Hersfeld Abbeywas an importantBenedictineimperial abbeyin the town ofBad HersfeldinHesse(formerly inHesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune andFulda.The ruins are now a medieval festival venue.
Imperial Abbey of Hersfeld Reichsabtei Hersfeld | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 775–1606 (de facto) 775–1648 (de jure) | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
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 Hersfeld Abbey: church ruins | |||||||||
| Status | Imperial Abbey | ||||||||
| Capital | Hersfeld Abbey | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Founded bySaint Boniface | 736–42 | ||||||||
| 775 | |||||||||
1371 | |||||||||
• Forced union withFulda | 1513–15 | ||||||||
• Abbot Krato swore allegiance toLutheranHesse | 1525 | ||||||||
• Otto, Prince of Hesse, elected lay administrator | 1606 | ||||||||
| 1648 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||
History
editHersfeld was founded bySaint Sturm,a disciple of SaintBoniface,before 744. Because its location rendered it vulnerable to attacks from theSaxons,however, he transferred it toFulda.Some years later, in or about 769 after the defeat of the Saxons by theFranks,Lullus,archbishop of Mainz,re-founded the monastery at Hersfeld.
Charlemagne(who had recently succeeded to the Frankish royal crown) and other benefactors provided endowments, and in 775 gave it the status of aReichsabtei"imperial abbey" (i.e., territorially independentprince-abbacywithin the Empire).[1]
Pope Stephen IIIgranted it exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. It soon possessed 1050hidesof land and a community of 150 monks.[2]
Lullus was buried in the church at his death in 786. The abbey buildings were extended between 831 and 850, and in 852 Lullus' grave was moved to the new basilica. During this ceremony Lullus' canonisation was formally announced byRabanus Maurus.(The "Lullusfest", or "Feast of Saint Lullus", has been celebrated in Hersfeld since then, on 16 October and is the longest-established local festival in the German-speaking world).
During the abbacy of Abbott Druogo (875–892) the first knownHersfeld Tithe Registerwas written from 881 onwards. An additional tithe register was prepared before 899 during the abbacy of Abbott Harderat.
The abbey had already become a place of pilgrimage after 780, because of the relics ofSaint Wigbertwhich were brought here at that time.[3]A valuable library was collected, the annals of the monastery were regularly kept, and it became well known as a seat of piety and learning. Towards the close of the 10th century, Hersfeld suffered from the general decline of the age, and monastic discipline became relaxed. In 1005, the observance was reformed bySaint Gotthard(afterwardsBishop of Hildesheim),[4]and members of the community were sent out to other houses of the order to carry out in them the work of religious revival.
During theInvestiture Controversy,Hersfeld took the side of the imperial cause against the papacy.Emperor Henry IVhimself visited it quite often, sometimes accompanied by his wife; and his son and successor sonConrad of Italywas born and baptized within the precincts of the abbey.[5]In the last decade of the 11th century the abbey seems to have been fully restored to papal favour, and it continued to prosper for a long subsequent period.
The town of Hersfeld, nowBad Hersfeld,grew up outside the abbey, and flourished, to the extent that it found itself strong enough to assert its independence, and in 1371 formally placed itself under the protection of theLandgraves of Hesse.[2]
As time went on the state of the monastery again deteriorated, and in 1513 it had reached such a low point that abbot Volpert Riedesel resigned his office into the hands ofPope Leo X,and theabbot of Fuldawas authorized by theEmperor Maximilianto incorporate the house into his own abbey. According to a contemporary account, the library was in a state of ruin and decay, many precious volumes had altogether disappeared, and manuscripts containing the archives and records of the house were used in the kennels as litter for the dogs.[2]
Reformation
editThis forced union between Hersfeld and Fulda lasted little more than two years, after which a new abbot of Hersfeld was chosen. Abbot Krato, who held office in 1517, was however in sympathy withLutheranism.(Martin Lutherstopped at the abbey on his return from theDiet of Wormsin 1521 and gave a sermon). Krato swore allegiance to the LutheranPhilip I, Landgrave of Hesse,in 1525. The abbey church was consequently closed toRoman Catholicworship,Massbeing said only in a chapel inside the monastery.[2]
Dissolution
editFor the rest of the century the abbey continued as a Protestant establishment under the close supervision of the rulers of Hesse, and on the death of the last abbot (Joachim Röll) in 1606,Otto, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel,was elected lay administrator.[2]
The pope made a vain attempt, after Otto's death, to bring the abbey back under Catholic administration. It continued in the hands of the princely family until after the conclusion of thePeace of Westphaliain 1648,[2]Hersfeld, as an imperial fief, was united to Hesse as the secularisedPrincipality of Hersfeldwhich maintained its seat in theReichstag.
Buildings
editThe abbey church, in theRomanesque style,was built in the early part of the 12th century, but was used as a powder magazine and then destroyed by theFrenchin 1761 during theSeven Years' War.The ruins are now a well-known venue for concerts and public events, and are the site of the annualBad Hersfelder Festspiele.[1]
The Katharinenturm (tower) still stands. Within it is theLullusglocke,Germany's oldest cast bell dated to 1038.[6]
Burials
edit- SaintLullus
- Saint Wigbert
Annals
editThe annals of the abbey, the "Annales Hersfeldienses", are a significant source of medieval German history.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ab"Hersfeld Abbey Ruins", Kultur in Hessen
- ^abcdefg
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Oswald Hunter-Blair (1913)."Hersfeld".In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.Retrieved6 February2011.
- ^Butler, Alban. "St. Wigbert, Abbot and Confessor",The Lives of the Saints,Vol. VIII, 1866
- ^Schmucki, Ottaviano. "San Gottardo di Hildesheim", Santi e Beati, June 22, 2002
- ^Robinson, Ian S.,Henry IV of Germany.New York: Cambridge University Press. (2000) p. 95
- ^"Die Lullus-Glocke 975 Jahre" (The Lullus Bell 975 years), Freunde der Stiftsruine, 2013
External links
edit
Media related toHersfeld Abbeyat Wikimedia Commons
