Vmb sölichen mütwillen – Sigmund von Weißpriach’s Declaration of Enmity to Saint Paul’s Abbey in Lavanttal

Abstract

This paper analyses the declaration of enmity by Sigmund von Weißpriach, Duke Albrecht VI of the Habsburgs' castellan of Muta (Hohenmauten), to Saint Paul's Abbey in Lavanttal. The feud broke out in October 1440 due to an alleged breach of Muta's jurisdiction by Stephan Prüschenk, Saint Paul's castellan of Marenberg. Sigmund's renunciation of peace after a truce was made in the wider Cilli-Habsburg conflict, shows that his enmity became an integral part of the one between the Counts of Cilli and the King of the Romans only after their truce expired at the end of April 1442. Sources documenting the one-week exacerbation of the conflict between Weißpriach and Abbot Johannes I are examined on two levels. A close reading of documents contributes to the investigation of the language of enmity and the role of emotions in feuds, while the overall analysis of the sources complements studies on the Drava River Valley in the turbulent fifteenth century.