House monastery

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A house monastery, family monastery or dynastic monastery (German : Hauskloster) is a Christian monastery that has a particular relationship with a noble family. [1]

Often, but not always, what subsequently became the house monastery was founded by the noble family in question. In each case, the family would grant the monastery estates, provide financial support or make other bequests. In doing so they also ensured that family members might be buried and commemorated there. Frequently the chronicles of the abbey would record the donations of the family, but also their histories in general. House monasteries were present in many areas of Europe where nobles held great sway, including Merovingian France, medieval Ireland, and the Holy Roman Empire. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Examples of house monasteries include:

  1. Schell, Rüdiger (2022-05-23). Das Dominikanerinnenkloster Auf Hof bei Neudingen als Hauskloster der Grafen von Fürstenberg (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN   978-3-86628-217-9.
  2. Auge, Oliver; Biermann, Felix; Herrmann, Christofer (30 November 2003). Glaube, Macht und Pracht: Geistliche Gemeinschaften des Ostseeraums im Zeitalter der Backsteingotik (in German). Greifswald: Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg. p. 312.
  3. Dendorfer, Jürgen. "Gescheiterte Memoria? – Anmerkungen zu den „Hausklöstern" des hochmittelalterlichen Adels" [Failed Memoria? Notes on the "House Monasteries" of High Medieval Nobility]. Zeitschrift für Württembergische Landesgeschichte (in German). 73: 17–38.
  4. Thacker, Alan (2001). "Dynastic Monasteries And Family Cults: Edward the Elder's sainted kindred". Edward the Elder. Routledge. ISBN   9781315010816.
  5. Maddox, Melanie C. "Early Irish Monasteries and their Dynastic Connections". Studia Celtica Fennica. IV: 69–71.
  6. Schattkowsky, Martina; Thieme, André (2002). Altzelle: Zisterzienserabtei in Mitteldeutschland und Hauskloster der Wettiner (in German). Leipziger Universitätsverlag. ISBN   978-3-935693-55-4.
  7. Schell, Rüdiger (2011). "Das Kloster Auf Hof bei Neudingen : das Hauskloster der Grafen und Fürsten zu Fürstenberg". Villingen im Wandel der Zeit. 34: 71–84. doi:10.57962/regionalia-16498.