Chapter of Saint Servatius - 800 AD

The Chapter of Saint Servatius was a college of secular clergy, which was associated with the Saint Servatius in Maastricht from the Middle Ages until the end of the Ancien Regime. The secular chapter experienced its greatest heyday during the High Middle Ages, but it also remained the most powerful and richest spiritual institution in Maastricht and the surrounding area, until its abolition in the year 1797. The Chapter of Saint Servatius was re-established on 12th October 2023. 

The Chapter of the Saint Servatius Church in Maastricht probably originated from a monastic community that had settled near the burial church of  Saint Servatius in the early Middle Ages. The Carolingian scholars Alcuin and Einhard are both mentioned as lay abbots of Saint Servatius Abbey. The monastery was probably converted into a chapter of secular canons in the 9th century. The canons then still lived a communal life that was dominated by choir prayer, shared meals (in the refectory) and  shared dormitories (dormitories), but - unlike monks - had private  property. At the head of the chapter was the provost. The dean was  concerned about the spiritual welfare of the canons. 

The provost initially lived opposite the church in the provost of  Sint-Servaas. This was connected to the westwork of the church by a covered wooden walkway, so that the provost could enter his private chapel (Saint Agatha's chapel) in the westwork unseen. The canons had their own chapel in the Double Chapel (now Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius), located north of the transept, accessible from the cloister of the church. In the upper chapel there was a chapel and the chapter house, on the ground floor the repository of the church treasury. A few provosts and deans were also buried in the lower chapel. At least five provosts were buried in the nave of the church. 

Through donations from kings, rulers and private individuals, the chapter soon amassed considerable wealth, largely consisting of real estate. The proceeds were divided into prebends, of which about forty canons were maintained. The chapter leased the lands (approx. 2000 ha) and received grain as payment, which was stored in a large barn next to the mountain  portal of the Sint-Servaaskerk ('t Spijker).

In  the 11th and 12th centuries, the Saint Servatius Chapter reached the  pinnacle of its power. The ties between the Reich Church and the German  kings were close and several provosts held the office of Chancellor of  the Holy Roman Empire. The provosts almost without exception came from  the highest circles of the German nobility and often combined their  position in Maastricht with other honorable jobs, such as the  provostship in Aachen, Cologne or Bonn, or later became (arch)bishop of  Liège, Cologne or Mainz.  In 1204, the right of appointment of the  provosts passed to the duke of Brabant, after which the importance of  the chapter declined somewhat.

In  this period the canons said goodbye to communal life and went to live  independently. The canons' houses of the Sint-Servaas chapter were  located in a continuous area around the Sint-Servaaskerk, mainly on the  Vrijthof, the Sint Servaasklooster, the Henric van Veldekeplein and the  Keizer Karelplein. In this area, the claustral canal or immunity of the  chapter, there were also the Sint-Janskerk (the baptismal and parish  church), the Sint-Servaasgasthuis and the Sint-Jacobskapel (where  pilgrims were received and the sick were cared for), the deanery , the  bakery, the brewery, the storehouses and the horse stables of the  chapter. Judgment took place in the 'long corridor' of the cloister,  executions took place behind the deanery at the wall of the first  rampart, the border of immunity. Convicts from the eleven banks of  Sint-Servaas were locked up in the Burght van Heer.

In  addition to its own collegiate church (Sint-Servaas), the chapter also  exercised authority over two parish churches in Maastricht  (Sint-Janskerk and Sint-Matthijskerk) and seven neighborhood or kerspel  chapels (Sint-Jacob, Sint Joris, Heilige Geest, Sint-Amor, Wittevrouwen,  Sint-Catharina en Sint-Antonius; all demolished). In addition, the  chapter owned parish churches in more distant villages (perhaps once  founded from the diocese of Maastricht), of which the chapter held the  collation and was entitled to the tithe.

In the  period after the Reformation, the chapter of Saint Servatius consisted  of approximately 190 members (not including serving staff): a provost, a  dean, 36 canons ordinary, 30 'minor' canons (chaplains, who dedicated  masses at the various altars of the Sint-Servaaskerk), about 100 other  chaplains, 10 rod bearers (court officers and bailiffs) and 12  chorisocii (guides at processions). The original purpose of the chapter  was to worship God and care about the 'church of Maastricht', but that  ideal had become clouded over time. From 1545-1563, the Council of Trent  attempted to put an end to a series of abuses in the Roman Catholic  Church. The chapter of Saint Servatius also had to deal with this and in  1556, 1557, 1559 and 1609 the canons were visited by visitation  committees (in 1557, among others with the Leuven professor and  inquisitor Ruard Tapper). After this, the chapter was urged to pay more  attention to matters such as attending choir prayers, not chatting,  laughing or arguing in the choir, wearing the tonsure and clerical  robes, the prohibition of games of chance or inn visits, compulsory  living within the claustral girth and the removal of concubines and  illegitimate children from the area. During the last visitation, the  worst abuses appeared to have been resolved.

