Nicholas of Cusa - A Companion to his Life and his Times

Morimichi Watanabe, Edited by Gerald Christianson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317087519
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Religion

This work is a guide to the life, thought and activities of Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), the great fifteenth-century philosopher, theologian, jurist, author of mystical and ecclesiastical treatises, cardinal and reformer. It is intended not only for advanced scholars, but also for beginners and those simply curious about a man who has been called 'one of the greatest Germans of the fifteenth century' and a 'medieval thinker for the modern age'. The book provides a series of detailed but readable essays on ideas, persons, and places, a work developed over the course of nearly three decades. First, it contains articles on the important events and concepts that affected Cusanus--philosophical, religious, intellectual and political. Then it turns to his precursors and contemporaries, both friendly and critical. These include philosophers, theologians, politicians, and canon lawyers. And third, the book follows the footsteps of the man from Kues and examines various sites where he lived, studied, or visited. Because the author has also visited many of these sites, he can contribute personal observations to enliven the journey. To add to the book's usefulness as a resource and reference tool, each entry is followed by a bibliography containing both recent and older works. The purpose of the volume is to gain a greater appreciation of Cusanus and his legacy by striving for a total view of his thought and experience instead of narrowly focusing on specific philosophical, theological or intellectual ideas, or certain periods of his activities in isolation from other facets of this compelling figure.

III. Places

1. Kues: The Town

In 1401 Nicholas of Cusa was born in the village of Kues on the Moselle River in Germany. Today the village is a part of Bernkastel-Kues. Although some writers have given October 22 as the date of his birth, the exact date is not known. What kind of place was Kues in 1401? This simple question acquired more significance as the sixth centennial of Cusanus’ birth was celebrated in 2000, in Japan, and in 2001, in Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.S.A. and other countries. Unfortunately, the question cannot be answered in any detail due to lack of reliable data and documents. An attempt will be made here to provide a picture, especially in relation to Cusanus’ family and development in his youth.

Kues, or Cues, Cusse and Coesse, was located in a region which was under the jurisdiction of the archbishopric of Trier. When Cusanus was born, the Archbishop of Trier was Werner III von Falkenstein (r. 1388-1418), who reigned over Trier for thirty years in a laudable way. Together, the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier constituted the powerful ecclesiastical rulers of the Electoral College of the Empire. It was, however, much later that Cusanus, who was known at one time as Nicolaus Treverensis, established any important contact with the Archbishop of Trier himself or the office of the archbishopric in Trier.

Cusanus’ family lived on the left bank of the Moselle River in Kues. The impressive stone house in which he was born still stands at the corner (Nikolausufer 49) of Nikolausufer and Kardinalstrasse. It has been renovated and restored, most recently in 1980, through the efforts of Hans Gestrich, the recently deceased president of the Cusanus-Gesellschaft. Cusanus’ father bought the house in 1401 or shortly before. Since his father, Johan or Henne Cryfftz or Krebs (d. 1450), was a boat owner or operator (nauta), Cusanus must have been brought up to be familiar with customs and conventions related to the nearby river. It is important to remember that his father was also a man of considerable economic power and social standing and served as a juror (Schöffe) in the village. He is said to have made a monopoly of boat traffic on the Mosel, fishing rights and landed property.

Cusanus’ mother, Katharina Roemer (d. 1427), was from Briedel near Zell and had many relatives who later entered Cusanus’ life in various capacities and relations. It is known that Cusanus had two sisters, Margaretha and Klara, one older and the other younger than he, and one younger brother, Johann. Margaretha married Matthias, an influential juror probably of Trier, remained childless and died young. Klara (d. 1473) married twice, first Johan Plynisch, a burgher of Trier, and after 1441 Paul von Bristge, a juror and magistrate who served as Mayor of Trier from 1458 to 1468. She, however, also remained childless. Johann (d. 1456), who became priest of the parish church of St. Michael in Bernkastel in 1450, is best remembered as a kneeling worshiper next to Cusanus in the altar picture in the Hospital Chapel of St. Nicholas in Kues.

