Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/640

 WEGG-PROSSER

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WEINGARTEN

as feasts were introduced and multiplied, to an annual calendar, the week alwa}'s retained its impor- tance; this is particularly seen in the Divine OfRce in the hebdomadal division of the Psalter for recitation. Amalarius preserves for us the particulars of the arrangement accepted in the chapel royal at Aachen in 802 by which the whole Psalter was recited in the course of each week. In its broader features the divi- sion was identical with that theoretically imposed by the Roman Breviary until the recent publication of the Apostolic Constitution "Divino afflatu" on 1 Nov., 1911. Moreover, it appears from Amalarius that the Carlo vingian arrangement was in substance the same as that already accepted by the Roman Church. Already in the sixth century, St. Benedict had clearly laid down the principle that the entire Psalter was to be recited at least once in the week; indeed a similar arrangement was attributed to Pope St. Damasus. The consecration of particular days of the week to particular subjects of devotion is also officially recognized by the special Office of the Blessed Virgin on the Saturday, by the Friday Masses of the Passion during Lent and by the arrangement of Votive Offices for special week days approved by Pope Leo XIIL For a long time in theearly Middle Ages Thursday in the West was regarded as a sort of lesser feast or Sunday, probably because it was the day of the week on which the Ascension fell (cf. Bede, "Hist. Eccl.", IV, 25). Again the Breviary approved after the Council of Trent left certain devotional accretions to the Office, e. g. the Office for the Dead, Gradual Psalms, etc. to be said once a week, particularly on the Mon- days of Advent and Lent.

BXtTMER, Histoire du Briviaire. Fr. tr. (Paris, 1905) : Burton AND Myers, The New Psalter and its Use (London, 1912) ; Baudot, The Roman Breviary^ tr. (London, 1909).

Herbert Thurston.

Wegg-Prosser, Fr.\ncis Richard, only son of Rev. Prebendary Francis Haggit, rector of Newnham Courtney, b. at Newnham Courtney, Oxfordshire, 19 June, 1824; d. near Hereford, England, 16 .\ugust, 1911. He was educated at Eton and at Balliol Col- lege, Oxford, and graduated (first class in Mathe- matics) in 1845. In 1849, when he succeeded to the estates of his great-uncle. Rev. Dr. Prosser of Bel- mont, Herefordshire, he assumed the name of Wegg- Prosser. He was a member of Parliament from 1847 to 1852, when he was received into the Catholic Church by Bishop Grant of Southwark. This event entirely altered his career. After providing facilities for CathoUc worship in his neighbourhood, he built a beautiful church on his estate, which, by agreement with the Bishop of Newport and the superiors of the English Benedictine Congregation, became the pro- cathedral of the diocese. On the adjoining land given by him, a monastery was built, to serve as the novitiate and house of studies of the congregation. Wegg-Prosser was also identified with several Catholic interests. For many years he was a zealous member of the Superior Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a member of the Catholic Union, and a repre- sentative of the Diocese of Ne^TJort on the Catholic Education Council. In his secular life he was de- voted to mathematical science, and particularly to astronomy. He wrote a book, "Galileo and his Judges" (London, 1889), on the question of Galileo, and translated, under the title "Rome and her cap- tors" (London, 1875), the letters collected by Count Henri d'Ideville upon the Roman question of 187-70. He married Lady Harriet Catherine, daughter of the second Earl Somers; she died in 1893, leaving two sons and two daughters. ,1. C. Fowleu.

Wehrle, Vincent. See Bismarck, Diocese op (in supplement).

Weingarten (Monasteritjm Vinearum, ad Vi- NEA8, or ^^'EINGARTE^'8E), a Suppressed Benedictine

abbey, near Ravensburg, Wurtemberg, originally founded as a nunnerj' at Altdorf shortly after 900 by Henry Guelph. Later the nuns were replaced by canons, but again returned in 1036. Guelph III ex- changed the nuns for the Benedictine monks of Alto- miinster in 1047. The monastery being destroyed by fire in 1053, Guelph III ceded his castle on the neigh- bouring hiU to the monks, and thenceforth the monastery became known as Weingarten. It was so liberally endowed that, though it was six times totally, and twice partially, destroyed by fire, it was always rebuilt, and remained the richest and most influential of the Swabian monasteries. Its discipline never seriously decUned, except during the latter part of the fifteenth, and the early part of the sixteenth, century, owing chiefly to the encroachments of a few com- mendatory abbots and the oppression of the bailiffs. Immediately before its suppression in 1802 it com- prised forty-eight monks, ten of whom resided at the dependent priory of Hofen. Its territory extended over six German square miles, with about 11,(X)0 in- habitants. At present the monastery serves as bar- racks for a regiment of infantry, and the abbey church as the parish church of the tomi of Wein- garten. The church, rebuilt in 1715-24 in the Italian- German baroque style according to the plans of Franz Beer, is the second largest in Wiirtemberg.

The greatest treasure of Weingarten was its famous relic of the Precious Blood, still preserved in the church of Weingarten. Its legend runs thus: Longi- nus, the soldier who opened the Saviour's side with a lance, caught some of the Sacred Blood and preserved it in a leaden box, which later he buried at Mantua. Being miraculously discovered in 804, the relic waa solemnly exalted by Leo III, but again buried during the Hungarian and Norman invasions. In 1048 it was re-discovered and solenmly exalted by Pope Leo IX in the presence of the emperor, Henry III, and many other dignitaries. It was divided into three parts, one of which the pope took to Rome, the other was given to the emperor, Henry III, and the third remained at Mantua. Henry III bequeathed his share of the relic to Count Baldwin V of Flanders, who gave it to his daughter Juditha. After her mar- riage to Guelph IV of Bavaria, Juditha presented the relic to Weingarten. The solemn presentation took place in 1090, on the Friday after the feast of the Ascension, and it was stipulated that annuaUj' on the same daj', which came to be known as Bluifreitag, the relic should be carried in solemn procession. The procession was prohibited in 1812, but since 1849 it again takes place every year. It is popularly kno\\Ti as the Blutrilt. The reUc is carried by a rider, der heiiige Blutrittcr, on horseback, followed by many other riders, and many thousand people on foot. The reUquary, formerly of solid gold, set with numerous jewels, and valued at about 70,000 florins, was con- fiscated by the Government at the suppression of the monastery and replaced by a gilded copper imitation.

Of the abbots the following are deser\-ing of notice: Conrad II von Ibach (1315-30), author of an "Ordo Divini Officii" (ed. Hess, loc. cit. infra), important for the history of liturgy (his Life, written in the four- teenth century, was edited by Giesel in the supple- ment to " Wiirttemborgische Vierteljahresschrift", XIII, Stuttgart, ISilO, 39-11); Gerwig Bla.ser (1520- 67), leader of the Catholic party of I'pper Swabia dur- ing th(- Reformation; Georg Wegelin (1.587-127), dur- ing whose abbacy Weingarten enjoyed its greatest religious prosperity; Scliastian Hyller (1697-1730), who rebuilt the church and monastery; Placidus Benz (1738-45), DoniinicusSchinzer (1745-84), and .\nselm Rittler (17S l-ls4), all three men of learning, who promoted the literary activity of their monks. Monks famous for their literary productions are: Gabriel Bucelin (d. 1681); .Vn.selm Schnell (d. 1751), author of theological and ascetical works; Gerard Hess (d.