At the end of the 18th century, some  canons once again lived outside the claustral canal. For example, the  brothers Andreas and Wilhelmus Soiron had a large mansion built on the  Grote Gracht after a design by their brother, the architect Mathias  Soiron. The provost of the chapter (also known as high provost) no  longer lived in the deanery, but in a luxurious city palace on Henric  van Veldekeplein. The provosts also had a castle in  Mechelen-aan-de-Maas, the Hof van Oensel.

 The most important building that recalls  the chapter is of course the Basilica of Saint Servatius. In particular,  the priest's choir (where the canons sat in choir stalls attended the  choir prayers several times a day), the Double Chapel (with the chapter  house and the funerary and private chapel of the chapter) and the  cloister of the Basilica of Saint Servatius (with, among other things,  the refectory , today's Day Chapel) were places primarily intended for  the canons. In the cloister was also the Kapittelschool van  Sint-Servaas, now used as a sacristy. Around the church, the  Sint-Janskerk, the Sint-Servaasproosdij, the provost's palace and at  least fifteen canons' houses form the main heritage of the chapter. The  oldest canons' house - and also a place to stay for high guests - is the  Spanish Government; the youngest canons' house is Huis Soiron, located  outside the claustral canal, built a few years before the abolition of  the chapter.

A copy of the missing immunity posts that  bordered the claustral canal until 1797 can be seen in the courtyard of  the Sint Servaasklooster building 32. On the hard stone post you can  see a relief of the key of Saint-Servatius, the hallmark of the chapter.  Modern lampposts on the Vrijthof bear images of the crowned eagle,  which also refers to the chapter coat of arms. Names such as Sint  Servaasklooster and Kanunnikencour (near Henric van Veldekeplein),  Proosdijweg and Proosdijveld (both in the Mariaberg district), and  Kapittellaan (in Heugem) also refer to the chapter.

Outside Maastricht, the churches of Saint  Servatius, Monulfus and Gondulfus in particular remind us of the  influence that the Maastricht chapter had in a large area, especially in  the Eleven Banks of Sint-Servaas. De Burght is located in Heer,  formerly the prison of the chapter. The caretaker's house of the chapter  is still present in Zepperen.

The sculpted Bergportaal, at the south  side of the church, was begun around 1180 and can be considered late  Romanesque or early Gothic. All the chapels along the side aisles are  Gothic (14th and 15th centuries), and so is the vaulted ceiling of the  nave and the transept. In 1556 a late Gothic spire was added onto the  westwork between the two existing towers. In 1770 the entire westwork  was crowned with Baroque helmet spires, designed by the Liège architect  Etienne Fayen.

Over the centuries the interior of the  church underwent many changes. In the 17th century, the Gothic choir  rood screen with sculpted depictions of the life of Servatius was  demolished. Fragments from the 14th-century screen were discovered  during the 1980s restoration works and are now kept in the church's  lapidarium in the East crypt. By the end of the 18th century, the entire  church interior had been painted white, the colourful Medieval stained  glass windows had been replaced by colourless glass, and the church  looked distinctly Baroque.

The north transept holds some epitaphs,  of which the one for Egidius Ruyschen in Renaissance style is probably  the most original. Nearby is the impressive tomb of the Count and  Countess van den Bergh (Johannes Bossier, 1685), which was transferred  from the Dominican church of Maastricht. From the Dominican church were  also transferred the ornate confessionals by Daniël van Vlierden  (Hasselt, 1700), which are located in various parts of the church.

Through the ages, the presence of the grave of Saint Servatius in the  church crypt and the many relics in the church treasury, have drawn  large numbers of pilgrims. Starting in the 14th century (but perhaps  earlier) a seven-yearly pilgrimage was organized in cooperation with  nearby Aachen Cathedral and Kornelimünster Abbey, attracting tens of  thousands of visitors to the region. This Pilgrimage of the Relics  (Dutch: Heiligdomsvaart) continued until 1632 when Maastricht became  affiliated with the Dutch Republic (Capture of Maastricht). The  Pilgrimage of the Relics was revived in the 19th century and the  tradition continues in our days. The most recent Pilgrimage of the  Relics took place from May 24 to June 3, 2018. 

