Stift

A pin ( neuter, plural pins or rarely founder ), each with legacies and rights equipped, certain ecclesiastical use and a spiritual body transferred ( donated ) institution with all its people, buildings and properties.

Formation

The founders of these institutions were kings, dukes or wealthy aristocratic families in general. Their motivation was both religious ( securing their own salvation ) and politically.

The oldest institutions of this kind are the monasteries, according to the model later turned out to be the canonical life of the clergy in cathedrals and Kollegiatstiftskirchen. Similar Monastic rules are the customs of the Augustinian canons and the Premonstratensian. Other than these regular canons are Säkularkanoniker and canons of cathedrals not entirely part of the community, but can private property and incomes.

Types

Cleric Communities and Mrs. communities

Collegiate / Kollegiatstifte

In contrast to the cathedral churches associated with the ore and high pins, each with an archbishop or bishop at the top were the names of collegiate, which board no bishop, Kollegiatstifte. The members of the same lived together in one building and were entertained by the return of a portion of the pin goods and tithing.

Cathedral chapter

There were the cathedral chapter, whose members, the Canonici, called themselves capitular, cathedral, choir or canons. Due to the frequent occurrence nobleman, the same withdrawn in the 11th century the obligation of cohabitation (written ), ate their prebends individually in special official apartments, but were continually excellent by rights and income college, which since the 13th century about the admission of new Chapter delegates had to decide on execution of a bishopric ( Holy See is vacant ) to lead the provisional administration of the diocese and to elect the new bishop from among its members. Dom- high pins formed the Holy Roman Empire imperial estates in the Prince's rank. Canons in a Bishopric formed the core of a high- power pin. These immediate high and Erzstiften the canons had to prove their ability by pin 16 ancestors; they had become charitable institutions for the younger sons of the nobility ( pen needle ). While these noble capitular to reserve to enjoy all the rights of their canonries, the spiritual functions entrusted to the regular canons, where the difference of secular canons ( canons sæculares ), which are the actual capitular, of the Canons Regular ( Canonici regulares ) writes.

Woman pins

Apart from the ore, high and Kollegiatstiften there are also female pins and indeed sacred and secular. The former resulted from an association regulated choir women and resembled the monasteries; in the liberal secular donors (such as the Food and pin the pin Börstel ), however, the canonesses or capitulars took off only the vows of chastity or celibacy and obedience to their superiors, but they can get married if they renounce their sinecures, and have the freedom to consume flowing to them from the pen income, wherever they want. Only the Provost or, depending on pin the abbess and Head together with a small number of the Canon groom in Stiftsgebaude unstoppable. The benefices of these pins knew the pin- compatible needle often to gain exclusively for his daughters, but often depends also record of a purchase amount from. Also pin locations have been created for the daughters of officials deserved. The canonesses these "free world noble ladies pins " are now called usually canonesses.

Pins in a broader sense and imperial immediacy

In the history of science and in the manuals, it is common to refer also monasteries and nunneries than pins. This is done in conscious demarcation to the terms kingdom Monastery / imperial abbey, which are mainly related to the Middle Ages.

Within the Holy Roman Empire, thus understood pins then were considered to be rich immediately, if they had to pay their taxes to the Roman-German king and emperor directly. They were thus independent in principle of a sovereign. More rarely, the increase of a pin was in a kingdom or county level. Most pins were thus not at all or only prelate benches in the Reichstag represented.

Before possessed by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss from February 25, 1803 secularization had as Reich pins following spiritual territories (ore or high- pins ) Cologne, Mainz, Trier, Salzburg, Augsburg, Bamberg, Basel, Brixen, Chur, Eichstätt, Freising, Hildesheim, Constance, Lübeck, Liège, Münster, Osnabrück, Paderborn, Passau, Regensburg, Speyer, Strasbourg, Trento, Worms, Würzburg as well as some prince deaneries ( Berchtesgaden, Ellwangen etc. ) and gefürstete abbeys ( Corvey, Fulda, Kempten (Allgäu ), etc. ) sovereignty and to vote at the Diet and the principalities were taken equal. In other countries, the pins were never reached such great power.

Secularised pins

Even in the Protestant Reformation had become in most countries remained the pins and the cathedral chapter, but without a bishop, and without sovereignty, and their incomes were awarded as sinecures. Exceptions were only the very Protestant Bishopric of Lübeck and the existing of mixed capitular chapter to Osnabrück. Now all founders are indirect, that is, the sovereignty of the country concerned Mr subject. The secular and Protestant become pins often retained their own constitution and administration; usually but their prebends were transformed into guest houses, which were sometimes associated with learned bodies. In the former Prussia are the Protestant cathedral chapter of Brandenburg an der Havel and the United Domstifter that were formed in 1930 as a foundation under public law from the Domstiften of Merseburg and Naumburg and the collegiate in Zeitz, remarkable.

In Austria today, most monasteries are still called "pen". Also bear numerous social or educational institutions under the auspices of a foundation, often with a church background, the name "pen".