Guardianship of Thorn Abbey

Royal involvement with the abbey

The account of the founding of Thorn Abbey by Count Ansfried (see Theme 1) reveals the involvement of Roman King Otto I. In 962, Ansfried was present as a “sword-bearer” at Otto’s coronation by the pope as Roman Emperor. Around 950, Otto I granted territorial rights to Ansfried (charter no. 1). Ansfried subsequently donated these to the abbey. More than 300 years later, Roman King Adolf confirmed the abbey’s rights (charter no. 61). We often encounter Roman kings in connection with legal acts. For instance, in 985, Roman King Otto III, the grandson of Otto I, granted Count Ansfried toll, minting, tithe (tax), and other rights in the northern part of the country (charter no. 2). In June 1007, while Ansfried was still bishop of Utrecht, Roman King and later Emperor Henry II granted the Abbey of Thorn, among other things, the right of market, the right of toll, and ‘districtio’: jurisdiction over the area. In doing so, Henry confirmed the donations made by Bishop Notger of Liège to the abbey of several churches in other regions (charter no. 4). On September 15, 1292, Roman King Adolf approved these donations (charter no. 62). On that same day, Adolf confirmed and renewed the territorial rights of Thorn Abbey over several churches, which Ansfried had received from Henry II (charter no. 62) (see also theme 3).

No Royal fiefdom

Although the foregoing indicates a clear relationship between the Roman Catholic kings and the abbey, the abbey was not a fief of the Empire. The territory of Thorn was considered “allodial,” or freehold, and had no feudal lord in the person of a king or emperor. Rather, the situation of the Abbey of Thorn involved a (unilateral) grant (or rather: recognition) of the abbey’s rights without any corresponding obligation in the form of military support to the feudal lord, tribute, or taxes.

Guardianship of the abbey

Although no feudal grant is mentioned in the documents, a charter from 1102 shows that there was in fact a certain degree of dependence on the abbey on the part of neighboring local lords. In it, Anselm, as a free man,“by the hand of Gerard, Count of Gelre,” betrothed his daughter Mechteld “to the altar of the Abbey of Thorn” (charter no. 5). From this, a form of “altar guardianship”—that is, secular protection of an ecclesiastical institution—on the part of the count can be inferred.

In a charter dated 1263 (Charter No. 20), the convent of Thorn declared that certain named members and many others belonging to the church community were liable to pay an annual tithe (= tax) to the church and that they“shall have no other guardian than the church of Thorn.” This does not mean that the abbey as an institution did not exercise any authority, but it does demonstrate the abbess’s and the convent’s desire not to be dependent on local lords or anyone else outside the abbey.

One charter dealing with an issue (see theme 6) is that of 12 December 1282, in which Count Reinoud I of Gelre and Duke of Limburg charters that Willem II, lord of Horne and Altena, relinquishes all levies and stipends as guardian of the Land of Thorn (charter no. 47).

It can be inferred from this that a certain form of guardianship did exist, exercised by the lords of Horne. Their territory bordered that of Thorn Abbey. But it also reveals the abbey’s desire to be relieved of the financial burdens of that guardianship. The following section (No. 5) shows that this redemption of the levies and dues led to major problems and conflicts with the guardian Gerard van Horne, a dispute that was not settled until 1320.

The relationship between the Counts of Gelre and the Lords of Horne is unclear, as far as the guardianship of Thorn is concerned. We may assume that the renunciation of the requests for money of subordinates by the lords of Horne weakened their rule over the abbey, which may have worked to the advantage of the counts of Gelre.

In addition, we know of guardians for the property of the abbey outside Thorn (area guardians). We find an example of this in a charter of June 1244 which mentions a division of goods between abbess Hildegonde and the convent. It concerns not only goods in Thorn and the region, but also goods in Gilze, Baarle, Bergeijk and Kerk-Avezaath, Bocholt, Ubach and Rode. Therefore, this charter was not only sealed by the duke of Gelre, for the goods in southern Limburg, but also by the duke of Limburg (charter no. 12). Both are thus (also) to be regarded as area guardians.

Authority relationship with the Diocese of Liege

Under Count Ansfried, the abbey and church of Thorn were founded as the “private church” of Bishop Notger of Liège. This meant that, by the end of the tenth century, the bishop exercised authority over the abbey. This remained the case around 1100 as well. Reference can be made to a charter from 1268 in which Henry, Bishop of Chiemsee and acting Bishop of Liège, declares that he consecrated five altars in the Abbey of Thorn (charter no. 27). Various documents show that during that period, the bishop and the cathedral chapter of Saint Lambert in Liège exercised more than just spiritual authority over Thorn Abbey. By modern standards, this also included administrative and “judicial” authority. Regarding the former, one may point to the permission granted in 1243 by the Bishop of Liège, together with the Duke of Brabant, to Abbess Hildegonde and the convent of Thorn to sell certain rights to the estates at Baarle and Gilze to the Lord of Breda (charter no. 11). Also, in 1265, the abbess and convent requested approval from the Liège chapter for the distribution of certain monastic properties (charters nos. 22 and 23). In May and June 1299, Abbess Guda van Rennenberg and the convent of Thorn on the one hand, and the parish priests of Thorn, Oeteren, Beek, Eisden, Gilze, and Baarle on the other, asked the Bishop of Liège or the Pope to approve the agreements regarding tithes and other rights within their parishes. The Liège chapter ratified these rights at the request of all parties (charter no. 71).

In 1266, the Chapter of Liège issued a ruling rejecting the claim of the parish priest of 'Beke' (Beek near Bree), Willem van Buggenum, to all the major tithes there, in favor of the Convent of Thorn. In doing so, the Liège chapter acted as a judge, though we should not think of this in terms of modern concepts of an independent magistrate, but rather as an authoritative decision-maker with a vested interest (charter no. 25). In a charter dated May 25, 1299 (i.e., 33 years later!), the chapter confirms a revised arrangement regarding the distribution of tithes in Beek (charter no. 69). In that same year, the chapter sealed an agreement regarding tithes between the abbey and the parish priest of Thorn, Jan van Baexem (charter no. 70).

We would like to point out here that disputes were often resolved through “non-judicial” means, in a form we now refer to as “mediation.” We will discuss this topic in Theme 7.

While at that time there was still a clear relationship of authority between the chapter of Liege and the abbey of Thorn, later documents show that this bond gradually weakened.