Quedlinburg Abbey (German: Stift Quedlinburg or Reichsstift Quedlinburg) was a house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, as his memorial . For many centuries it enjoyed great prestige and influence.
History
Quedlinburg Abbey was founded on the castle hill of Quedlinburg
in the present Saxony-Anhalt in 936 by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor,
at the request of his mother Queen Matilda, later canonised as
Saint Matilda, in honour of her late husband, Otto's father, King
Henry the Fowler, and as his memorial . Henry was buried here, as
was Matilda herself.
The "Kaiserlich freie weltliche Reichsstift Quedlinburg"
("Free secular Imperial abbey of Quedlinburg"), as its full style
was until its dissolution in 1802, consisted of a proprietary
church of the Imperial family to which was attached a college of
secular canonesses (Stiftsdamen), a community of the
unmarried daughters of the greater nobility and royalty leading a
godly life. The greatest and most prominent foundations of this
sort were Essen Abbey, Gandersheim Abbey, Gernrode Abbey, Cologne
Abbey and Herford Abbey, in the last of which the young Queen
Matilda had been brought up by her grandmother, the abbess.
Thanks to its Imperial connections the new foundation attracted
rich endowments and was soon a wealthy and thriving community.
Ecclesiastically, the abbess was exempt from the jurisdiction of
her diocesan, the Bishop of Halberstadt, and subject to no superior
except the Pope. The bishops of Halberstadt were constantly engaged
in dispute with the abbesses, as they claimed to have spiritual
jurisdiction over the abbey in virtue of subjection of women to
men. In her political relations, the abbess was a princess of the
Holy Roman Empire, entitled to seat in the College of Princes and a
vote at the Diets.
During the Reformation the abbey became Protestant, under Abbess
Anna II (Countess of Stolberg).
After the German Mediatisation of 1803 the abbey was taken over
by the Kingdom of Prussia as the Principality of
Quedlinburg. Between 1807 and 1813 it belonged to the
shortlived Kingdom of Westphalia.
Church
The church of St. Servatius is dedicated to Saint Servatius of
Tongeren and
Saint Denis and is
a significant Romanesque building. Construction of the three-naved
basilica on the remains of three predecessor buildings began
sometime before 997 and finished in 1021. A fire in 1070 caused
severe damage. The building was rebuilt in its previous form, and
was rededicated in 1129 in the presence of Lothar III. The church
contains the architectural feature known as the
niedersächsischer .
Endowments
Lands
In the first decades after the foundation the community was
favoured by numerous gifts of land, particularly from the Imperial
family. All later clearances (i.e., of previously uncultivated
land) in the immediate vicinity were also theirs, but in addition
they acquired far more distant possessions, such as Soltau, 170 kilometres
away, given by Otto I in 936.
Among other property the abbey also received the following:
- In 956 the church of Saint Michael
next to the cell of Volkmarskeller (near Blankenburg am Harz) was
granted them by Otto I (later refounded by abbess Beatrix II as
Michaelstein
Abbey)
- In 974 the locality of Duderstadt in
south-eastern Lower Saxony was acquired, which the abbey owned for
262 years. The village of Breitenfeld bei Duderstadt belonged to
the abbey until its dissolution.
- On 3 July 993 a deed of gift was executed by Emperor Otto III
granting ownership of Potsdam, of which
place this is the first documentary evidence. The deed marks a
turning point in the struggle to win back territory east of the
Elbe, from which the East
Frankish lordship had been driven back by the Slav Uprising of
983.
- In 999 the provincia of Gera came into the hands
of the abbey. In 1209 the abbess appointed the Vögte of Weida as administrators
of the territory.
- The gifts of Emperor Otto I: 936, 25 estates; 937, two estates;
944, one estates; 946, two estates; 954, one estate; 956, 11
estates; 961, 7 estates.
- The gifts of Emperor Otto II: 974, estates places; 979, one
estate; 985, five estates.
- The gifts of Emperor Otto III: 992, three estates; 993, two
estates; 995, four estates; 999, one estate.
- Later acquisitions totalled more than 150 estates.
Treasury
The abbey also received numerous gifts of precious books,
manuscripts and liturgical items, which were stored in the
treasury. At the end of World War II a number of the most valuable
items were looted by an American
soldier, Joe Tom Meador (born 30th June 1916, died 1st February
1980), including the reliquary of Saint Servatius, from the time of
Charles the Bald; the 9th century Samuhel Evangeliary (Samuhel
Evangeliar); the printed St. Wipert's Evangeliary
(Evangelistar aus St Wiperti) of 1513; and a liturgical
ivory comb. The stolen items reappeared in 1987 and after much
litigation were returned to the abbey in 1993.
