Abbot, Or Abbat - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition abbot-or-abbat

Definition :

Abbot, or Abbat [from abbas, Lat.; abbe, Fr.; abbud, Sax.: others derive it from abba, Syr., father], a spiritual lord or governor, who had the rule of a religious house. An abbot, with the monks of the same house, who were called the convent, made a corporation, Termes de la Ley.

Mitred abbots were those privileged to wear the mitre and allowed full episcopal authority within their precincts. They were also lords of Parliament, and at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Were twenty-six in number, 1 Bl. Com. 151.