Thorn Abbey or the Imperial Abbey of Thorn was an

imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in what is now the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The capital was

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

. It was founded in the 10th century and remained independent until 1794, when it was occupied by French troops. The self-ruling abbey enjoyed

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

and belonged to the

Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...

. At the time Thorn Abbey was invaded by the

French revolutionaries The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1794, its territory was composed of three non-contiguous parts totaling 52.1 km². In addition, the abbess shared condominium rule over nearby areas totaling 35 km². The abbey's territory was divided into four "quarters", each administered by two mayors. The population in 1796 was 2,975 inhabitants. In 1797, the abbey was officially dissolved by the French. The abbey property, the monastery, the palace of the abbess and the other buildings were confiscated and sold to the highest bidders and usually demolished for construction material, with only the abbey church surviving. In 1860, the heavily damaged church was restored. The Baroque interior survived the restoration but the spire was replaced with a massive neo-Gothic bell tower.

Foundation

Abdijkerk Thorn - Ramen H-Ansifridus H-Hilsonidis

Details of the founding of the abbey are not clear. According to some sources, the abbey was founded by Countess Hilswind in 902 for herself and her daughter Beatrix. She donated the necessary land, which had been personal property, given to the Countess by King

Zwentibold Zwentibold (''Zventibold'', ''Zwentibald'', ''Swentiboldo'', ''Sventibaldo'', ''Sanderbald''; – 13 August 900), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Arnulf.Collins 1999, p. 360 In 895, his father granted hi ...

. Other sources claim a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

double monastery was founded by Bishop

Ansfried of Utrecht Saint Ansfried (also Ansfrid, Ansfridus) of Utrecht sometimes called Ansfried the younger (died 3 May 1010 near Leusden) was Count of Huy and the sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. He became Bishop of Utrecht in 995. He appears to have ...

and his wife Hereswint in 925. A Romanesque abbey church was built in 992; some sources give this as the year the abbey was founded.

Abbey structure

The community of women came only from the high nobility. It is likely that Thorn had belonged to the Benedictine order originally. It probably changed, however, in the 12th century, to a free community of secular canonesses (

Damenstift The term (; nl, sticht) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenan ...

). In 1310, the members of the abbey stressed their secular status and claimed never to have been Benedictine. In the 18th century, the collegiate ladies, or canonesses, were, in principle, required to reside in the abbey all year, except for at most six weeks per year. However, for 600

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

, ladies could buy themselves freedom; although in theory they were still required to provide six weeks of choral service, this was not always observed in practice. This possibility of buying freedom appears to have been used frequently. Some ladies belonged to several abbeys. Maria Josepha of Hatzfeld and Gleichen, for example, was a member of the abbeys at Thorn and

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

for 46 years. During this time, she resided in

Essen Abbey Essen Abbey (''Stift Essen'') was a community of secular canonesses for women of high nobility that formed the nucleus of modern-day Essen, Germany. It was founded about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid (died 874), later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint ...

for four years, but never in Thorn. The abbey district contained a curia building for the deaconess and five houses for the ladies; some built themselves houses outside the abbey precincts. In the 14th century, a new

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church was built.

History

The imperial immediacy of the abbey was confirmed in 1292 by King Adolf of Nassau. Under Emperor Maximilian I, the abbey was under the special imperial protection. In the imperial matriculation register at Worms, the abbey was recorded as ''

reichsunmittelbar Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...

''. The matriculation duties, however, were transferred to the Counts of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The ...

. The abbey was a member the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle and the Rhenish College of Imperial Prelates. In the 17th century the governorship of the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

sought to restrict the imperial immediacy. The abbesses resisted these attempts successfully. In the 18th century, the abbess held the title of Princess. Several abbesses were concurrently heads of

. The territory was occupied by French troops in 1794 and later annexed by France. In 1815, the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

awarded the territory to the Kingdom of the United Netherlands.

Abbesses

* 982–?: Hilsondis (or Hilswinde?) * 1010–?: Benedicta * ?–?: Godchildis * ?–?: Adelaide * Before 1217: Elizabeth * 1217–?: Jutta * 1231–1269: Hildegond de Born * 1273–1304: Guda von Rennenberg * 1310–1337: Margaret of Bautersheim I. * 1337: Isonde of Wied * 1337–1378: Margaret II of Heinsberg * 1389–1397: Margaretha III of Horne Perwez * 1404–1446: Mechtilde of Horne * 1446-1454:

Jacoba of Loon-Heinsberg Jacoba of Loon-Heinsberg (died after 1468), was a noble woman from the Low Countries who was the abbess of Thorn Abbey from 1446 to 1454. She was the daughter of John II of Loon and her half-brother, Jan van Heinsberg, was bishop of the Prince-Bish ...

* 1454–1473: Else of Buren * 1473–1486: Gertrude de Sombreffe * 1486–1531: Eva of Isenburg * Disputed claim during this period * 1531–1577: Margaretha IV of Brederode * 1577–1579: Josina I of Manderscheid * 1579–1604: Josina II of the Mark * 1604–1631: Anna of the Mark * 1631–1632: Josina Walburgis of Löwenstein-Rochefort * 1632–1646: Anna Eleonora of Staufen (simultaneously also Abbess of

) * 1646–1647: Anna Catherina of Salm-Reifferscheid * 1647–1690:

Anna Salome of Manderscheid-Blankenheim Anna Salome of Manderscheid-Blankenheim (12 December 162815 March 1691) was Abbess of Thorn Abbey from 1648 to 1688, and the abbess of Essen Abbey from 1688 until her death. Life Anna was a daughter of Count John Arnold of Manderscheid-Blanken ...

(from 1690 to 1691 she was abbess of Essen) * 1690–1706: Eleanor of Löwenstein-Rochefort * 1706–1717: Anna Juliana of Manderscheid-Blankenstein * 1717–1776:

Countess Palatine Francisca Christina of Sulzbach Countess Palatine Francisca Christina of Sulzbach (born 16 May 1696 in Sulzbach; died: 16 July 1776 in Essen) was the Princess-abbess of Essen Abbey and Thorn Abbey. She led Essen Abbey from 1726 to 1776, the longest of any Essen abbess. Her t ...

(she was also Abbess of Essen) * 1776–1795:

Maria Kunigunde of Saxony Maria Kunigunde of Saxony (Maria Kunigunde Dorothea Hedwig Franziska Xaveria Florentina; 10 November 1740 in Warsaw – 8 April 1826 in Dresden) was Princess-Abbess of Essen and Thorn. She was a titular Princess of Poland, Lithuania and Saxon ...

(she was also Abbess of Essen)

References

External links