How Medieval Monasteries Waged War (feat. Baden State Museum)

Video Description

Why did clergymen, who were legally not allowed to bear arms or wage war, send so many troops into battles? What role did these people play in the warfare of the time? And what did their involvement look like in practice? In this video, we will answer these questions using the example of Reichenau Abbey. To commemorate the founding of this abbey 1,300 years ago, the Baden State Museum invited to Constance in May, where Marvin Gedigk, a research assistant at the Baden State Museum and podcaster at Epochentrotter, took a few other history content creators and Roman on a tour of Reichenau and the anniversary exhibition “World Heritage of the Middle Ages.” He kindly agreed to participate in this video and provide input on the history of the Monastic Island. Many thanks, Marvin! In 981, Reichenau Abbey provided one of the largest contingents of all the abbeys in the empire: 60 heavy cavalrymen. Because of this, it is particularly well suited as a case study to show how monasteries and bishops waged war under the Ottonian Dynasty in the 10th century. Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/sandrhomanhistory Paypal (thank you: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/SandRhomanhistory Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sandrhoman Exhibition of Reichenau Abbey: https://www.ausstellung-reichenau.de/ Some images via @this_is_bruno https://www.instagram.com/this_is_bruno/?hl=en Recommende reading: The Early Middle Ages: Europe 400-1000 https://amzn.to/3ZfYEqa Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg https://amzn.to/3MBXQ7w The Carolingian World https://amzn.to/4efBJzl Bibliography Allen-Smith, Katherine, War and the Making of Medieval Monastic Culture, Woodbridge 2011. Auer, Leopold: The military service of the clergy under the Saxon emperors. In: Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 79 (1971), pp. 316-407. Bachrach, David S., The Military Organization of Ottonian Germany, c. 900-1018: The Views of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, in: The Journal of Military History 72 (2008) Bachrach, David S., Warfare in 10th century Germany, Woodbridge 2012. Bernhardt, John W., Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936-1075, Cambridge 1993. Blockmans, Wim / Hoppenbrouwers Peter, Introduction to Medieval Europe 300-1500, London/New York3 2017. Clauss, Martin, Military History of the Middle Ages, Munich 2020 Erhart, Peter, Entanglements and Obligations. Land ownership of the old Benedictine monasteries in the diocese of Constance, in: Badisches Landesmuseum (ed.), Welterbe des Mittelalters. 1300 years of the monastery island of Reichenau, Regensburg 2024, pp. 161-176. Keller, Hagen, The Ottonians, Munich 2021. Kleinschmidt, H., s. v. Heerwesen (Germany and Holy Roman Empire), in: LexMa online http://apps.brepolis.net/lexiema/test/Default2.aspx [last accessed on 03.07.24]. Reuter, Timothy, The 'Imperial Church System' of the Ottoman and Salian Rulers: A Reconsideration, in: Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 33, No. 3, July 1982, pp. 347-374. Schieffer, Rudolf, s. v. Reichskirche, in: LexMa online http://apps.brepolis.net/lexiema/test/Default2.aspx [last accessed on 03.07.24]. Schieffer, Rudolf, s. v. Reichsklöster, in: LexMa online http://apps.brepolis.net/lexiema/test/Default2.aspx [last accessed on 03.07.24]. Werner, Karl Ferdinand, Heeresorganisation und Kriegführung im deutschen Königreich des 10. und 11. Jahrhunderts, in: Ordinamenti militari in Occidente nell'alto medioevo, vol. 2 (Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo 15, 2), Spoleto 1968, pp. 805-843. Zettler, A., s. v. Reichenau, in: LexMa online http://apps.brepolis.net/lexiema/test/Default2.aspx [last accessed on 03.07.24].