Geseke women's monastery
The women's monastery in Geseke was founded in the 10th century by a Saxon count. His main task was the performance of church duties. In the long run, the monastery mainly served to care for unmarried noble women. In 1823 the women's pen was abolished. The collegiate church of St. Cyriakus was used then as now as the parish church in Geseke and is part of the Geseke-Stadt pastoral network of the Deanery Lippstadt-Rüthen in the Archdiocese of Paderborn .
History and Development
In 946, Count Haold and his siblings Brun, Friedrich and Wichburg (Wichburga) founded a canonical monastery in Geseke . Wichburga became the first abbess and the count became the first bailiff. In 952 King Otto I confirmed the foundation, granted it immunity and gave it the privilege of freely choosing abbesses. King Otto III. renewed these provisions in 986. In 1014 the abbess Hildegund renounced the status of an imperial direct monastery and placed herself under the protection of the Archbishop of Cologne . From now on, he appointed his own bailiff . Hereditary subordinates were at times the lords of Erwitte .
The family of Count Haold equipped the monastery with various goods and gave him the Martin's Chapel . Later the Saxon kings and the Cologne archbishops were among the most important benefactors. For example, Archbishop Anno II donated the Petrikirche in Geseke to the monastery with all of its assets. His successor Archbishop Hildolf confirmed this transfer in 1077. Around 1400 the property consisted of 29 "curiae" (main courtyards), 150 dependent mans and 3 mills. In addition, the monastery had the relics of Saint Cyriacus since around 965 .
Their most important tasks included church services such as masses, processions and commemorations of the dead, but above all the choir service. They donated arms at high church festivals. Pastoral care was an important task of the canonicals attached to the monastery. Since at least 1354 there has been a boys' school run by them . In 1608 the construction of a school building, the so-called collegiate school, began. At the beginning of the 18th century there were also two girls' schools at times .
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the zeal for community life decreased significantly. The monastery developed into a pension institution for noble unmarried women. During the Reformation, some canon women converted to Protestantism. During this time there were also losses in the foundation's assets, which could never be completely compensated for and which repeatedly led to financial bottlenecks in the period that followed.
The new Hessian rulers wanted to keep the monastery after 1803 as a pension institution for unmarried young women, but without regard to denomination or class. After the Prussian takeover of the land, unmarried, needy daughters of deserving officials were to be provided for from the monastery income. The administration of the monastery was placed in the hands of the government in Arnsberg . In 1823, after the death of the last abbess, Bernhardina Sophia von Plettenberg - Lenhausen , this prevented the election of a new abbess. As a result, the pen was effectively canceled. The foundation's assets remained in existence, were managed in the “Surplus and Pension Fund Geseke-Keppel” until 1943 , and lives on until today under the name “Geseker Stiftsfonds” . The canonicals were not affected by this development.
Composition of the Convention
In the sources, the women's pen is named, for example, “ecclesia gesici” (986) or “ecclesia seu congregatio” (1014). The director was an abbess. In addition, there was a Provost , Dechantin , Schola provider , Treasurer , Cellerarin , combing bridesmaid , Psalm reader and a Memorienjungfer . In addition, the monastery included canons under the direction of a "senior canonicus". A “ Kuratus ” (the oldest canon) is also mentioned. A "canonicus scholasticus" took care of the pupils. In his function as headmaster he was called "rector scolarum".
Most of the canonesses came from noble and noble families. In contrast, the canons were often of bourgeois origin. The pen was intended for 29 virgins. In 1612 and 1652 this number was almost reached at 24 and 25 respectively. The number of canons was three and from 1775 four priests. There were also 2 chaplains and 2 deacons.
Archives and Library
The extensive archive has been carefully managed. During the secularization of 1823, the archival material was scattered over various archives. Most of the archive material is in the Münster State Archives. Part of the library (almost 200 books) ended up in the Archbishop's Academic Library in Paderborn .
List of Abbesses
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Literature and Sources
- Ulrich Löer: The noble canonical monastery St. Cyriakus zu Geseke. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-019923-9 ( Germania Sacra NF 50: The dioceses of the Church Province of Cologne. The Archdiocese of Cologne 6). Digital edition
- Karl Hengst (Ed.): Westphalian monastery book. Part 1: Ahlen - Mülheim. Aschendorff, Münster 1992, ISBN 3-402-06886-9 , pp. 338-344 ( Sources and research on the history of churches and religions 2, publications of the Historical Commission for Westphalia 44).
- "Kanonissenstift St. Cyriakus, Geseke" (GSN: 527), in: Germania Sacra, http://klosterdatenbank.germania-sacra.de/gsn/527
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 38 ′ 22.7 " N , 8 ° 30 ′ 42.4" E