Austria 100 Schilling Silver Coin 1977 Tassilo Chalice
Commemorative issue: 1000th Anniversary of Kremsmünster Abbey
Obverse: Tassilo Chalice, divides dates at top.
Lettering: 777 - 1977 1200 JAHRE STIFT KREMSMÜNSTER.
Reverse: Face value within a circle of the nine shields of the federal provinces of Austria, Coat of arms of Austria above the face value.
Lettering: · REPUBLIK · 100 SCHILLING ÖSTERREICH.
Engraver: Edwin Grienauer.
Composition: Silver (.640).
ASW: 0.4938 oz.
Weight 23.93 g.
Diameter 36 mm.
Shape Round.
Tassilo Chalice
The Tassilo Chalice is a bronze chalice, gilded with silver and gold, dating from the 8th century. The chalice is of Anglo-Saxon design, and has probably been at Kremsmünster Abbey, Austria since shortly after it was made.
Dating from c. 770-790 AD, the chalice was donated by Luitpirga, wife of the Bavarian Duke Tassilo III, possibly on the occasion of the establishment of the Benedictine Abbey at Kremsmünster in 777.
The chalice is composed of an egg-shaped cup, a large knop and a relatively narrow foot (base). The chalice is cast in bronze that has been gilded with gold and silver and decorated by various methods, including niello engraving and chip-carving. It stands 25.5 cm high, and weighs 3.05 kg; its cup holds approximately 1.75 litres.
The interlinked oval medallions round the cup show Christ (together with the initials "I" and "S", for Iesus Salvator) and four Evangelist portraits, each Evangelist with his symbol. Round the base are icons of the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and, according to an uncertain interpretation, the Lombard queen Theodolinda. The interlace decoration which covers most of the rest of the exterior contains some animals. Around the foot is the Latin inscription: TASSILO DUX FORTIS + LIVTPIRG VIRGA REGALIS.
The chalice is an outstanding and original object, possibly made by Northumbrian craftsmen, decorated with Hiberno-Saxon ornament typical of the period. The style is more typical of the Anglo-Saxon rather than Irish component of this hybrid style. There is evidence that monks themselves were trained as goldsmiths in the insular period, like St. Dunstan, a 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury, and Salzburg for example, was a centre of the Anglo-Saxon mission.
The care and artistry with which it was worked and the rich decoration show that it was the product of the highest craftsmanship of the day. Although church synods held in the 8th and 9th centuries expressly prohibited the use of copper and bronze for use in consecrated chalices, this is one of a few surviving examples of such vessels from that time.
The character of the ornamentation shows clearly the predominance of Insular and Anglo-Saxon influences, even though it may have been made on the Continent. Its place of manufacture is uncertain, and it may have been produced in northern Italy, but Mondsee or Salzburg have also been suggested. Together with the Ardagh Chalice and the Derrynaflan Chalice and associated paten, all of Irish origin, it is one of most impressive of the very few surviving large pieces of Insular church metalwork - most examples of the style are secular brooches. Anglo-Saxon metalwork was highly regarded as far away as Italy, and especially noted for its engraving, but even fewer pieces have survived than from Ireland.
Kremsmünster Abbey
Kremsmünster Abbey (German: Stift Kremsmünster) is a Benedictine monastery in Kremsmünster in Upper Austria.
The monastery was founded in 777 by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria. According to the foundation legend, Tassilo founded the monastery on the site where his son, Gunther, had been attacked and killed by a wild boar during a hunting trip.
The first colony of monks came from Lower Bavaria, under Fateric, the first abbot. The new foundation received generous endowments from the founder and also from Charlemagne and his successors.
The position and reputation of the abbey soon became such that its abbots, in the absence of the bishop of the diocese (Passau), exercised the episcopal jurisdiction.
In the 10th century the abbey was destroyed in a raid by the Hungarians, and its possessions were divided among the Duke of Bavaria and other nobles and the bishops. It was restored, however, and recovered its property, under the emperor Henry II, when Saint Gotthard became abbot.
Kremsmünster, in common with other religious houses, then fell into a decline, which was fortunately halted by the action of bishop Altmann of Passau, who brought a community from Gottesau, and introduced the reformed observance of Cluny into the abbey. After this it became known as one of the most flourishing houses in Germany, "excelling all other abbeys" says an anonymous chronicler, "in observance and piety, also in respect to its lands, buildings, books, paintings, and other possessions, and in the number of its members prominent in learning and in art".
The monastic library was famous, and drew eminent scholars to Kremsmünster, where several important historical works were written, including histories of the bishops of Passau and of the dukes of Bavaria, and the chronicles of the abbey itself. Schrodl gives a list of writers connected with Kremsmünster from the eleventh to the 16th centuries, and of their literary labours. One of the most distinguished abbots was Ulrich Schoppenzaun (1454–1484), to whom, and to his disciple and successor Johann Schreiner (1505–1524), it is due that Kremsmünster survived the Reformation.
From the Reformation period onwards a succession of able abbots kept the abbey on track. Abbot Gregor Lechner (1543–1558), towards the middle of the 16th century, made the monastic school, previously private, into a public school, and did much to preserve Catholicism in the district, where the Protestant doctrines had become widely prevalent - to the extent that his successor, Abbot Weiner (1558–1565) favoured them and thus introduced dissension into the abbey, dissension which risked developing into serious disruption. This was prevented by succeeding abbots: Abbot Wolfradt especially (1613–1639) brought the monastery into so highly flourishing a condition that he was known as its third founder. Its reputation as a house of studies and learning was increased still further under his successor, Placid Buchauer (1644–1669).
Among the abbots of the 18th century the most prominent and distinguished was Alexander Fixlmillner (1731–1759), who built the great observatory, constructed many roads on the monastic estate, and was a man of edifying life and great charity to the poor. His nephew Placidus Fixlmillner, the first astronomer to compute the orbit of Uranus, was later appointed the director of the observatory.
Towards the end of the 18th century the policy of Emperor Joseph II with regard to the religious houses of his empire threatened to close Kremsmünster, like many others, but it was fortunate enough to escape.
The abbey suffered a great deal during the Napoleonic wars, and was slow in recovering its position. It was not until the abbacy of Thomas Mitterndorfer (1840–1860) that, having recovered its material security, and re-established learning and discipline, it regained its former prestige. One of the most illustrious abbots in the 19th century was Dom Cölestin Ganglbauer (died 1889), who celebrated in 1877 the 1100th anniversary of the foundation, became Archbishop of Vienna in 1881 and was raised to the cardinalate in 1884. In the 20th century Dom Leander Czerny, the distinguished entomologist, was abbot from 1905 to 1929.
Since 1625 the abbey has been a member of the Austrian Congregation, now within the Benedictine Confederation.
The abbey also played a role in the end of World War II, as it was here that on May 8, 1945, the exiled Slovak government capitulated to General Walton Walker leading the XX Corps of the 3rd US Army.