Itta of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

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

(also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of

Pepin of Landen Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Si ...

, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the ...

. After his death, she founded the

Abbey of Nivelles The Abbey of Nivelles, is a former Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire founded in 640. It is located in Wallonia in the town of Nivelles in Province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Foundation The abbey was founded by Itta of Metz, the widow ...

, where she became a Colombanian

nun 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 ...

along with her daughter,

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The ea ...

. Both are honored as

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

s by the Catholic Church.

Life

There is no direct record of her parents, but it has been suggested that she came from a family of

senatorial A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

status which had originated in

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

,Arduino, Fabio. "Sant' Ida", Santi e Beati, February 4, 2005
/ref> and was a daughter of

Arnoald Arnoald, also called Arnoldus or Arnual (c. 540/560 – c. 611), was a Bishop of Metz between 601 and 609 or 611, the successor of his uncle Agilulf. He was the son of Ansbertus, a senator, and his wife Blithilde, whose parents were Chariber ...

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, son of Ansbertus. Her brother was

Saint Modoald Saint Modoald, also known as Romoald, was the Frankish archbishop of Trier from 626 to 645. He is the patron saint of the Reichsabtei Helmarshausen and his liturgical feast is on 12 May. Modoald was born in Aquitaine, the son of Arnulf, later Bi ...

Bishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.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 ...

, Saint Severa. She married

, Mayor of the Merovingian Royal Palace. After Pepin's death in 640, Itta and her daughter, Gertrude, withdrew from the capital for a life of religious reflection. Later, around 647, on the advice of

Amandus Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the great Christian missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details ...

, the

Bishop of Maastricht The Diocese of Maastricht (Latin Traiectum ad Mosam) was a Roman Catholic jurisdiction in parts of present Netherlands (including the see Maastricht) and Belgium, which has been nominally revived as a Latin titular bishopric. History Establishe ...

, she founded the

. The abbey was originally just a community of nuns, but it later became a

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...

when the nuns were joined by a group of Irish monks who offered them support in the operations of the abbey. She might have appointed her daughter, Gertrude, as its 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, Copt ...

, while she herself lived there as a simple

, assisting the young abbess by her advice.Ott, Michael. "St. Gertrude of Nivelles." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 December 2015 Itta died at the abbey on 8 May 652.

Children

Itta had another daughter by Pepin, Abbess Begga of Andenne, who had married

Ansegisel Ansegisel (c. 602 or 610 – murdered before 679 or 662) was the younger son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz. Life He served King Sigebert III of Austrasia (634–656) as ''domesticus''. He was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his ...

, son of

Arnulf of Metz Arnulf of Metz ( 582 – 645) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia. He later retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is known as Arnold. G ...

prior to joining the monastery. By Begga, she is the grandmother of

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the ...

and one of the matriarchs of the great

Carolingian 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 Pippi ...

family. Her sons were Grimoald, later Mayor of the Palace, and father of King Childebert the Adopted; Itta's second son

Bavo Saint Bavo of Ghent (also known as Bavon, Allowin, Bavonius, Baaf; AD 622–659) is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and the brother of saints Begga and Gertrude of Nivelles. Life Bavo was born ne ...

(or Allowin), became a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

and was later

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

. Both her daughters were also canonized, as was she. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

is celebrated on 8 May.

Patronage

Itta is honoured as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the French village of

Itteville Itteville () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Itteville's twin town has been Newick in the United Kingdom since 1988. The distance between both towns is . Origin of the town name The original name of ...

, which was founded on the site of a farm which she had established.

Family

References

Sources

* Alban Butler's ''Lives of the saints'', edited, revised and supplemented by Thurston and Attwater. Christian Classics, Westminster, Maryland.

External links

*
Saint Itta of Nivelles
at

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{{Authority control 592 births 652 deaths People from Metz 7th-century Frankish nuns Pippinids 7th-century Frankish saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages Belgian Roman Catholic saints Colombanian saints