Abdinghof, Abbey of
ABDINGHOF, ABBEY OF
Paderborn, Westphalia, founded 1015 by Meinwerk, Bishop of Paderborn, with the help of Benedictine monks from cluny. The abbatial church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, was consecrated in 1031. The abbey was an important cultural center during the 11th and 12th centuries. The Carmina Abdinhofensia probably originated there toward the end of the 11th century, and during the 12th century the monks wrote the Vita Meinwerci (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores 11:104–161), and the Annales Patherbrunnenses. In the 13th century, however, a decline began to be apparent, and although various attempts at restoration were made, none produced any lasting improvement. After the plague of 1476, Abbot Henry of Peine (1477–91) united the abbey to the flourishing Bursfeld Union, and it again became a center of discipline and religious life. But by the end of the 16th century signs of decline were again occurring, and once more restoration took place under Abbot Leonard Ruben (1598–1609); after that the abbey remained vigorous until its suppression in 1803.
Bibliography: u. berliÈre, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912–) 1:64–65. Westfälische Zeitschrift, 107 (1957). k. honselmann, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 1:12.
[c. falk]