Melchior von Lichtenfels (c.1517–1575) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1554 to 1575.
The Prince-Bishopric of Basel was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by Prince-Bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. The final dissolution of the state occurred in 1803 as part of the German Mediatisation.
Von Lichtenfels was born into a noble Württemberg family around the year 1517. [1] In 1527, he became a member of the cathedral chapter of the Basel Münster. [1] He was archdeacon from 1547 to 1554. [1]
The German nobility and royalty were status groups which until 1919 enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area.
The Duchy of Württemberg was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for nearly four centuries was mainly due to its size, being larger than its immediate neighbors. During the Protestant Reformation, Württemberg faced great pressure from the Holy Roman Empire to remain a member. Württemberg resisted repeated French invasions in the 17th and 18th centuries. Württemberg was directly in the path of French and Austrian armies who were engaged in the long rivalry between the House of Bourbon and the House of Habsburg. In 1803, Napoleon raised the duchy to be the Electorate of Württemberg of the Holy Roman Empire. On 1 January 1806, the last Elector assumed the title of King of Württemberg. Later this year, on 6 August 1806, the last Emperor, Francis II, abolished the Holy Roman Empire.
According to both Anglican and Catholic canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics (chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. These chapters are made up of canons and other officers, while in the Church of England chapters now includes a number of lay appointees; in the Roman Catholic Church their creation is the purview of the pope. They can be "numbered", in which case they are provided with a fixed "prebend", or "unnumbered", in which case the bishop indicates the number of canons according to the rents. In some Church of England cathedrals there are two such bodies, the lesser and greater chapters, which have different functions. The smaller body usually consists of the residentiary members and is included in the larger one.
Following the 1553 death of Philippe von Gundelsheim, Lichtenfels became apostolic administrator of the prince-bishopric. [1] In 1554, the cathedral chapter elected him as the new Prince-Bishop of Basel. [1]
Philippe von Gundelsheim (1487–1553) was the Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1527 to 1553.
He died in Porrentruy on 17 May 1575. [1]
