Abbey of St. Gall
Encyclopedia
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen
in present-day Switzerland
. The Carolingian-era
Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality
during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine
abbey
s in Europe. It was founded by Saint Othmar
on the spot where Saint Gall
had erected his hermitage
. The library at the Abbey
is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. Since 1983 it has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
.
monk
named Gallus
, a disciple and companion of Saint Columbanus
, established a hermitage on the site that would become the Abbey. He lived in his cell until his death in 646.
Following Gallus' death, Charles Martel
appointed Othmar as custodian of St Gall's relics. During the reign of Pepin the Short, in the 8th Century, Othmar founded the Carolingian style
Abbey of St. Gall, where arts, letters and sciences flourished. Several different dates are given for the foundation of the Abbey, including 719, 720, 747 and the middle of the 8th century. Under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau
(740–814) copying of manuscripts was undertaken and a famous library was gathered. Numerous Anglo-Saxon
and Irish
monks came to copy manuscripts. At Charlemagne
's request Pope Adrian I sent distinguished chanters from Rome, who propagated the use of the Gregorian chant
.
In the subsequent century, St. Gall came into conflict with the nearby Bishopric of Constance
which had recently acquired jurisdiction over the Abbey of Reichenau
on Lake Constance
. It was not until King Louis the Pious
(ruled 814–840) confirmed the independence of the Abbey, that this conflict ceased. From this time until the 10th century, the Abbey flourished. It was home to several famous scholars, including Notker of Liège
, Notker the Stammerer, Notker Labeo
and Hartker (who developed the antiphonal liturgical book
s for the Abbey). During the 9th century a new, larger church was built and the library was expanded. Manuscripts on a wide variety of topics were purchased by the Abbey and copies were made. Over 400 manuscripts from this time have survived and are still in the library today.
Between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey and the books had to be removed to Reichenau for safety. Not all the books were returned. In 937 the Abbey was almost completely destroyed in a fire; the library was undamaged, however. About 954 the monastery and buildings were surrounded by a wall to protect the abbey, and the town grew up around these walls.
, over which the abbots ruled as territorial sovereigns ranking as Princes
of the Holy Roman Empire
. As the Abbey became more involved in local politics, it entered a period of decline. During the 14th century "Humanists
" were allowed to carry off some of the rare texts.
In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the farmers of the Abbot's personal estates (known as Appenzell
, from meaning "cell (i.e. estate) of the abbot) began seeking independence. In 1401, the first of the Appenzell Wars
broke out, and following the Appenzell victory at Stoss
in 1405 they became allies of the Swiss Confederation in 1411. During the Appenzell Wars, the town of St. Gallen often sided with Appenzell against the Abbey. So when Appenzell allied with the Swiss, the town of St. Gallen followed just a few months later. The abbot became an ally of several members of the Swiss Confederation (Zürich
, Lucerne
, Schwyz
and Glarus
) in 1451. While both Appenzell and St. Gallen became full members of the Swiss Confederation in 1454. Then, in 1457 the town of St Gallen became officially free from the Abbot.
In 1468 the abbot, Ulrich Rösch, bought the county of Toggenburg
from the representatives of its counts, after the family died out in 1436. In 1487 he built a monastery at Rorschach on Lake Constance
,to which he planned to move. However, he encountered stiff resistance from the St. Gallen citizenry, other clerics, and the Appenzell nobility in the Rhine Valley who were concerned about their holdings. The town of St Gallen wanted to restrict the increase of power in the abbey and simultaneously increase the power of the town. The mayor of St. Gallen, Ulrich Varnbüler, established contact with farmers and Appenzell
residents (led by the fanatical Hermann Schwendiner) who were seeking an opportunity to weaken the abbot. Initially, he protested to the abbot and the representatives of the four sponsoring Confederate cantons (Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz, and Glarus) against the construction of the new abbey in Rorschach. Then on July 28, 1489 he had armed troops from St. Gallen and Appenzell destroy the buildings already under construction. When the abbot complained to the Confederates about the damages and demanded full compensation, Varnbüler responded with a counter suit and in cooperation with Schwendiner rejected the arbitration efforts of the non-partisan Confederates. He motivated the clerics from Wil
to Rorschach to discard their loyalty to the Abbey and spoke against the Abbey at the town meeting at Waldkirch, where the popular league was formed. He was confident that the four sponsoring cantons would not intervene with force, due to the prevailing tensions between the Confederation and the Swabian League. He was strengthened in his resolve by the fact that the people of St. Gallen elected him again to the highest magistrate in 1490.
