400th birthday of Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1991 - 100 Pfennig

Friedrich Spee was born on February 25, 1591 as the eldest son of the bailiff and spokesman Peter Spee of Langenfeld in the Palatinate to Kaiserswerth near Dusseldorf. After high school studies at the Dreikönigsgymnasium in Cologne, he studied for two years at the local university, until he joined Trier at the age of 19 in the Jesuit order. As a student he got to know Fulda and Würzburg. The years of his early work as a student pastor and high school teacher led him to Worms, Speyer and Mainz. After completing his studies in theology in 1623, he worked first as a professor of philosophy in Paderborn, then as a pastor in Cologne and then in Peine, where he was seriously injured in 1629 in an assassination attempt. After recovering, he returned to Paderborn where he worked as a professor of theology and cathedral preacher. Since 1631 he has taught at the University of Cologne, since 1633 at the University of Trier. When Friedrich Spee completed his studies in theology in 1623, he had already published more than a hundred hymns, which were widely distributed in German-speaking countries, including the Advent song "O Heiland, tear up the heavens" which is still popular in Protestant and Catholic communities. Especially in the time of his recovery from the assassination he continued his poetic work at Falkenhagen Monastery and decided to show with his song collection "Trutz-Nachtigall" that God, as Spee puts it, also poets in the German language have. The work has earned him the rank of one of the most important Baroque lyricists. The songs are characterized by a folk song tone, a deep piety and the praise of the beauty of God's creation. When Friedrich Spee temporarily took on the spiritual accompaniment of the St. Ursula Community of Women in Cologne, which was primarily devoted to the education and schooling of girls from all walks of life, he composed his "Güldenes Virtue Book" for them God's worship and concrete charity inspiring work and at the same time the first written for women major devotional book. But he became known above all for his fight against injustice and torture and for a human rights-oriented lawsuit. His courageous and sensational fight against the witch trials, the "Cautio criminalis", contributed significantly to overcoming the terrible witchcraft in Germany, but brought the author himself in great danger for life and limb. The legal principles he represents - u. a. the right to a defender for every defendant, the acceptance of his innocence, to the judicial proof of his deed ("presumption of innocence"), unconditional rejection of torture - were only gradually established in the penal legislation of the European peoples in the 19th century. When Trier was haunted by the fighting of the Thirty Years' War in 1635, Friedrich Spee, who besides his work as a professor of theology at the University of Trier, also worked as a pastor in hospitals and prisons, took on the role of a caretaker and pastor of the wounded obtained the release for the captured French soldier. He went on fighting for the wounded and sick soldiers, as it was already evident that they had brought a dangerous plague into the city. On August 7, 1635, he was even at the age of 44 years a victim of this disease. Because of the danger of infection he was buried the same day in the tomb under the Jesuit church; his grave was rediscovered in 1980. Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld was a truly great man and Christian, of versatile gifts and generous, selfless character. His spirit of faith, his commitment to individuals and groups in need, as well as his relentless struggle against abuses in society remain exemplary. (Text: Dr. Anton Arens, Trier)