Hildegard (abbess Of Fraumünster) on:
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Hildegard (828-December 23 856 or 859), was the daughter of 
In 844, she became the abbess of Münsterschwarzach in
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
, Carolingian king of East Francia, and his wife Hemma
Emma of Altdorf, also known as Hemma ( – 31 January 876), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was Queen consort of East Francia by marriage to King Louis the German, from 843 until her death.
Life
Her father was Welf I (d. 825), Count of Al ...
. She 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, Copt ...
of Fraumünster
The Fraumünster (; lit. in en, Women's Minster, but often wrongly translated to urLady Minster) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for h ...
, an abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
founded by her father.
Hildegard was the eldest child of Louis the German and the countess Hemma, born a year after their marriage.
In 844, she became the abbess of Münsterschwarzach in Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, the ''Eigenkloster'' of the Carolingian court, founded in 780.
On June 21, 853, Louis the German founded the abbey at Fraumünster
The Fraumünster (; lit. in en, Women's Minster, but often wrongly translated to urLady Minster) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for h ...
, placing his daughter Hildegard as the abbess, while her younger sister Bertha
Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy".
The name occurs as a theonym, s ...
succeeded her as abbess of Münsterschwarzach.
According to legend, the two sisters were living a cloistered life together at Baldern Castle. While travelling to Zurich to pray at the chapel of Saints Felix and Regula, they saw a deer with lighted antlers, who led them through the forest to a location beside the River Limmat. The sisters took this as a sign from God that a church was to be built at that location, and Louis the German obeyed this divine invitation. What is historically certain is that an abbey had been recently founded at Fraumünster, and this abbey with its considerable property and right to autonomous jurisdiction was entrusted to Hildegard.
Hildegard died December 23, 856 (some sources say 859). As before, her sister Bertha succeeded her as abbess of Fraumünster.
Hildegard is honored in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
on 23 December
Events Pre-1600
* 484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity.
* 558 – Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.
* 583 – Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque.
* 962 – ...
.
References
* Gerhard Hartmann, Karl Schnith (Hrsg.), ''Die Kaiser. 1200 Jahre Europäische Geschichte.'' Marixverlag, Wiesbaden 2006, , S. 70. * Peter Vogelsanger, ''Zürich und sein Fraumünster. Eine elfhundertjährige Geschichte (853–1956)''. NZZ Libro, Zürich 1994, .External links
{{authority control Christian abbesses Carolingian dynasty 850s deaths 828 births 9th-century Christian nuns