Berchtold von Falkenstein


Berchtold von Falkenstein († 10 June 1272) was abbot of the benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall from 1244 until 1272.

Berchtold von Falkenstein, son of Eigelwart I from the noble family of Falkenstein was initially a monk and porter in the benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall and superseded Abbot Walter von Trauchburg (1239–1244) after his abdication (1244–1272). The tenure of abbot Berchtold was marked by economic struggles and feudal wars around the area of the monastic community of Saint Gall. He had to assert himself in many wars and feuds. Even before his tenure, the city of Wil had been occupied by the counts of Toggenburg, who had to surrender to Berchtold after five weeks of siege in early 1245. This would not be the last struggle with the Toggenburgs. In the dispute between the staufian emperor and the papacy, Berchtold sided with the pope, for which he received a number of benefits at the council of Lyon. For example, on 15 May 1247 he received the right to use the pontifical vestments. On 7 September 1248, pope Innocent IV (1243–1254) engaged entrusted him with the role of administrator of Rheinau Abbey. Berchtold was also interested in the Reichenau Abbey and got pope Alexander IV (1254–1261) to hand him the abbey into his administrative powers in a document from the 6 February 1258. However, he was unsuccessful in establishing his reign in the Abbeys of Rheinau and Reichenau. In 1258, he was involved in disputes with the bishop of Constance Eberhard II (1248–1274). They reached conciliation in a meeting in Viterbo, arranged by the pope. Berchtold accepted the new Abbot of Reichenau, Albrecht von Ramstein (1260–1294), who was also his cousin.

Berchtold was away on empire business from June to November 1257; he travelled to Castile to offer the German crown to the local king Alfonso X the wise (1252–1284). Before his departure, Berchtold established an anniversary foundation for his parents. In the following years, the interregnum (1257–1273) was characterised by the double kingship of Alfonso of Castile (1257–1282) and Richard of Cornwall (1257–1272).

Berchtold's politics around the security of the monastery, monastic property, and monastic rights was characterised by feuds in the 1260s. The abbot had to defend against claims of the Habsburgs (settlement of 16 July 1271), strengthened Saint Gall positions in Thurgau and in the Rhine valley (Rheintal) and acquired the city of Lichtensteig in 1271 as a forfeit from the Toggenburgs. The outward facing changes were accompanied by an inner tightening of administration (Einkünfterodel, oversight over ministerial positions). This led to a decrease in the monastery's debts and an improved revenue stream, which was achieved at the expense of the monastery inhabitants, who were taxed "beyond their rights" ("über das Recht hinaus").

The abbot could and would not do much against the way of life of nobility in the Abbey, though he did discipline some of the canons. Berchtold saw himself as a "church ruler" (Kirchenfürst) and a leader of a "church state" (Kirchenstaat). He was followed – as for example at the meeting in Viterbo of 1258 or at Christmas 1271 – by a large entourage of knights and feudatories. Despite his noble and martial way of life, Berchtold was preoccupied with sorrow for his abbey and other churches and was filled with piety. He died after a long time of illness on 10 June 1272.


Reading list
  • Berchtold von Falkenstein, in: Helvetia Sacra III/1/2 (1986), pp. 1301–1303.
  • H. Harter: Adel und Burgen im oberen Kinziggebiet. Studien zur Besiedlung und hochmittelalterlichen Herrschaftsbildung im mittelalterlichen Schwarzwald. (= FOLG 37), Freiburg i.Br.-München 1992.
  • H. Harter: Adel auf Falkenstein und Schilteck. in: Schramberg. Herrschaft – Markflecken – Industriestadt. Schramberg 2004, pp. 55–82.
  • M. Buhlmann: Das Kloster St. Georgen im Schwarzwald und die Herren von Falkenstein. in: Vertex Alemanniae. H. 26, St. Georgen 2007.
  • Falkenstein, Berchtold von in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  • Paul Kläui (1955), "Berthold von Falkenstein", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 2, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 154–155; (full text online)
  • Gerold Meyer von Knonau (1875), "Berthold (Abt von St. Gallen)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 2, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 521
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