abbatia

Forms

abbātia f (genitive abbātiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin abbās (“abbot”) + -ia, formed on the stem ⟨abbāt-⟩ of the noun.^[1][2][3] The TLL counts it among the words of later Latin, first in Church writers.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds it in the laws of the Lombards, from 643 onwards, and in other early medieval charters and capitularies.^[3] In the earliest Frankish documents it means the office of an abbot: a Merovingian charter speaks of governing the honour of the abbacy according to holy order.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the office the word passed to the time one abbot held it and to the abbots of a region taken together.^[6][5] It also came to name the religious house ruled by an abbot or abbess, with its lands and revenues;^[5][7][1] a capitulary of the Frankish kings orders that church discipline be kept in bishoprics and abbeys.^[5] Kings had royal abbeys, and some houses were placed directly under the pope.^[5] Wiktionary also records it for a chapter of canons led by an abbot and for a church in a bishop's city that was not the cathedral.^[1]

Medieval spellings include ⟨abbazia⟩, ⟨abbateia⟩ and ⟨abadia⟩.^[6][5] It is the source of Italian abbazia, and Conte compares Italian badia with it.^[8] English abbey came from it through Anglo-Norman abbeie and Old French abaïe.^[9]

Timeline

• from 643 – The laws of the Lombards use it.^[3]
• 920 – A charter spells it with a single ⟨b⟩.^[5]
• c. 1087 – A charter of William II grants Abbot Baldwin full possession of his abbey.^[7]
• mid-13th century – English takes abbey from French, ultimately from it.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) The office and dignity of an abbot or abbess; an abbacy.^[6][5][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) The term of one abbot's office.^[6][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) The abbots (and other prelates) of a region taken together.^[6][5][7]
4. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) An abbey, a monastery or convent ruled by an abbot or abbess.^[10][5][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) The lands and revenues of an abbey.^[1][7]
6. (Medieval Latin) A chapter of canons under an abbot; a church in a bishop's city other than the cathedral.^[1]

Related words

• abbātissa
• English abbey

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson