The Proprietary Church in the Medieval West

An extensive study of the proprietary church system across Western Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to around 1200. The proprietary church, or Eigenkirche (a term coined by German historian Ulrich Stutz), refers to churches, abbeys, or cloisters built on private land by feudal lords—laymen, bishops, or abbots—who retained proprietary rights, including the power to appoint clergy, akin to the English "advowson." Wood challenges Stutz’s view that this was a distinct Germanic legal system that dominated Roman ecclesiastical norms, arguing instead that it was a fluid set of customary practices shaped by local conditions and evolving over time.

The book details how, after the Roman Empire’s collapse, decentralization allowed landowners to assume control over rural churches, often bypassing bishops’ authority. This practice, formalized under the Carolingians in the 9th century (e.g., councils of 808 and 818/9), recognized proprietors’ rights but required bishops’ consent for ordinations and maintenance responsibilities. Proprietors ranged from kings and nobles to families donating churches to larger institutions, sometimes reserving usufruct for heirs or even unborn relatives, blurring lines between ownership and patronage. This system enabled economic exploitation—churches were treated like mills or vineyards—fueling simony and the Investiture Controversy, which reformers like those in the 11th- and 12th-century Gregorian reforms sought to curb.

Wood’s analysis, based on charters, chronicles, and canon law (e.g., Gratian’s Decretum), spans regions from England to Germany, emphasizing variety and ambiguity over a uniform model. She argues that while smaller churches and monasteries were often proprietary, major cathedrals and ancient abbeys were typically under royal or episcopal lordship rather than private ownership. The 11th- and 12th-century reforms shifted this toward the ius patronatus, replacing proprietors’ dominium with regulated patronage rights. At 1,020 pages, the book’s depth—resembling a medieval cartulary—offers a nuanced view, though its complexity may overwhelm casual readers. It highlights the medieval church’s entanglement with feudal and familial interests, questioning the narrative of a centralized ecclesiastical authority.