 Today, the Basilica of Saint Servatius is the main church of the Deanery  of Maastricht, which belongs to the Diocese of Roermond. The church  continues to be a center of Catholicism in Maastricht (the other main  church being the Basilica of Our Lady). The church was made a Basilica  Minor by Pope John Paul II during his visit in 1985. 

 Both the exterior of the East choir and the interior of the westwork of  Saint Servatius contain architectural sculpture that is considered  amongst the most interesting in the Mosan region. The 34 elaborately  carved capitals in the Westwork depict scenes from books well-known to  the canons, such as Saint Augustine's De Civitate Dei and various  bestiaries. Recurrent themes are: botanical ornaments, animals, humans  fighting with animals, humans entangled in plants, and humans engaged in  daily activities. A close relationship has been established by art  historians between the Maastricht Westwork capitals and those of the  East choir of Our Lady's in Maastricht, the Rolduc crypt, the dwarf  gallery of the Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf (Bonn), and the Wartburg  palace (near Eisenach). 

 The Treasury of the Basilica of Saint  Servatius is a museum of religious art and artifacts inside the Basilica  of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, Netherlands. The treasure of  the church of Saint Servatius was put together over many centuries. One  of the oldest pieces (today non-existent) was a reliquary in the shape  of a triumphal arch, donated by Einhard (biographer of Charlemagne and  abbot of Saint Servatius) in the 9th century. In the 11th century a  custodian ('custos') was put in charge of the church's already seizable  treasure. 

 During the late Middle Ages the number of relics further increased. A  septennial Pilgrimage of the Relics (Dutch: Heiligdomsvaart) attracted  tens of thousands of pilgrims. At these occasions, the main relics were  shown to the pilgrims gathered in Vrijthof square from the dwarf  gallery. In 1579, the church treasure suffered badly during the Sack of  Maastricht by the Spanish troops led by the Duke of Parma. In 1634,  under the threat of war, the treasure was brought to Liège, where it  remained for twenty years. 

  In 1340 it was reported that the treasure of the church was kept in a  dark vaulted room on the lower floor of what is called the double  chapel. The double chapel is one of the oldest surviving parts of the  church and dates back to the 11th century. It was built adjacent to the  northern transept and can only be accessed via the cloisters. This seems  to have been the permanent location of the treasury until 1873, when it  moved to the former refectory and chapter school. 

 After the restoration of the double chapel in 1982, the treasury was  once again housed in its original location. The treasury now occupies  both floors of the double chapel and a side room on each level. The  basement floor with archaeological excavations has been made accessible.  The entrance to the treasury, via the East wing of the cloisters, is on  Keizer Karelplein, which is also the main entrance to the church. 

 The key of Saint Servatius: decorative key, one of the attributes of the  saint, silver (early 9th century). Pectoral cross of Saint Servatius:  silver and golden cross (wooden core), with enamel and gemstones (10th  or 11th century), a gift to the church from the duke of Bavaria. The cup  of Saint Servatius: millefiori glass, Roman (1st century). The Crozier  of Saint Servatius: wooden staff with ivory crook (12th century).  Portable altar of Saint Servatius: green serpentine stone with silver  ornaments (12th century). 

 This part of the treasure suffered most during the French period  (1794-1814). Many chalices, patens, monstrances and other liturgical  objects made of gold or silver were melted down in order to pay the war  taxes that the French demanded from the canons. However, a few  liturgical vessels from the Middle Ages survived and quite a few from  the Baroque period (notably some Maastricht silver pieces) are still in  the collection. 

 Archaeological excavations took place in the double chapel in 1981-82.  Underneath the ground level floor of the Sacrarium inferior canons'  grave stones were found, some dating back to the 13th century. Also,  parts of walls were excavated that at the time were interpreted as the  remains of a Carolingian polygonal church. As it turned out, the walls  belonged to polygonal transept arms of a 10th or 11th century church.  These remains can be seen in the basement underneath the treasury. Part  of the archaeological collection is on display in the lapidarium in the  eastern crypt. An important find was the 1086 funeral cross of Humbert,  who was provost of the chapter of Saint Lambert's Cathedral in Liège and  Saint Servatius in Maastricht. It was he who had the double chapel  built which is today the church treasury.