The town adopted the Reformation
in 1524, while the Abbey remained Catholic, which damaged relations between the town and Abbey. Both the Abbot and a representative of the town were admitted to the Swiss Tagsatzung
or Diet as the closest associates of the Confederation.
In the 16th Century the Abbey was raided by Calvinist
groups, which scattered many of the old books. In 1530, Abbot Diethelm began a restoration that stopped the decline and led to an expansion of the schools and library.
Under abbot Pius (1630–74) a printing press was started. In 1712 during the Toggenburg war, also called the second war of Villmergen
, the Abbey of St. Gall was pillaged by the Swiss
. They took most of the books and manuscripts to Zürich
and Bern. For security, the Abbey was forced to request the protection of the townspeople of St. Gallen. Until 1457 the townspeople had been serfs
of the Abbey, but they had grown in power until they were protecting the Abbey.
style and constructed between 1755 and 1768. The large and ornate new Abbey did not remain a monastery for very long. In 1798 the Prince-Abbot's secular power was suppressed, and the Abbey was secularized
. The monks were driven out and moved into other abbeys. The Abbey became a separate See
in 1846, with the Abbey church as its cathedral and a portion of the monastic buildings for the bishop
.
The Abbey library of Saint Gall is recognised as one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. It is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of early medieval books in the German-speaking part of Europe. As of 2005, the library consists of over 160,000 books, of which 2100 are handwritten. Nearly half of the handwritten books are from the Middle Ages and 400 are over 1000 years old. Lately the Stiftsbibliothek has launched a project for the digitisation of the priceless manuscript collection, which currently (April 2008) contains 144 documents that are available on the Codices Electronici Sangallenses webpage.
The library interior is exquisitely realised in the Rococo
style with carved polished wood, stucco and paint used to achieve its overall effect. It was designed by the architect Peter Thumb
and is open to the public. In addition it holds exhibitions as well as concerts and other events.
One of the more interesting documents in the Stiftsbibliotheck is a copy of Priscian
's Institutiones grammaticae which contains the poem Is acher in gaíth in-nocht...
written in Old Irish.
The library also preserves a unique 9th-century document, known as the Plan of St. Gall, the only surviving major architectural drawing from the roughly 700-year period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 13th century. The Plan drawn was never actually built, and was so named because it was kept at the famous medieval monastery library, where it remains to this day. The plan was an ideal of what a well-designed and well-supplied monastery should have, as envisioned by one of the synods held at Aachen
for the reform of monasticism in the Frankish empire during the early years of emperor Louis the Pious
(between 814 and 817).
A late 9th-century drawing of St. Paul lecturing an agitated crowd of Jews and gentiles, part of a copy of a Pauline epistles
produced at and still held by the monastery, was included in a medieval-drawing show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York
the summer of 2009. A reviewer noted that the artist had "a special talent for depicting hair, ... with the saint's beard ending in curling droplets of ink."
In 1983, the Convent of St. Gall was inscribed on the UNESCO
World Heritage List as "a perfect example of a great Carolingian
monastery".
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
in present-day Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The Carolingian-era
Carolingian Renaissance
In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
s in Europe. It was founded by Saint Othmar
Saint Othmar
St. Othmar, O.S.B., was a monk and priest appointed as the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall, a Benedictine monastery in St. Gall, Switzerland....
on the spot where Saint Gall
Saint Gall
Saint Gall, Gallen, or Gallus was an Irish disciple and one of the traditionally twelve companions of Saint Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Saint Deicolus is called an older brother of Gall.-Biography:...
had erected his hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
. The library at the Abbey
Abbey library of St. Gallen
The Abbey Library of Saint Gall was founded by Saint Othmar, the founder of the Abbey of St. Gall.The library collection is the oldest in Switzerland, and is one of earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world. It holds 2,100 manuscripts dating back to the 8th through the 15th...
is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. Since 1983 it has been a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Foundation
Around 613 an IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
named Gallus
Saint Gall
Saint Gall, Gallen, or Gallus was an Irish disciple and one of the traditionally twelve companions of Saint Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Saint Deicolus is called an older brother of Gall.-Biography:...
