A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who is a

Prince of the Church The term Prince of the Church is today used nearly exclusively for Catholic cardinals. However, the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince (in the widest s ...

(like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudal entity, usually a

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The territory ruled by a prince-abbey is known as a princely abbey, a prince-abbacy or an abbey principality. The holder, however, does not hold the ecclesiastical office of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. The designated abbey may be a community of either

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s or nuns. Thus, because of the possibility of it being a female monastery, an abbey-principality is one of the few cases in which the rule can be restricted to female incumbents, styled Princess-Abbess. In some cases, the holder was a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

(''Reichsfürst''), with a seat and a direct vote (''votum virile'') in the Imperial Diet. Most immediate abbots however, while bearing the title of a "Prince-Abbot", only held the status of an

Imperial prelate 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 ...

with a collective vote in the Imperial Diet. The Imperial prelates were represented in the Diet by the envoys of the

Swabian Circle The Circle of Swabia or Swabian Circle (german: Schwäbischer Reichskreis or ''Schwäbischer Kreis'') was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former German stem-duchy of Swabia. However, it di ...

and the Rhenish College, both holding one collective vote. Actual Prince-Abbots were: * the

Abbot of Fulda The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiasti ...

, "Archchancellor of the Empress", according to a 1220 decree by Emperor Frederick II, elevated to a Prince-Bishopric by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

in 1752 * the Abbot of Prüm, elevated by Emperor Frederick II in 1222, held in personal union by the

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Abbot of Kempten Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

, confirmed by King Charles IV in 1348 * the Abbot of Murbach, elevated by King Ferdinand I in 1548 * the Abbot of Stavelot-Malmedy * the Abbot of Corvey, elevated to a Prince-Bishop in 1792 * the

Princess-Abbess A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a clergy, cleric who is a Prince of the Church (like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudalism, feudal entity, usually a Imperial State, State of the Holy R ...

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

References

Catholic ecclesiastical titles Heads of state Religious leadership roles Princes {{Catholic-Church-stub

See also

References