Günther I of Schwalenberg was a German nobleman. He was elected Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1277, but had to step down in 1278. He was Bishop of the Bishopric of Paderborn from 1307 to 15 May 1310.
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Background
Günther relatives were the Counts of Schwalenberg. They were Vogts of the Bishopric of Paderborn and founders of the abbey in Marienmünster. They had a lot of influence on the clerical positions in Westphalia. Günther was a son of Count Volkwin IV and his wife Ermengard of Schwarzburg. His parents had eleven children. His brother Volkwin V was Bishop of Minden. His cousin Widukind of Waldeck was Bishop of Osnabrück from 1265 to 1269, and his nephew Conrad II of Sternberg was Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1266 to 1277. Three of Günter's sisters were abbesses: Kunigunde in Falkenhagen Abbey in Lügde, Ermengard in Neuenheerse, and Mathilda in Möllenbeck Abbey, near Rinteln.
Life
In 1268, Günther became provost in the Dionysius monastery in Enger, and also canon in Magdeburg where his nephew Conrad was archbishop. In 1272, he became thesaurer in Minden and cathedral custodian in Magdeburg. He was also dean in Goslar. In 1273, he became vice-dominus in Magdeburg, later provost.
Conrad died in 1277 and Günther succeeded him, after a disputed election, in which he defeated Bernard III of Wölpe, the cathedral cellarer. An important condition for his election was that the finances of the cathedral, for which he had been responsible as thesaurer, should be in order.
