Note 62 — III THE EMPIRE

The abbey of Kempten was the most important of South German monasteries. It was founded by Benedictines from St. Gallen in the eighth century, became an imperial free town in 1289, and in 1360 the abbot was made a prince. The old town, as Montaigne saw it, is still Protestant, and a new Catholic suburb has grown up outside the walls. The legend of Hildegarde’s burial there and that she was once abbess of the convent seems to be false.