GALL, Abbey of Saint. A Benedictine ab bey in the canton Saint Gall, Switzerland. It was founded in the 7th century and placed under the patronage of Saint Gall, or Gallus, an Irish missionary and a disciple of Saint Columbanus. Saint Gall died in 646 and a chapel was erected on the site of .his cell by Charles Martel. Under his patronage and that of fiis son, Pepin, a community of monks grew up there and the monastery was dedicated to Saint Gall. Under Othmar, the first abbot, a school was founded which soon acquired a great influence. The early years of the abbey were marked by frequent conflicts with the bishops of Constance, who refused to recog nize the exemptions and other privileges of the community, but in the time of Louis the Pious its rights were confirmed and its independence secured. In the 9th century the library was considerably enlarged and a catalogue, pre pared at that time and still in existence, shows the possession of manuscripts on a wide range of subjects. In the 13th century the import ance of the abbey as a centre of religion and learning waned. This may have been due in part to the fact that at this time the town became an independent principality over which the abbots ruled as territorial sovereigns.
After the Reformation the town threw off the rule of the abbots. At this time many of the most valuable books and manuscripts were car ried away. In 1530, under Abbot Diethelm, the library and schools were restored and later in the century a printing press was established there which eventually became one of the most important in Switzerland. In 1712 the abbey was raided by the Swiss who carried away many books and manuscripts to Zurich, Berne and other cities. By a curious irony of for thne the abbot was obliged at this time to place the abbey under the protection of the towns people, who had once been the subjects of his predecessors. After this trouble a final attempt was made to restore the library and schools, but in 1798 the Swiss Directory suppressed the ecclesiastical principality and secularized the abbey. In 1846 Saint Gall was erected into a separate bishopric, with the abbey church as its cathedral. A portion of the monastery was assigned as the bishop's residence and the rest used for the offices of the civil government and the remains of the library.