Imperial abbey According to the monastery chronicles authored by Abbot Ermanrich (d. 874), who became
Bishop of Passau, the abbey was established in
Alamannia about 764 by
Herulph and his brother Ariolf, both documented as
Chorbishops of Langres. Ellwangen in its early days was home to Abbots Lindolf and Erfinan, who were respected authors. Abbot Gebhard wrote part of the Life of
Saint Ulrich there, but died before completing it. Abbot Ermanrich (c. 845) wrote a biography of
Saint Solus. The monk Adalbero was made
Bishop of Augsburg in 894. Abbot
Liutbert became
Archbishop of Mainz, as also did Abbot
Hatto (891).
Saint Gebhard, Abbot of Ellwangen, became Bishop of Augsburg in 995. Abbot Milo about the middle of the tenth century was one of the visitors appointed for the visitation of the
Abbey of St. Gall. Financial accounts of the abbey indicate that it purchased raw honey to make
lattweg, a honey-based paste for medicinal use. In 981 the imperial monastery had to provide
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor with 30 armored riders free of charge for his campaigns in Italy. In February 1431, the abbey bore the cost of hosting
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and his court, on the Emperor's return to
Nuremberg. During the
Hussite Wars, the abbey was required, along with other ecclesiastical institutions, to provide a military contingent, complete with horses, weapons, armor, and wagons for
Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg's campaign of August 1431. It also had to provide for the defense of its own territory against potential Hussite raids. At the same time however, the conventual life declined and the Benedictine occupation of Ellwangen came to an end in the first half of the 15th century. On 14 January 1460 with the consent of
Pope Pius II it was converted into a college of secular
Canons Regular under the rule of a
provost.
Prince-provostry The provost of Ellwangen achieved the status of a
Prince of the Empire (
Reichsfürst), who not only ruled over an immediate territory but also held a direct vote (
votum virile) in the
Reichstag assembly. As the head of a secular college of
Augustinian canons, he was one of only two prince-provosts, beside the
Provost of Berchtesgaden. In the late 16th and early 17th century, the territory became one of the main areas of
witch-hunting in Germany. In reaction to the
Protestant Reformation, the provostry joined the
Catholic League in 1609; it was occupied by
Swedish troops during the
Thirty Years' War in 1632, but again vacated after the 1634
Battle of Nördlingen. In the course of the
German Mediatisation of 1802, Ellwangen fell to the Duchy of
Württemberg. ==Territory==