MÜNSTER

MÜNSTER. The prince-bishopric of Münster was the largest and most populous Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. Founded in 805 c.e., it covered 4,571 square miles (12,100 square kilometers) in the Westphalian region (Kreis ) of northwestern Germany and had 311,341 inhabitants in 1800. It was predominantly rural apart from Münster itself, which, with 14,000 inhabitants, was the largest Westphalian town. Grain and cattle were the main products, and most peasants remained bound by varying degrees of feudal servitude until the early 1800s. As in other German prince-bishoprics, the cathedral canons elected each bishop and dominated the administration together with the local nobility, who controlled the territorial Estates, or assembly. The spread of Lutheranism in the city of Münster heightened longstanding tension between its inhabitants and the bishop, particularly after the election of Franz von Waldeck (1491–1553) in 1532. Defense of civic autonomy became enmeshed with the expression of new religious ideas, notably Anabaptism, which attracted a large following around the Dutch immigrant Jan van Leyden. Leyden's followers seized control in 1534, initiating a radical social experiment that included polygamy. The bishop blockaded the city with the assistance of other princes who regarded the Anabaptists as godless subversives. Many Lutheran citizens shared their opinion, and Leyden's regime collapsed amidst growing internal discontent and external military pressure in June 1535. Leyden was executed in 1536, but the city retained some autonomy, and Lutheranism spread to the surrounding countryside by the 1580s, while most of the nobles became Calvinists under Dutch influence.

The election of Ernst of Bavaria (1559–1612) as bishop in 1584 signaled an important change of direction. Ernst had secured control of the archbishopric-electorate of Cologne in a disputed election the previous year and was a representative of militant Catholicism. Münster remained linked to Cologne until 1650, as his successor, Ferdinand of Bavaria (1577–1650), was also elected there. The association with Cologne was continued by other dual elections in 1683–1688 and 1719–1802 and considerably increased Münster's political importance within the empire. It also complicated the territory's own politics, since the Estates generally resented initiatives from Cologne, where their ruler preferred to reside. Ferdinand joined the Catholic League and coordinated its policy in northwest Germany during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The canons tried to curb external influence by choosing a local noble, Christoph Bernhard von Galen (1606–1678), as Ferdinand's successor. Galen proved to be Münster's most ruthless and significant bishop. Known as Bommen Berend, 'Bomber Bernhard', and the Kanonenbischof, 'Cannon Bishop', for his enthusiasm for the military, he was determined to reimpose Catholicism and secure his territory against the Protestant Dutch and Swedes. Skillfully exploiting the divisions between the canons, the Estates, and the city, he raised taxes for an army that sometimes numbered twenty thousand men. This was loaned to other powers, particularly the emperor, in return for subsidies and political support. The latter proved crucial in Galen's long struggle with the city, which endured four sieges before finally capitulating in 1661. Episcopal authority was firmly established, and Münster became solidly Catholic by the eighteenth century. Further involvement in later European wars drained territorial resources, and Münster declined to only regional importance, despite the continued association with Cologne. Prussia gained influence in Münster after 1795 and annexed it in 1802.

See also Anabaptism ; Cologne ; Leyden, Jan van .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arthur, Anthony. The Tailor King. The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster. New York, 1999.

Benecke, Gerhard. Society and Politics in Germany 1500–1750. London and Toronto, 1974.

Bönninghausen, Clemens Maria Franz von. Die kriegerische Tätigkeit der Münsterischen Truppen 1651–1800. Coesfeld, 1978.

Jakobi, Franz-Josef, ed. Geschichte der Stadt Münster. Münster, 1993.

Kohl, Wilhelm, and Christoph Bernhard von Galen. Politische Geschichte des Fürstbistums Münster 1650–1678. Münster, 1964.

Kohl, Wilhelm, ed. Westfälische Geschichte. Vol. I, Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des alten Reiches. Düsseldorf, 1982–.

Po Chia-Hsia, Ronnie. Society and Religion in Münster 1535–1618. New Haven, 1984.

Peter H. Wilson

Munster was ruled by the Eóganacht dynasty from the 7th to the mid-10th cent., who were then overshadowed by Dál Cais, to whom Brian Boru (d. 1014) belonged. By the 12th cent. Brian's descendants, the O'Briens, were ruling north Munster (Thomond) from their capital at Limerick, while the main branch of the Eóganacht, the MacCarthys, were ruling south Munster (Desmond) from Cork. The province was directly affected by the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 which saw widespread colonization, the O'Briens and MacCarthys being confined in the far west. Munster was gradually shired in the 13th cent., and was dominated by powerful Anglo-Irish families such as the Poers (in Waterford), Barrys, Roches (in Cork), the Butler earls of Ormond (Tipperary), and the Geraldine earls of Desmond (north Kerry and Limerick), who became increasingly integrated into Irish society. The establishment of the presidency of Munster in 1570 helped restore English government there, but a Desmond revolt in 1579 led to its plantation by English protestant settlers, and the defeat of the Irish forces at the battle of Kinsale in 1601 meant the collapse of the Gaelic ascendancy throughout Ireland. The 18th cent. was marked by agrarian disturbances, especially those by the ‘Whiteboys’, while Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary, was the scene of a futile rebellion by the Young Irelanders during the Great Famine in 1848. Munster was the focus of much of the guerrilla warfare that characterized the War of Independence, 1919–21.

Sean Duffy

Munster Largest of the Republic of Ireland's four provinces, on the Atlantic coast. It includes the counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, n and s Tipperary, and Waterford. Area: 24,126sq km (9315sq mi). Pop. (1996) 1,033,903.

munster Soft cheese made in wheel shapes with an orange‐red rind. Originally French, now made in several countries.