What education, spiritual and intellectual, did the boy have as he grew up in Kues? The parish church of St. Michael, whose original building was completed in 1386 in Bernkastel on the opposite side of the river, must have been a center of his spiritual growth, though we have little detail because reliable sources are lacking. Erich Meuthen, who examined Cusanus’ life exhaustively and has published the results of his research in the Acta Cusana, stated that there are many things concerning Cusanus’ youth about which we know little or nothing.

There is almost no information about his intellectual development. The story is told that since the boy was very studious and had little interest in learning about his father’s profession, which was the use and management of water traffic and the wine trade, the irritated father one day struck him off the boat with an oar. But the story may be a fable, as Meuthen called it (Nikolaus von Kues, 11). It is surprising that although most of them state that the story is legendary, not only some romance and nonacademic writers, such as Künkel (29), Lübke (17) and Meffert (32), but also scholars like Vansteenberghe (5-6), Bett (4) and Hoffmann (9) seem to have given some credence to it by citing but not rejecting it. Meuthen states simply that extant sources show that father and son were on good terms.

It is also alleged that, fearful of the father’s further anger, Cusanus left Kues and found refuge in the house of the Counts of Manderscheid in the Eifel. Certainly, Manderscheid is within a reachable distance from Kues for a young boy. But how could Cusanus have sought help from and found shelter with the Manderscheid counts? As his father had close relations with many nobles in the region as a boatman and merchant, it is possible that the Manderscheid counts were well known to the boy. But it is difficult to produce any reliable data that certify Cusanus’ supposed stay in the castles of the Counts of Manderscheid.

Since it is possible that when Cusanus was at the University of Cologne from 1425 onwards he was able to gain access to and examine manuscripts and documents in the cathedral archives thanks to the help of Ulrich von Manderscheid (c. 1400-1438), who was then a member of the cathedral chapters of both Cologne and Trier, there were undoubtedly good relations between him and the ducal family, and they continued throughout his life. When Cusanus established the Hospital of St. Nicholas in Kues in 1458, he set aside one of the six cells reserved for the nobles forever (in perpetuum) especially for Count Dietrich (d. 1469) of Manderscheid and his descendants. He wrote: “Likewise we give in the same form to the city of Trier one cell for priests and another for common folk. Likewise to Lord Dietrich von Mandersheid and his heirs one cell for nobles.” (Item damus in eadem forma Civitati Treverensi duas cellas, unam cellam presbyterorum et alium communium; Item domino Theoderico de manderscheit et heredibus suis unam cellam nobelium.) The nature of the contact between Cusanus and the family must be clarified further on the basis of reliable documentary evidence.

It might help us to examine the nature and characteristics of Bernkastel, located on the opposite side of the Moselle. Now a flourishing town based on trade and the wine industry, Bernkastel occupies an important position within the Moselle and Rhein regions. First mentioned in the seventh century in the Cosmographia of the geographer of Ravenna as Princastellum, Bernkastel was occupied by the Archbishop of Trier, Poppo von Babenburg (r. 1016-1047), during his battle against Adalbero von Luxemburg (d. 1036 or 1037). Because of the many campaigns against the Luxemburgers that followed, the Archbishop Heinrich II von F(V)instingen (r. 1260-1286) of Trier built a new castle called the Landshut in 1277. It was enlarged by Heinrich’s successor Boemund I (r. 1286-1299) for defensive purposes. Even today the ruined Castle Landshut occupies a commanding position in Bernkastel and is a popular tourist attraction. In 1291 Bernkastel obtained a city charter. By the end of the thirteenth century, walls with towers encircled the city. The castle often served as the residence of the Archbishops of Trier in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Bernkastel developed into an important trade center because of the wine industry and increased traffic on the Moselle.

Dependent on the development and prosperity of Bernkastel, the village of Kues must have been in a fairly prosperous condition at the time of Cusanus’ birth in 1401. Unless more reliable documents can be found, which seems unlikely, any further discussion on the state of affairs at Kues remains conjecture.