, a disciple and companion of Saint Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
, established a hermitage on the site that would become the Abbey. He lived in his cell until his death in 646.
Following Gallus' death, Charles Martel
Charles Martel
Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
appointed Othmar as custodian of St Gall's relics. During the reign of Pepin the Short, in the 8th Century, Othmar founded the Carolingian style
Carolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
Abbey of St. Gall, where arts, letters and sciences flourished. Several different dates are given for the foundation of the Abbey, including 719, 720, 747 and the middle of the 8th century. Under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau
Waldo of Reichenau
Waldo of Reichenau was a Carolingian abbot and bishop.He belonged to a noble Frankish family of the von Wetterau. His father was Richbold Count of Breisgau and his older brother was Ruthard Baron von Aargau. In 782 he became Abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall, where he established a library...
(740–814) copying of manuscripts was undertaken and a famous library was gathered. Numerous Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
monks came to copy manuscripts. At Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's request Pope Adrian I sent distinguished chanters from Rome, who propagated the use of the Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
.
In the subsequent century, St. Gall came into conflict with the nearby Bishopric of Constance
Bishopric of Constance
The Bishopric of Constance was a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from about 585 until 1821. Its seat was Konstanz at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany...
which had recently acquired jurisdiction over the Abbey of Reichenau
Reichenau Island
Reichenau Island lies in Lake Constance in southern Germany, at approximately . It lies between Gnadensee and Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance, almost due west of the city of Konstanz. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway that was completed in 1838...
on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
. It was not until King Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
(ruled 814–840) confirmed the independence of the Abbey, that this conflict ceased. From this time until the 10th century, the Abbey flourished. It was home to several famous scholars, including Notker of Liège
Notker of Liège
Notker of Liège was a Benedictine monk, bishop and first prince-bishop of the Bishopric of Liège with a capital Liège/Lüttich, ....
, Notker the Stammerer, Notker Labeo
Notker Labeo
Notker Labeo , also known as Notker Teutonicus i.e. "the German", Notker the German, or Notker III, was a Benedictine monk and the first commentator on Aristotle active in the Middle Ages. "Labeo" means "the thick lipped"...
and Hartker (who developed the antiphonal liturgical book
Liturgical book
A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a church, that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.-Roman Catholic:...
s for the Abbey). During the 9th century a new, larger church was built and the library was expanded. Manuscripts on a wide variety of topics were purchased by the Abbey and copies were made. Over 400 manuscripts from this time have survived and are still in the library today.
Between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey and the books had to be removed to Reichenau for safety. Not all the books were returned. In 937 the Abbey was almost completely destroyed in a fire; the library was undamaged, however. About 954 the monastery and buildings were surrounded by a wall to protect the abbey, and the town grew up around these walls.
Under the Prince-Abbots
In the 13th century, the abbey and the town became an independent principalityPrincipality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
, over which the abbots ruled as territorial sovereigns ranking as Princes
Prince-abbot
A Prince-Abbot is a title for a cleric who is a Prince of the Church , in the sense of an ex officio temporal lord of a feudal entity, notably a State of the Holy Roman Empire. The secular territory ruled by the head of an abbey is known as Prince-Abbacy or Abbey-principality...
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. As the Abbey became more involved in local politics, it entered a period of decline. During the 14th century "Humanists
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
" were allowed to carry off some of the rare texts.
In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the farmers of the Abbot's personal estates (known as Appenzell
Appenzell
Appenzell is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen....
