
Lay
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
(, ) is a name used to designate a
layman
In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
...
on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income. The custom existed principally in the
Frankish Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...
from the eighth century until the ecclesiastical reforms of the eleventh.
Background
Numerous
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
s held in France in the sixth and seventh centuries passed decrees against this abuse of church property. The
Merovingians had bestowed church lands on laymen, or at least allowed them their possession and use, though not ownership.
[Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Lay Abbot." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 Jul. 2015 The Merovingian kings were also in the habit of appointing abbots to monasteries which they had founded; moreover, many monasteries, though not founded by the king, placed themselves under royal patronage in order to share his protection, and so became possessions of the Crown.
History
This custom of the Merovingian rulers was taken as a precedent by the French kings for rewarding laymen with abbeys, or giving them to bishops ''
in commendam
In canon law, commenda (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastica ...
''.
Charles Martel
Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
was the first to bestow outright extensive existing ecclesiastical property upon laymen, political friends and soldiers.
[ St. Boniface and later Hincmar of Reims picture most dismally the consequent downfall of church discipline, and though Boniface tried to reform the Frankish Church, the bestowal of abbeys on secular abbots was not abolished.
]Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
also frequently gave church property, and sometimes abbeys, in feudal tenure. The abbey of Saint-Riquier
Saint-Riquier (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads.
Abbey
Saint-Riquier (originally ''Centula'' or ''Centul ...
(Centula) in Picardy
Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
had secular abbots from the time of Charlemagne, who had given it to his friend Angilbert
Angilbert, Count of Ponthieu ( – 18 February 814) was a noble Franks, Frankish poet who was educated under Alcuin and served Charlemagne as a secretary, diplomat, and son-in-law. He is venerated as a pre-Congregation saint and is still h ...
, the poet and the lover of his daughter Bertha, and father of her two sons. After Angilbert's death in 814, the abbey was given to other laymen.
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
aided St. Benedict of Aniane
Benedict of Aniane (; ; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer who had a substantial impact on the religious practice of the Carolingian Empire. His feast day is ...
in his endeavours to reform the monastic life. In order to accomplish this it was necessary to restore the free election of abbots, and the appointment as well of blameless monks as heads of the monastic houses. Although Louis shared these principles, he continued to bestow abbeys on laymen, and his sons imitated him.[ Although not a cleric, ]Einhard
Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...
was lay abbot of the monastery of St. Bavo in Ghent and at his own foundation at Michelstadt.
Various synods of the ninth century passed decrees against this custom; the Synod of Diedenhofen (October, 844) decreed in its third canon, that abbeys should no longer remain in the power of laymen, but that monks should be their abbots In like manner the Synods of Meaux and Paris (845-846) complained that the monasteries held by laymen had fallen into decay, and emphasized the king's duty in this respect. But abbeys continued to be bestowed upon laymen, especially in France and Lorraine
Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
, e.g. St. Evre near Toul, in the reign of Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
. Lothair II
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...
, however, restored it to ecclesiastical control in 858, but the same king gave Bonmoutier to a layman; and the Abbeys of St. Germain and St. Martin, in the Diocese of Toul, were also given to secular abbots. In the Diocese of Metz, the Abbey of Gorze was long in the hands of laymen, and under them fell into decay. Stavelot
Stavelot (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Francorchamps and Stavelot.
It is best known as the home of Spa-Francorchamps Circuit a ...
and Malmedy
Malmedy (; , historically also ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a population dens ...
, in the Diocese of Liège, were in the eleventh century bestowed on a certain Count Raginarius, as also St. Maximin near Trier on a Count Adalhard, etc. In 888 a Synod of Mainz decreed (canon xxv) that the secular abbots should place able provosts and provisors over their monasteries.
In a synod held at Trosly, in the Diocese of Soissons
The Diocese of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin (Latin: ''Dioecesis Suessionensis, Laudunensis et Sanquintinensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Soissons, Laon et Saint-Quentin'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The dioc ...
, in 909, sharp complaints were made (ch. iii) about the lives of monks; many convents, it was said, were governed by laymen, whose wives and children, soldiers and dogs, were housed in the precincts of the religious. To better these conditions it was necessary, the synod declared, to restore the regular abbots and abbesses; at the same time ecclesiastical canons and royal capitularies declared laymen quite devoid of authority in church affairs.
Lay abbots existed in the tenth century, also in the eleventh. Crínán of Dunkeld (d. 1045) was the lay abbot of the monastery of Dunkeld. While the title of Hereditary Lay Abbot was a feudal position that was often exercised in name only, Crinán seems to have acted as Abbot in charge of the monastery in his time. He was thus a man of high position in both clerical and secular society.
Gosfred, Duke of Aquitaine
The duke of Aquitaine (, , ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings.
As successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom ( ...
, was Abbot of the monastery of St. Hilary at Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
, and as such he published the decrees issued (1078) at the Synod of Poitiers.[Hefele, op. cit., V, 116] It was only through the so-called investitures conflict that the Church was freed from secular domination; the reforms brought about by the papacy put an end to the bestowal of abbeys upon laymen.
See also
*Commendatory abbot
A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, ...
*Proprietary church
During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church (Latin ''ecclesia propria'', German ''Eigenkirche'') was a church, abbey or cloister built on private ground by a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests, especially the right of what ...
*Lay cardinal
In the historical practice of the Catholic Church, a lay cardinal was a man whom the pope appointed to the College of Cardinals while still a layman. This appointment carried with it the obligation to be ordained to a clerical order, meaning tha ...
Notes
{{Catholic, wstitle=Lay Abbot
Investiture Controversy
fr:Régime de la commende