Annals
Main article: Annals of
Quedlinburg
The abbey is also known as the home of the "Annals of
Quedlinburg" (Latin: Saxonicae
Annales Quedlinburgenses, German: Quedlinburger Annalen), begun in 1008 and
finished in 1030 in the abbey, quite possibly by a female writer.
Quedlinburg was well suited for gathering information on current
political affairs, given its connections to the Imperial family and
the proximity of Magdeburg, an
Imperial centre. The "Annals" are mostly concerned with the history
of the Holy Roman Empire.
Abbesses
Many of the abbesses were buried in the crypt, where their
monumental images are preserved.
- Queen Matilda, later Saint Matilda, founded and led the abbey
(but was not abbess) 936-966
Roman
Catholic abbesses
- Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto I 966-999
- Adelheid I, daughter of Emperor Otto II 999-1045
- Beatrix I, daughter of Emperor Henry III 1045-1062
- Adelheid II, daughter of Emperor Henry III 1062-1095
- Eilica 1095-1110
- Agnes I, daughter of Władysław I Herman, niece of Beatrix I and
Adelheid II 1110-1126
- Gerburg, Countess of Kappenberg 1126-1137
- Beatrix II of Quedlinburg or of Winzenburg (of the
family of the Counts of Formbach) 1137-1160
- Meregart or Meregard 1160-1161
- Adelheid III of Sommerschenburg, Countess of Saxony
1161-1184
- Agnes II, Margravine of Meissen 1184-1203
- Sophia I, Countess of Brehna 1203-1226
- Bertradis I of Krosigk 1226-1230
- Kunigunde, Countess of Kranichfeld and Kirchberg 1230-1231
- Osterlinde, Countess of Falkenstein 1231-1233
- Gertrud of Amfurt 1233-1270
- Bertradis II 1270-1308
- Jutta of Kranichfeld 1308-1347
- Luitgard, Countess of Stolberg
1347-1353
- Agnes III von Schraplau 1354-1362
- Elisabeth I von Hakeborn 1362-1375
- Margarete von Schraplau, sister of Agnes III 1376-1379
- Irmgard, Burggravine of Kirchberg 1379-1405
- Adelheid IV, Countess of Isenburg
1405-1435
- Anna I, Countess Reuss von Plauen 1435-1458
- Hedwig, Duchess of Saxony, daughter of Frederick II, Elector of
Saxony 1458-1511
- Magdalene, Princess of Anhalt-Köthen-Zerbst 1511-1515
- Anna II, Countess of Stolberg (as last Roman Catholic abbess)
1516-1540
Protestant
abbesses
- Anna II, Countess of Stolberg (as first Protestant abbess)
1540-1574
- Elisabeth II, Countess of Regenstein-Blankenburg
1574-1584
- Anna III, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode 1584-1601
- Maria, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, daughter of Johann Wilhelm, Duke
of Saxe-Weimar 1601-1610
- Dorothea, Duchess of Saxony 1610-1617
- Dorothea Sophie, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, daughter of Frederick
Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 1617-1645
- Anna Sophie I, Countess bei Rhein (Pfalz-Birkenfeld)
1645-1680
- Anna Sophie II, Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt 1681-1683
- Anna Dorothea, Duchess of Sachsen-Weimar, daughter of Johann
Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 1684-1704
Maria Aurora, Countess of Königsmark, governed as prioress during
the vacancy 1704-1718
- Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp 1718-1755
- Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia 1756-1787
- Princess Sophie Albertine of Sweden (last abbess)
1787-1803
Notes
Sources
- Kremer, Marita, 1924. Die Personal- und Amtsdaten der
Äbtissinen des Stifts Quedlinburg bis zum Jahre 1574. Leipzig (=
Phil. Diss. Univ. Leipzig 1924).
- Wilberg, Max, 1906, repr. 1987. Regententabellen: Eine
Zusammenstellung der Herrscher von Ländern aller Erdteile bis zum
Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. Original edition Frankfurt/Oder,
reproduced in facsimile by Transpress VEB Verlag für
Vehrkehrswesen, Berlin. ISBN 3-344-00094-2
References
- Gerchow, Jan (ed.), 2003: Essen und die sächsischen
Frauenstifte im Frühmittelalter. Essener Forschungen zum
Frauenstift 2. Essen.
- Giese, Martina (ed.), 2004: Die Annales
Quedlinburgenses. Hanover: Monumenta Germaniae Historica,
Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum In Usum Scholarum Separatim Editi,
vol. 72.
- Heydenreuter, Reinhard, 1993: Kunstraub. Die Geschichte des
Quedlinburger Stiftsschatzes. Munich.
- Honan, William H., 1997: Treasure Hunt. A New York Times
Reporter Tracks the Quedlinburg Hoard. New York.
External
links