, from meaning "cell (i.e. estate) of the abbot) began seeking independence. In 1401, the first of the Appenzell Wars
Appenzell Wars
The Appenzell Wars were a series of conflicts that lasted from 1401 until 1429 in the Appenzell region of Switzerland. The wars were a successful uprising of cooperative groups, such as the farmers of Appenzell or the craftsmen of the city of St. Gallen, against the traditional medieval power...
broke out, and following the Appenzell victory at Stoss
Stoss Pass
Stoss Pass is a mountain pass between the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland.-History:On June 17, 1405 during the Appenzell Wars, there was a battle on the pass between 400 soldiers from Appenzell and 1200 Habsburg and abbatial soldiers. The Appenzellers...
in 1405 they became allies of the Swiss Confederation in 1411. During the Appenzell Wars, the town of St. Gallen often sided with Appenzell against the Abbey. So when Appenzell allied with the Swiss, the town of St. Gallen followed just a few months later. The abbot became an ally of several members of the Swiss Confederation (Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Schwyz
Schwyz
The town of is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.-History of the toponym:...
and Glarus
Glarus
Glarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Glarus municipality since 1 January 2011 incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern....
) in 1451. While both Appenzell and St. Gallen became full members of the Swiss Confederation in 1454. Then, in 1457 the town of St Gallen became officially free from the Abbot.
In 1468 the abbot, Ulrich Rösch, bought the county of Toggenburg
Toggenburg
Toggenburg is the name given to the upper valley of the Thur River, in the Swiss Canton of St. Gallen. Currently, it is one of the eight constituencies into which the canton is divided....
from the representatives of its counts, after the family died out in 1436. In 1487 he built a monastery at Rorschach on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
,to which he planned to move. However, he encountered stiff resistance from the St. Gallen citizenry, other clerics, and the Appenzell nobility in the Rhine Valley who were concerned about their holdings. The town of St Gallen wanted to restrict the increase of power in the abbey and simultaneously increase the power of the town. The mayor of St. Gallen, Ulrich Varnbüler, established contact with farmers and Appenzell
Appenzell
Appenzell is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen....
residents (led by the fanatical Hermann Schwendiner) who were seeking an opportunity to weaken the abbot. Initially, he protested to the abbot and the representatives of the four sponsoring Confederate cantons (Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz, and Glarus) against the construction of the new abbey in Rorschach. Then on July 28, 1489 he had armed troops from St. Gallen and Appenzell destroy the buildings already under construction. When the abbot complained to the Confederates about the damages and demanded full compensation, Varnbüler responded with a counter suit and in cooperation with Schwendiner rejected the arbitration efforts of the non-partisan Confederates. He motivated the clerics from Wil
Wil
Wil is the capital of the Wahlkreis of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St...
to Rorschach to discard their loyalty to the Abbey and spoke against the Abbey at the town meeting at Waldkirch, where the popular league was formed. He was confident that the four sponsoring cantons would not intervene with force, due to the prevailing tensions between the Confederation and the Swabian League. He was strengthened in his resolve by the fact that the people of St. Gallen elected him again to the highest magistrate in 1490.
An associate of the Swiss Confederation
However, in early 1490 the four cantons decided to carry out their duty to the Abbey and to invade the St. Gallen canton with an armed force. The people of Appenzell and the local clerics submitted to this force without noteworthy resistance, while the city of St. Gallen braced for a fight to the finish. However, when they learned that their compatriots had given up the fight, they lost confidence; the end result was that they concluded a peace pact that greatly restricted the city's powers and burdened the city with serious penalties and reparations payments. Varnbüler and Schwendiner fled to the court of King Maximilian and lost all their property in St. Gallen and Appenzell. However, the Abbot's reliance on the Swiss to support him reduced his position almost to that of a "subject district"The town adopted the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in 1524, while the Abbey remained Catholic, which damaged relations between the town and Abbey. Both the Abbot and a representative of the town were admitted to the Swiss Tagsatzung
Tagsatzung
The Swiss Tagsatzung was the legislative and executive council of the Swiss confederacy from the beginnings until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. It was a meeting of delegates of the individual cantons...
or Diet as the closest associates of the Confederation.