Cusanus left Kues for the University of Heidelberg in 1416 at the age of fifteen. Although he certainly must have come back from time to time, it is difficult to document his visits to his home village. He definitely returned to Bernkastel-Kues in 1452 during his legation tour throughout Germany in 1451-1452. In accordance with the foundation charter of December 3, 1458, the Hospital of St. Nicholas was completed in Kues the same year, which, however, he himself did not see in his lifetime.

Select Bibliography

Acta Cusana: Quellen zur Lebensgeschichte des Nikolaus von Kues, Band I, Lieferung 1: 1401-1437 Mai 17, ed. Erich Meuthen. Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag, 1976.

Bett, Henry. Nicholas of Cusa. London: Methuen, 1932; New York: Richwood, 1976.

Gestrich, Helmut. Nikolaus von Kues 1401-1464: Leben und Werk im Bild. Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 1990.

Hesse, Günter and Wolfgang Schmitt-Kölzer. Manderscheid. Geschichte einer Verbandsgemeinde in der südlichen Vulkaneifel. Manderscheid: Verbandsgemeinde Manderscheid, 1986.

Hoffmann, Ernst. Nikolaus von Kues: Zwei Vorträge. Heidelberg: F. H. Kerle Verlag, 1947.

Honecker, Martin. Der Name des Nikolaus von Cues in zeitgenössischer Etymologie: Zugleich ein Beitrag zum Problem der Onomastika. [Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse, Jhrg. 1939/40, 2. Abh., Cusanus-Studien V.] Heidelberg: Carl Winter Verlag, 1940.

Künkel, Hans. Schicksal und Liebe des Niklas von Cues. Stuttgart: Reclam-Verlag, 1949.

Lübke, Anton. Nikolaus von Kues. Kirchenfürst zwischen Mittelalter und Neuzeit. Munich: Verlag Georg D. W. Callwey, 1968.

Marx, Jacob. Geschichte des Armen-Hospitals zum h. Nikolaus zu Cues. Trier: Paulinus-Verlag, 1907.

Meffert, Ekkehard. Nikolaus von Kues: Sein Lebensgang—Seine Lehre vom Geist. Stuttgart: Verlag Freies Geistesleben, 1982.

Meuthen, Erich. Nikolaus von Kues, 1401-1464: Skizze einer Biographie, 7^th ed. Münster: Aschendorff, 1992.

Petry, Ludwig, ed. Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland, 2^nd ed. [Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands, 5.] Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner, 1965.

Scharff, Franz A. Des Cardinals und Bischofs Nicolaus von Cusa wichtigste Schriften in deutscher Uebersetzung. Freiburg i. Br.: s. n., 1862; Frankfurt a. M.: Minerva, 1966.

Schmitt, Franz. Bernkastel im Wandel der Zeiten. Bernkastel: Stadt Bernkastel-Kues, 1985.

Tritz, Sylvie. “… ons Schätze im Himmel zu Sammeln.” : Die Stiftungen des Nikolaus von Kues. Mainz: Selbstverlag der Gesellschaft für Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte, 2008.

Vansteenberghe, Edmond. Le cardinal Nicolas de Cues (1401-1464): L’action—la pensée. Paris: Champion, 1920; Frankfurt a. M.: Minerva, 1963.

Watanabe, Morimichi. “Manderscheid,” ACSN 7, 1 (June 1990), 24-26.

Zenz, Emil, ed. Gesta Treverorum. 8 vols. Trier: Paulinus-Verlag, 1955-1965 [vol. 6: Die Taten der Trierer (1962), covers 1354-1581].

2. Manderscheid

Located in the valley of the Lieser River, about fifteen miles northeast of Trier and fourteen miles northwest of Bernkastel-Wittlich, Manderscheid can easily be approached by car through Autobahn A1/A48 from Trier or Koblenz. It is nowadays one of the most famous health resorts in the Eifel region.

The place-name “Manderscheid” was first mentioned in a document of Otto II (r. 961-983). In a diploma of 973 Otto gave Archbishop Theodorich or Dieterich of Trier (r. 964-977) an area in the southern Eifel which spanned from Echternach to “Manderscheit” on the Lieser via Erlesbura (St. Thomas) on the Kyll. Thus Manderscheid became a corner pillar of the archbishop’s territory.

