Frowin of Engleberg, in German Frowin von Engelberg (died 27 March 1178 [1] ) was a Swiss German Benedictine abbot. Though never formally beatified, Frowin was styled "Blessed" by some chroniclers. [2] He was the second abbot of the Monastery of Engelberg in present-day Switzerland
Of the early life of Frowin nothing is known, save that he is claimed as a monk of their community by the historians of Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland and Saint Blaise Abbey, Black Forest. [3] He is first mentioned as a monk of St. Blaise Abbey, and it is assumed that he succeeded Adelhelm as the Abbot of the monastery of Engelberg. [1] As the abbey was seen in danger, he ordered the ecclesiastical buildings to be surrounded by a wall also requested and received the monastery independency to elect its abbot. [1] During his tenure Engelberg became a Double monastery [4] which included both a monastery for monks and one for nuns called the St.Andreas monastery. [1]
Through his efforts the possessions and privileges, civil and ecclesiastical, of the abbey were greatly increased, while its renown as a home of learning, art, and piety spread far and wide. He established a famous school in his abbey, in which besides the trivium and quadrivium , philosophy and theology were likewise taught. The library which he collected possessed, for those days, a vast number of manuscripts. According to a list that he left, it contained Homer, Cicero, [3] and other authors of antiquity. This rich collection perished in 1729, when the abbey was destroyed by fire.
Frowin not only copied books for his library, but composed several. Two of these, a commentary on the Lord's Prayer, and a treatise in seven books, "De Laude Liberi Arbitrii" ("In Praise of Free Will", but in reality a discussion of the chief theological questions of his day, directed, it is thought, against the errors of Abelard) are still extant, having been discovered by Mabillon in the archives of Einsiedeln. Frowin's other works, Commentaries on the Ten Commandments and various parts of Holy Scripture, are lost. [5] [6] [7] One of the volumes of the bible of three volumes of Frowin, is deposited in the Abbey library of St.Gallen, Switzerland. [8] The Bible is written on parchment. [8] He also wrote one of the first Latin-German dictionaries. [3]
Pétin ("Dictionnaire Hagiographique" I, iiii) gives 7 March as his feast day, and credits him with many miracles.
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529 they are the oldest of all the religious orders in the Latin Church. The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks, especially in English speaking countries, after the colour of their habits. Not all Benedictines wear black however, with some like the Olivetans wearing white. They were founded by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica, possibly his twin, also became a religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit. They retained a close relationship until her death.
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. It became an independent principality between 9th and 13th centuries, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. The library of the Abbey is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world.
Engelberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. It was formerly in the Diocese of Constance, but is now in the Diocese of Chur. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and occupies a commanding position at the head of the Nidwalden Valley.
Einsiedeln Abbey is a Catholic monastery administered by the Benedictine Order in the village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
Mount Angel Abbey is a Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks located in Saint Benedict, Oregon, northeast of Salem, it was established 142 years ago in 1882 from Engelberg Abbey, in Switzerland. The abbey, located on the top of Mount Angel, a 485-foot-high butte (148 m), has its own post office separate from the city of Mt. Angel. As of 2021, the abbey is home to approximately 51 monks.
Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Zürich, Switzerland. While the monastery is currently established as Muri-Gries in South Tyrol the former abbey is now a museum and heritage sites of national significance.
The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian France. Catholic Christianity spread first within Ireland. Since the 8th and 9th centuries, these early missions were called 'Celtic Christianity'.
Meinrad, OSB was a German Benedictine hermit and is revered as a Catholic and Orthodox saint. He is known as the "Martyr of Hospitality". His feast day is 21 January.
Pfäfers Abbey, also known as St. Pirminsberg from its position on a mountain, was a Benedictine monastery in Pfäfers near Bad Ragaz, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Conception Abbey, site of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a monastery of the Swiss-American Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. The monastery, founded by the Swiss Engelberg Abbey in 1873 in northwest Missouri's Nodaway County, was raised to a conventual priory in 1876 and elevated to an abbey in 1881. In 2021 the community numbered fifty-eight monks who celebrate the Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours daily and who staff and administer Conception Seminary College, The Printery House, and the Abbey Guest Center. Monks also serve as parish priests and hospital chaplains in the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph and other dioceses. There is also a large postal facility attached to The Printery House, operated by lay employees, which includes package shipping and delivery facilities.
Berchtold of Engelberg, German Berchtold von Engelberg was a Swiss German Benedictine monk, who was Abbot of Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland.
The Swiss-American Congregation is an association of Benedictine monasteries founded in 1881 in the United States, as a part of the international Benedictine Confederation of monasteries.
Bernhard Müller was prince-abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1594 until 1630. He was the son of Brosi Müller and Magdalena Lutz.
Marian Eleganti is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who was an auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Chur from 2009 to 2021. From 1999 to 2009, Eleganti was Abbot of St. Otmarsberg Abbey.
Wolfgang Schlumpf was a Swiss-born Benedictine monk and missionary in the United States who is credited as founder of Subiaco Abbey in western Arkansas. He immigrated to the United States in 1862 after being assigned to what became St. Meinrad Abbey in 1870 in southern Indiana..
Ignatius Conrad was a Benedictine monk, a Swiss missionary, and the first Abbot of Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas, which was named as an abbey in 1891. He served from 1892 to 1925. Fr Ignatius Conrad initially worked with the German Catholic communities in the south-western region of the United States.
Adelhelm Odermatt, OSB was the founder of Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon, and a titular abbot.
Gregory Polan is an American Benedictine monk, priest, abbot, scripture scholar, musician, and author. He is a member of Conception Abbey located in Conception, Missouri, which is part of the Swiss-American Congregation and the Benedictine Confederation. He was previously elected and served as the ninth abbot of Conception Abbey. He presently serves as the tenth Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict, residing at Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino in Rome.
Monsignor Urban Federer is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. A member of the Order of St. Benedict, he is the current Abbot of Einsiedeln Abbey and Fahr Convent. Prior to serving as abbot, Federer was the Prior and Vicar General of Einsielden Abbey and the editor-in-chief of Salve, the abbey's official magazine. In 2017, he was made a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Blessed Frowin". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
