Abbot Jakob of Eltville

Jakob came from Eltville in the Rheingau and was born in the first half of the 14th century. He was educated not only at Eberbach Monastery, but also in Paris. There he studied theology at the Sorbonne University. In 1246, Stephen of Lexington, abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Clairvaux, founded the Collège St. Bernard, a house of study of the order where Cistercian monks studying in Paris were housed. It was named after the holy Bernard of Clairvaux, once a Cistercian abbot himself and the most important saint of the order. In 1373, Jacob completed his studies as a doctor of theology and was even appointed professor at the Sorbonne. He was regarded as a learned and respected theologian.

After the death of Abbot Konrad II in 1371, Jakob was elected as his successor. During his time in office, he was very concerned with the education of the Cistercian monks in Eberbach. For example, he improved their opportunities to study in Paris by arranging for rooms and books to be made available to them there in 1380.

Abbot Jakob was also academically active himself and wrote commentaries on theological writings. He also maintained contacts with leading scholars of his time. One of them was Heinrich Hembuche of Langenstein, a respected representative of late German scholasticism, whom Jakob had met at the Sorbonne. Hembuche even spent some time in Eberbach in 1382/83, where he worked on his theological writings. Jakob was also in contact with other former fellow students from Paris. One of these was the theologian Matthäus of Krakau, who worked as King Ruprecht's adviser on church policy and dedicated several of his writings to Abbot Jakob.

Abbot Jakob resigned from his office prematurely. The reasons for this are not known. He died on November 12, 1392 and his work as a professor is also mentioned in his epitaph. The head carved in relief and (re)inserted appears enigmatic, but this has not yet been satisfactorily resolved by researchers.

Source: German Inscriptions Online (43, no. 135), Academy of Sciences Mainz

Image of the tomb: Michael Leukel

The inscription in Gothic minuscule reads: