Request to the sovereigns for support for the income of the preachers and school teachers there.
Printed by Burkhardt, p. 343, who, however, did not indicate his source, which is most likely to be found in the Weimar Archives.
Venerable, Respectable, Esteemed, Favorable Lord and Dear Father! Our very willing and diligent services are always before Your Eminence. We consider it unnecessary to tell Your Eminence how and in what form the monks, in the beginning of the evangelical doctrine, subjected themselves to resist the same holy divine word, and still do.
Since Your Eminence has sufficient experience of such evil practices, and we and our whole parish are not without harm now and every day being informed how the rulers of the parish and monastery court with us, namely the monks, at the time of the next visitation held the best income of the parish, also the perpetual endowments of the altars in our two churches, of which we had little knowledge due to the deceitfulness of monastic cunning, concealed, and the lowest, most laborious income was declared to the lords of the visitation at that time (only divine word intended for reduction), because of which now and then the respectable and worthy gentlemen, our pastor and deacon, as well as other servants of the little youth, have to suffer great lack and loss of their faithful, laborious and industrious service to their content, and, since now (praise God) the harvest is great, but the laborer (inherited) little, to go to other places for richer pay, with demolition and damage to our poor churches and their stupid consciences, are urged and caused, and although the durchl., highborn, gn. Lord, the Elector, at our humble request last time graciously improved the salary of our church servants with 20 fl., it does not suffice, because the first salary was so small, even to a considerable amount. For E. E. from inserted note 1) well to measure whether
1) (The inserted note income of the common box 44 fl. inclusis 34 fl. Approximately carry the [brewing] pans, which are usually led 4, of each brew 2 gr. Item 4-1/2 bushels of grain, 4-1/2 bushels of barley. The brick barn is so profitable that it can be maintained in length, because the wood is noticeably expensive, and what was bought for 10 fl. in the past, must be paid for at 30 fl. now; in addition, one must leave half of the earth there, and may hardly have enough earth this year; this is true once. Now from such income one must pay to the schoolmaster
they may receive from 2) decreed incomes with wife, child and servants, previously in such theurable swift runs of the yearly time.
Now, God knows, we would like to help and be helpful with the income of the common caste; Thus, the rulers of the same have had to build a hospital, which never existed before, item the schoolmaster, item the deacon, new houses from the ground up, quite and probably with great expense, moreover, they have improved so much on the old rectory and other buildings, which all drew the false monks to themselves, that therefore there is very little supply, without which one must recover the daily penny from the income of several brewing pots and the brick barn, which all bear much construction and expense. And does the necessity ever demand that we should keep with us the faithful workers of the word, for praise and glory to Almighty God and for the betterment of our poor parish, for the consolation of the sinful souls, and yet due to inability, as reported, we cannot do so even without the contribution of our poor citizens. Therefore, we are compelled to complain about all this, our need and concern, to no one but God Almighty and the most illustrious, highborn sovereigns and sovereign princes, our gracious and most gracious lords, and also to E. E., our favorable dear Lord and Father, with comforting confidence. 3)
and coadjuvants about 20 fl. per year; with what do you maintain the buildings of the church? Diacon's income is 25 fl., 1-1/2 times grain, Beiger measure; schoolmaster's income is 23 fl., 1-1/2 times grain, which grain the schoolmaster has to bring in with toil and expense at half and whole mills with many useless words. The priest's income is assessed at 70 fl., including 13-1/2 fl. 3-1/2 gr. money interest, the other is grain, barley, oats and decem (tetzen) on some fields on the Elbe, and the priest has to collect all this with a lot of expense in the villages at individual mills and bushels, and hear many useless words from the rude farmers (paurn). If the Elbe floods, as often happens, the Decem is lost, and has to borrow the grain until the next year, and in sum, it is a laborious reward for faithful work. In addition, he has several firths of hay and wood. The coadjutor has 20 fl. Item 2 fl. find-wage (vynt lon) and some bread; not much more than 60 fl., belonging to the parish in the villages. The hospital has not one cent of income; moreover, our most gracious lord, the Elector, has graciously decreed 21 fl. and it will be given to each servant annually.
2) In the text: "ab sie sich ob"; should probably mean: "ob sie sich ab". - "ab" -== from.
3) On February 13, Luther addressed his intercession to the Elector, and an investigation of the facts was ordered, but no resolution was made until the beginning of May: Thereupon, on May 3, the council of Belgern repeated its request and asked for 100 fl. and some fathoms of wood, whereupon on May 24, the council was granted 80 fl. and 20 monasteries of wood, but on revocation, annually. (Burkhardt.)
And because the spiritual goods should be donated for the preservation of the poor wretched and for the promotion of the holy divine word, our most diligent, earnest and loud (petition) for God's sake is addressed to Your Eminence, that Your Eminence would heed our need and request, that we and our poor parish be granted the right to the sovereign, high-born princes and sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire. Our gracious and most gracious lords, request that their chur- and princely sovereigns pay the income of the parish. Our most gracious and gracious lords request that their sovereign and princely sovereigns from the income of the parish and monastery estates with us, which are supposed to be in part mild alms from our ancestors, provide our common treasury with one hundred fl. annually, or else what their sovereign and princely sovereigns recognize. G. recognize, would be graciously helpful (behülfen). By God's help and the counsel of pious people, we have decreed this and will distribute it again annually, so that the Almighty God may be praised, His holy Word may be promoted, the poor little youth may be provided with pure teaching, and the poor wretched people may be provided with a fair amount of hospital care. And the benevolent God will reward all of this abundantly to Your Eminence. Thus, for your sake, we owe it to you day and night, to the best of our ability and diligence, and we do so with great pleasure. Date Belgern, the Tuesday after Estomihi [Feb. 10] Anno Dom. 1540.
E. Honorable quite willingly, the council there.
No. 2627.