukes of Oldenburg and of Arenberg. The Duchy of Westphalia went to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The new rulers at once secularized themonasteries for men, a right given them by the enactment of the imperial delegation. Thus in the spring of 1803Prussia suppressed themonasteries of Kapenberg, Marienfeld, Liesborn, Abdinghof, Hardehausen, Dalheim, and Boddeken. By an Edict of 17 October, 1803, Landgrave Louis ofHessesuppressed the monasteries in his territories.

In 1807Prussia had to concede its Westphalian possessions toFrance. The western part of Westphalia wasobliged to change its nationality several times, it belonged in part to the French Empire, in part to the Grand Duchy of Berg under Joachim Murat. The eastern section of Westphalia was made, in conjunction with territories taken fromPrussia,Hesse,Hanover, and Brunswick, into the Kingdom of Westphalia, the name of which was a misnomer, as the larger part of the new kingdom was composed of lands that were not Westphalian. The Kingdom of Westphalia was given toNapoleon's brother Jerome. The French continued the secularization of themonasteries, nor did they spare theconvents. On 13 May, 1809, Jerome decreed the suppression of sixconvents and on 1 November, 1809, ordered the suppression of all religious foundations, chapters,abbeys, andpriories with exception of those devoted toeducation. Similar decrees were issued byNapoleon himself on 14 November, 1811, for the territories of Münster. As far as possible the lands were sold. In 1815, after the French had been driven out of the country,Prussia received, besides its earlier possessions, the former Duchy of Westphalia, the Abbey of Corvey, the former free imperial city of Dortmund and a number of mediatised principalities and seigniories. In 1816 the Province of Westphalia was formed from these acquisitions. At a later date (18510 the whole of Lippstadt, which up to then had been divided betweenPrussia and Lippe, was added to the province. UnderPrussian administration the province has reached a high degree of prosperity.

The life of theChurch has also greatly developed in connection with the revival of GermanCatholicism in general. There are in Westphalia a large number of religious, political, social, and charitable associations ofCatholics, and brotherhoods which are very active and have many thousand members. theCatholic Press of Westphalia also is in a prosperous condition. There are 82Catholic newspapers, of which the "Westfälischer Merkur" of Münster, the "Westfalisches Volksblatt" ofPaderborn, and the "Tremonia" of Dortmund should be mentioned, besides numerousCatholic periodicals. Adiocesan synod was held atPaderborn in 1868 and at Münster in 1897. Next to the province of the Rhine, Westphalia is the most importantCatholic part ofPrussia. Theecclesiastical divisions have been so arranged by theBull "De salute animarum" of 1821, that theDiocese of Münster includes the government district of Münster, oneparish in the government district ofMinden, as well as three enclaves in the government district of Arnsberg; the County of Königssteele in the government district of Arnsberg belongs to theArchdiocese of Cologne, and all else to theDiocese of Paderborn. The government district of Münster contains 800,302Catholics, and 182,044 Evangelicals; the government district of Arnsberg, 1,081,343Catholics and 1,276,187 Evangelicals; the government district ofMinden, 239,889Catholics and 489,441 Evangelicals. For ecclesiastical statistics see articles MUNSTER andPADERBORN.

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