Irmgard of Chiemsee (german: Selige Irmgard, also ''Irmengard''; – 16 July 866), a member of the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

, was the second daughter of King

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 ...

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 Alt ...

. She was the first

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 Frauenwörth abbey from 857 until her death.

Life

Born at King Louis' court in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

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 ...

, young Irmgard, like her sisters, was destined for a monastic life. She was raised at 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 ...

abbey of

Buchau Bochov (german: Buchau) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Číhaná, Dlouhá Lomnice, Herstošice, Hlineč, Javorná, Jesínky, Koz ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

, whose estates she later received from the hands of her father. She was known for her comprehensive education About 850 Louis appointed Irmgard abbess of Frauenwörth, which had been founded by the last

Agilolfing The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...

duke

Tassilo III of Bavaria Tassilo III ( 741 – c. 796) was the duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. The Son of Duke Odilo of Bavaria and Hitrud, the Daughter of Charles Martell. Tassilo, then still a child, began his rule as a Frankis ...

in 782 and held the status of an

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

since 788. During her leadership the decayed premises were restored and the former chapter for noble ladies developed into a Benedictine

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. Since she was of Imperial descent, the incumbent abbess of Frauenwörth had the right to wear a thin golden hoop, resembling a little crown.

Veneration

Irmgard was already venerated in the early 11th century, when abbot Gerhard had her head reliquary

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Seeon Abbey Seeon Abbey (german: Kloster Seeon) is a former Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Seeon-Seebruck in the rural district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. History Seeon Abbey was founded in 994 by the Bavarian ''Pfalzgraf'' Aribo I, a ...

in 1004. However, she was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

only on 17 July 1929 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

, on initiative of Cardinal Faulhaber. Her relics were re-unified during a festive ceremony in 2003. Irmengard's

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

is 16 July. In Frauenchiemsee, ''Irmengardstag'' is celebrated the Sunday nearest to 16 July. In paintings Irmgard is portrayed in a Benedictine habit either crowned with Bible and abbot's staff or with heart in her hand.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irmgard of Chiemsee 830s births 866 deaths Year of birth uncertain German beatified people Benedictine nuns Women of medieval Germany Carolingian dynasty Women from the Carolingian Empire Christian saints Consecrated virgins