Gailana or Geilana (7th century – fl. 689) was a duchess consort of
Thuringia by marriage to
Hedan I and .
[Wendehorst A. Kilian //Neue Deutsche Biographie(NDB). - Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1977. - Bd. 11. - S. 603. -.]
She was first married to
Heden I and, upon his death in 687, to his brother and successor Gozbert. She was the mother of
Hedan II.
She is known from the hagiography of
Saint Kilian. During her second marriage, Kilian came to the duchy as a Christian missionary, converting Gozbert to Christianity. Geilana, however, preferred to remain faithful to
Germanic paganism. Kilian then demanded that Gozbert divorce Geilana, since their marriage was not legal in accordance to the Christian view of kinship. When Gozbert left for military campaign warfare, Gayala had Kilian assassinated in Gozbert's absence with the support of the pagan courtiers, who resented Killian's ambition to control their lives.
According to the hagiography, Geilana became mentally ill after the murder. A pagan reaction resulted in the death of Gozberth shortly after and forced Hedan II to flee. Other sources claim that Geilana ruled as duchess (689). Sometime later Hedan returned as an adult and took over (before 704).
References
{{Authority control
7th-century women rulers
Germanic pagans
7th-century Frankish women