| Imperial Abbey (Prince-Bishopric) of Fulda Reichskloster (Fürstbistum) Fulda |
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| Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||
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Coat of arms |
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| Hessian territories about 1400, Fulda Abbey in violet | ||||
| Capital | Fulda | |||
| Government | Theocracy | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages Early modern period |
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| - Founded | 744 | |||
| - Imperial immediacy | 774 | |||
| - Raised to Prince-Abbacy |
1220 | |||
| - Joined Upper Rhenish Circle |
1500 | |||
| - Elevated to Prince-Bishopric |
1752 | |||
| - Mediatised to Nassau-Orange |
1802 | |||
| - To Hesse-Kassel | 1815 | |||
| Today part of | Germany | |||
The monastery of Fulda was a Benedictine abbey in Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. It was founded in 12 March, 744 by Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, and became an eminent center of learning with a renowned scriptorium, and the predecessor of the Fulda diocese.
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Sturm took solemn possession of the land, and raised the cross. The wilderness was soon cleared, and the erection of the monastery and church, the latter dedicated to the Most Holy Redeemer, began under the personal direction of Saint Boniface. He appointed Sturm as first abbot of the new foundation, which he intended to surpass in greatness all existing monasteries of Germany, and to be a nursery for priests. The rule was modelled on that of the Abbey of Monte Cassino, as Sturm himself had gone to Italy (748) for the express purpose of becoming familiar with it. To secure absolute autonomy for the new abbey, Boniface obtained from Pope Zachary a privilege, dated 4 November, 751, placing it immediately under the Holy See, and removing it from all episcopal jurisdiction.[1] Grants of lands extended Fulda's domains to Thuringia and Saxony. On the other hand, Fulda was from 765 an imperial abbey, fulfilling complementary demands of public education and imperial service.
Boniface, "Apostle of the Germans", was buried in Fulda after his martyrdom in 754 in Frisia. This made Fulda a major place of pilgrimage for many peoples, including Anglo-Saxons, and brought prestige and a stream of gifts and donations to Fulda. The abbots of Fulda became in the 10th century the abbots general of the Benedictines in Germany and Gaul. Fulda was the center of monastic reform during the reign of Emperor Henry II. In the 12th century, the abbots became imperial chancellors and in 1220 were elevated to Princes of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen.
The prestige of Fulda declined in succeeding centuries. It was secularized in 1803 after the German Mediatisation but became an episcopal see in 1829.
The library held approximately 2000 manuscripts. It preserved works such as Tacitus' Annales, Ammianus Marcellinus' Res gestae, Codex Fuldensis, and the monastery is considered the cradle of Old High German literature. Its abundant records are conserved in the state archives at Marburg.
Abbots
Prince-Abbots
Prince-Abbots & Prince-Bishops