Steganography Vindicated, Unlocked and Illustrated

VITA TRITHEMII

CAP. IV.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPONHEIM MONASTERY.

§. 1. The Location of the Sponheim Monastery.

The Sponheim Monastery is situated in the Rhenish Palatinate, within the County of Sponheim specifically the "Anterior" or Front County of Sponheim, in the region of the Hundsrück original: "Cynonotorum," a Latinized name for the Hundsrück mountains, literally "dog's back.". It is located one mile from Stauronesus, which is now called Kreuznach; one mile from Sobernheim, a town belonging to the Electorate of Mainz; and two miles from Bingen, a town of the Metropolitan Chapter of Mainz situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Nahe rivers. Its latitude is 50 degrees 23 minutes, and its longitude is 26 degrees 53 minutes, based on a prime meridian where Mainz is at 27 degrees 30 minutes. The monastery recognizes the Count of Sponheim as the lord of the land and territory, and the Archbishop of Mainz for its ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

§. 2. The Foundation of the Church of Sponheim.

In the year 1044 from the Incarnation of the Lord—in the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Henry III, the tenth of Pope Benedict IX, and the fourteenth of the Blessed Bardo, Archbishop and Elector of Mainz—the illustrious Count Eberhard, Count of Sponheim, founded a church in a place anciently called the Mountain of the Field original: "mons campi.". He endowed it with many goods and revenues and placed certain clerics there to read the Masses. However, he reserved for himself and his heirs the right to appoint clerics to these benefits this refers to the right of "advowson," or the power to nominate a priest to a church office., just as the four altars that were within it were conferred upon succeeding priests by the senior Count of Sponheim. The most holy Blessed Bardo consecrated this church on the eighth day before the Calends of July June 24th in the year of our Lord 1047, in honor of the Most Blessed Mother of God and Virgin Mary, and he confirmed the donation of the church made by the Count.

§. 3. The Elevation of the Sponheim Church into a Monastery.

In the year of our Lord 1101, in the ninth Indiction, while Emperor Henry IV held the Roman Empire and the venerable Archbishop and Elector Ruthard governed the Church of Mainz, the illustrious Count Stephan of Sponheim, moved by divine inspiration, took care to elevate his church on the "mountain of the field" (founded by his ancestors) into a monastery. He began to build quarters and dwellings suitable for monks according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. However, hindered by various pressing occupations, he did not complete the work he had begun. When he finally saw that he was near death, he called his son Megenhard, the heir to his father’s estate, and charged him to finish the building started for the monastery. Thus, he fell asleep in the Lord on the fifth day before the Calends of March February 25th in the year of our Lord 1118. Megenhard, the noble Count, having taken up the long-interrupted work after his father's death, completed it within a few years. Count Rudolph, Megenhard's brother, along with his wife Richarde, also contributed no small expense toward the completion of the project.