In the 16th Century the Abbey was raided by Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
groups, which scattered many of the old books. In 1530, Abbot Diethelm began a restoration that stopped the decline and led to an expansion of the schools and library.
Under abbot Pius (1630–74) a printing press was started. In 1712 during the Toggenburg war, also called the second war of Villmergen
Battles of Villmergen
The Battles of Villmergen were two battles between Reformed and Catholic Swiss cantons. They occurred on January 24, 1656 and July 24, 1712 at Villmergen, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland ....
, the Abbey of St. Gall was pillaged by the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. They took most of the books and manuscripts to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Bern. For security, the Abbey was forced to request the protection of the townspeople of St. Gallen. Until 1457 the townspeople had been serfs
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
of the Abbey, but they had grown in power until they were protecting the Abbey.
End of the Prince-Abbots
Following the disturbances, the Abbey was still the largest religious city-state in Switzerland, with over 77,000 inhabitants. A final attempt to expand the Abbey resulted in the demolition of most of the medieval monastery. The new structures, including the cathedral, were designed in the late BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style and constructed between 1755 and 1768. The large and ornate new Abbey did not remain a monastery for very long. In 1798 the Prince-Abbot's secular power was suppressed, and the Abbey was secularized
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
. The monks were driven out and moved into other abbeys. The Abbey became a separate See
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in 1846, with the Abbey church as its cathedral and a portion of the monastic buildings for the bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
.
Cultural treasures
The library interior is exquisitely realised in the Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style with carved polished wood, stucco and paint used to achieve its overall effect. It was designed by the architect Peter Thumb
Peter Thumb
Peter Thumb was an Austrian architect whose family came from the Vorarlberg, the westernmost part of Austria. He is best known for his Rococo architecture, mainly in Southern Germany...
and is open to the public. In addition it holds exhibitions as well as concerts and other events.
One of the more interesting documents in the Stiftsbibliotheck is a copy of Priscian
Priscian
Priscianus Caesariensis , commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian. He wrote the Institutiones grammaticae on the subject...
's Institutiones grammaticae which contains the poem Is acher in gaíth in-nocht...
Is acher in gaíth in-nocht...
Is acher in gaíth in-nocht... is an anonymous ninth-century poem in Old Irish.The poem exists uniquely as a marginal entry in the Stiftsbibliothek MS 904 at St. Gallen in Switzerland, which is a copy of Priscian's Institutiones grammaticae, heavily glossed in Old Irish...
written in Old Irish.
The library also preserves a unique 9th-century document, known as the Plan of St. Gall, the only surviving major architectural drawing from the roughly 700-year period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 13th century. The Plan drawn was never actually built, and was so named because it was kept at the famous medieval monastery library, where it remains to this day. The plan was an ideal of what a well-designed and well-supplied monastery should have, as envisioned by one of the synods held at Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
for the reform of monasticism in the Frankish empire during the early years of emperor Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
(between 814 and 817).
A late 9th-century drawing of St. Paul lecturing an agitated crowd of Jews and gentiles, part of a copy of a Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
produced at and still held by the monastery, was included in a medieval-drawing show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
the summer of 2009. A reviewer noted that the artist had "a special talent for depicting hair, ... with the saint's beard ending in curling droplets of ink."
In 1983, the Convent of St. Gall was inscribed on the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage List as "a perfect example of a great Carolingian
Carolingian Renaissance
In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
monastery".
See also
- List of Carolingian monasteries
- Carolingian architectureCarolingian architectureCarolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
- Carolingian artCarolingian artCarolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
- Carolingian dynasty
- Carolingian EmpireCarolingian EmpireCarolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
- Carolingian RenaissanceCarolingian RenaissanceIn the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
Resources
- Walter William Horn's Papers Regarding The Plan of St. Gall : production materials, 1967–1979 are housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries
External links
- Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen
- Codices Electronici Sangallenses — project for the digitisation of the medieval manuscripts at Sankt Gallen
- St Gall Plan - presents a digitised version of the St Gall Plan, and zoomable reproductions of Carolingian manuscripts from St Gall.
- UNESCO World Heritage Listing for the Convent of St Gall