The story of Manderscheid is that of the Oberburg (Upper Castle) and the Niederburg (Lower Castle). Their dates of construction are completely unknown, although experts are in agreement that the Oberburg is of more ancient origin than the Niederburg. The Oberburg was in the possession of Count Heinrich von Luxemburg-Namur in the first half of the twelfth century. Albero von Montreuil, the Archbishop of Trier (r. 1132-1152), took it from him in a bitter feud over the abbey of St. Maximin in Trier and kept it as the only one of his acquired properties after the reconciliation of 1147, which was negotiated by King Konrad III (r. 1138-1152).

The Niederburg was the ancestral seat (Stammsitz) of the Counts of Manderscheid. The genealogy of the family of Manderscheid can be traced with some certainty only from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The most important source is the Handbook (Manipulus Hemmenrodensis) of Heesius, the chronicler of the Cistercian abbey of Himmelrod.

Although the exact dates of their rule are not known, the ruling members of the Manderscheid family in the twelfth century were Richard I (ca. 1133), Walter (1142-1171), Richard II (1157-1171) and Dietrich (1173-1206). After Winnemar of Manderscheid married Hildegard von Kerpen, the castle came into the possession of the Lords of Kerpen, who established a collateral line here around 1250. Winnemar set an example by marrying the daughter of a neighboring prince. The practice was followed by Wilhelm V (r. 1320-1345), who married Johanna von Blankenheim; Wilhelm VI (r. 1345-1370), who married Elisabeth von Sponheim; Wilhelm VII (r. 1370-1386), who married Lucia von Neuenah; and Dietrich I (r. 1386-c. 1426), who married Elisabeth or Else von dem Steine in 1381. Dietrich I’s marriage to Elisabeth von dem Steine was of special importance. As a result, the Manderscheiders took possession of Castles Steinkallenfels and Wartenstein, two important fortifications which the von dem Steine family had owned.

In the fifteenth century the family extended its possession widely. Its control reached the Lordships (Herrschaften) of Schleiden, Daun, Jünkerath, Blankenheim, Gerolstein, Neuerburg, Kronenburg, Virneburg, Saffenburg, Dollendorf, Bettingen and Falkenstein. It became a dominant power in the regions of Jülich, Luxemburg, Trier and Cologne.

According to legend, Nicholas of Cusa, reprimanded by his father for his inattention to the family business because of his studious habits, left Kues and entered the household of the Counts of Manderscheid, where he first worked in the kitchen. Soon recognized by his employers as a bright and dexterous boy, he is said to have been educated with the children of Count Dietrich I. The Repertorium aller notwendigen Nachrichten, which is in the St. Nicholas Hospital Library in Bernkastel-Kues, says on page 82:

Everywhere he served, starting—so people say—in the kitchen, he demonstrated his intelligence and skill already at a young age, as a result of which he was placed in the company of the Count’s young sons who were studying at the time. He was given his assignment in part for his own enjoyment and in part to wait upon the youth and carry their books. Subsequently, he also traveled with the young men to universities in foreign countries, eventually going as far as Rome where he then achieved happiness and success through his scholarly studies and learning.

(Allow er, der gemeinen Aussage nach, anfänglich in der Kuch gedient, nachgehends aber wegen seines Verstandes and Geschicklichkeit, so man in ihm schon in seiner Jugend verspürte, denen damalen studierenden jungen Herrn Grafen teils zur Zeitvertreib teils auch zur Aufwartung und büchertragen beygesellet wurde, auch ist er nachgehends mit den jungen Herrn in fremde Länder auf Universitäten verreiset und endlich bis in Rom, allwo er dann durch seine Scienz und Wissenschaft sein Glück und Fortu...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Main Events in the Life of Nicholas of Cusa
• Works of Nicholas of Cusa
• Abbreviations
• Contributors
• Frontispiece
• Introduction
• I. Ideas and Events
• II. Persons
• III. Places