Alsfeld inspired!Missal of the Augustinian monastery of Alsfeld

The first Augustinian Hermits presumably settled in Alsfeld around the year 1280/90; the first written evidence can be found in a document from 1309. The Augustinian Hermits belonged to the mendicant orders, which primarily settled near city walls. In Alsfeld, too, the monastery complex was established there, right near the Mainz Gate at the Roßmarkt. The peak of this development culminated in the completion of the monastery church in 1436.

When Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous introduced the Reformation in Hesse in 1526 following the so-called Homberg Synod, he dissolved the monasteries. The Alsfeld monastery also met this fate in 1527 and was converted into a hospital for the poor and needy. The church remained unused until the 17th century, when it was restored and used again as a church building for the Protestant congregation after 1664.

The late Gothic Alsfeld Missal (Latin: Missale) shown here dates from the monastery’s heyday. The manuscript contains liturgical texts for the Mass between Easter and Advent. The few but extremely high-quality illustrations (a canon image with the crucifixion as well as initials and other decorations) are a magnificent testimony to the monks’ craftsmanship. The manuscript was completed in 1501. The valuable manuscript has since been restored and digitized by the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. (MJ)