Gertrude of Hackeborn (1232–1292) was the

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent of Helfta, near

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, E ...

in modern Germany.

Life

Gertrude was born in 1232 near Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt. She was a member of the Thuringian Hackeborn dynasty and elder sister of

Mechtilde Mechtilde of Hackeborn, also known as Mechtilde of Helfta (1240/1241 – 19 November 1298), was a Saxon Christian saint (from what is now Germany) and a Benedictine nun. She was famous for her musical talents, gifted with a beautiful voic ...

. At a young age, she entered the Benedictine convent of Roderdorf, which followed

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

traditions.Schaus, Margaret. "Gertrude of Hackeborn", ''Women and Gender in Medieval Europe'', Taylor & Francis, 2006
She was elected abbess in 1251 at the age of nineteen. She founded the convent of Hederleben in 1253 with the help of her two brothers, Albert and Louis, but it suffered from a lack of water, so she received the castle of Helpeda (Helfta) and its surrounding land from them and moved her community there in 1258.
/ref> During her time as abbess, Benedictine practice, Cistercian austerity, and Dominican and Beguine spirituality came together to make the convent of Helfta famous across the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

for its practices of asceticism and mysticism.Jewell, Helen M., ''Women In Late Medieval and Reformation Europe 1200-1550'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2006
Gertrude required her

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

to be educated in the

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

, but most importantly in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. Abbess Gertrude bought or had the nuns copy "all the good books she could get". She is described as a cultured woman of remarkable character, uniting love, gentleness, and piety with practical wisdom, and good sense.Bevan, Frances. ''Matelda and the Cloister of Hellfde'', James Nisbet & Co., London, 1896
/ref> Under the leadership of the Abbess Gertrude, the monastery at Helfta was highly regarded for its spiritual and intellectual vitality. Despite the protection of some powerful families, it was pillaged at least twice during Gertrude's time. In 1270, she tended the sick and gave shelter to

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

Mechthild of Magdeburg Mechthild (or Mechtild, Matilda, Matelda) of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282/1294), a Beguine, was a Christian medieval mystic, whose book ''Das fließende Licht der Gottheit'' (''The Flowing Light of Divinity'') is a compendium of visions, ...

. Gertrude of Hackeborn is not to be confused with

Gertrude the Great Gertrude the Great, OSB (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; it, Santa Gertrude, german: Gertrud die Große von Helfta, la, Sancta Gertrudis; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic. She is recognized as a saint ...

. The abbess never wrote anything, nor did she receive any revelations from

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

or become

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...

. Gertrude the Great was born more than twenty years after her and lived as an ordinary nun in the Helfa convent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertrude Of Hackeborn Cistercian nuns 13th-century German nuns 1223 births 1292 deaths