Current Research Projects

The project "Roman Diaries. St.Galler Mönche auf Grand Tour im Jubeljahr 1700" aims to research and edit the journey to Italy and the stay in Rome of two St Gall monks, Fathers Lukas Grass and Jodok Müller, which lasted from the beginning of October 1699 to the end of May 1701. Their journey is documented in two Latin diaries for the most part written independently of each other. Also preserved are the accounts of travel and living expenses as well as a large part of the Latin correspondence with St Gall – and also the instructions that the Prince-Abbot gave them on the journey. For St Gall, these materials are the oldest surviving evidence for a Benedictine educational tour with all its peculiarities.

The travelers sketch their way past monuments, churches, palazzi, paintings and statues, but also manuscripts, antiques and curiosities. They learn Italian, attend theological disputations and the university. They offer their own perspective on the Eternal City in the Jubilee of 1700, on the passing of Pope Innocent XII and the election of Clement XI. They report on their representation of St Gall interests in Rome, on living together with the Italian Benedictines and visiting the sites of Benedictine History in Subiaco and Montecasino. In line with their many facets, the character of these diaries is part reporting, part instructive, ever so often interspersed with anecdotes and personal experiences. The correspondence, some of which has been preserved, provides further insight into the circumstances under which this journey took place. The above-mentioned materials are edited and explored as part of the Itinera Monastica published by the St Gall Abbey Archives. The diary of Lukas Grass and the correspondence are also being translated into German in order to make these special sources accessible to a wider audience.

The project "The legal sources of the Abbey of St Gall - The rule of the Abbot of St Gall" aims to scientifically record the structure, the functioning as well as the bearers of the secular land administration of the former prince abbey of St Gall and to digitally edit a representative selection of text sources. Under the reign of Abbot Ulrich Rösch (1463-1491), the monastery succeeded in establishing a closed sovereignty over large parts of today's Canton of St.Gallen (Fürstenland, Toggenburg, Rheintal). Secular officials conducted business in the various offices, bailiwicks and courts at the abbot's behest and in his name. They had to swear an oath of allegiance to the abbot and their activities were bound to an appointment (a set of duties). The appointments not only enabled a clear allocation or delimitation of the competences of the individual officials, but also effective control by the abbot. They formed an effective management instrument of the St Gall prince abbots until the fall of the monastery.

The St Gall Abbey Archives have records of the appointments since the reign of Abbot Ulrich Rösch. Since the 16th century, they have been systematically recorded and handed down in compilations called "Bestallungsbücher". These records are the best source of information on how the St Gall prince abbots delegated and at the same time controlled the exercise of power and tasks. That is why they are at the centre of the edition project. All of the surviving documents will be indexed and analysed. A representative selection of the documents, both from a synchronic and diachronic point of view, will be digitally edited, annotated and provided with register research data according to the proven editing standards of the Sammlung Schweizerischer Rechtsquellen (Collection of Swiss Legal Sources). In addition, other sources that shed light on the functioning and composition of the prince-abbot's staff or court state will be identified, indexed and, if necessary, edited. The aim is to provide a complete overview of the various secular monastic offices and their historical development, as well as a structured directory of all secular officials of the prince abbey and their terms of office.