Aldegund ( 639–684), also Aldegundis or Aldegonde, was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

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 ...

abbess who is honored as a saint by the

Roman 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 ...

in France and

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (di ...

. Aldegund was closely related to the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

royal family. Her parents, afterwards honored as St. Walbert, Count of

Guînes Guînes (; vls, Giezene, lang; pcd, Guinne) is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Historically it was spelt ''Guisnes''. On 7 January 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French pioneer in hydrogen-balloon flight, complete ...

, and St. Bertilla de Mareuil, lived in the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

. She is the most famous of what Aline Hornaday calls the "Maubeuge Cycle" of

Merovingian saints The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

. Aldegund was urged to marry, but she chose the life of the cloister. Having allegedly walked across the waters of the

Sambre The Sambre (; nl, Samber, ) is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne ...

, she had built on its banks a small hospital at

Malbode Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border. ...

, which later became, under the name

Maubeuge Abbey Maubeuge Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubeuge) was a women's monastery in Maubeuge, in the County of Hainaut, now northern France, close to the modern border with Belgium. It is best known today as the abbey founded by St. Aldegonde, still a popular ...

, a famous abbey of Benedictine nuns, though at a later date these were replaced by canonesses. She bore with fortitude the

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

that eventually killed her. Saint Aldegund's Catholic liturgical feast is kept on January 30. She has been supposed to be the sister of Saint

Waltrude Saint Waltrude (french: Waudru; nl, Waldetrudis; german: Waltraud; la, Valdetrudis, Valtrudis, Waltrudis; died April 9, 688 AD) is the patron saint of Mons, Belgium, where she is known in French as Sainte Waudru, and of Herentals, Belgium, wher ...

(Waudru). She was succeeded by her nieces, Waltrude's daughters,

Aldetrude Aldetrude (died 696, or 526) was a Christian saint and from 684 was abbess of Maubeuge Abbey in the County of Hainault, now in northern France. She is also known as Aldetrude de Maubeuge, Aldetrude of Maubod, Aldetrudis and Adeltrude. She was on ...

and then Madelberte. There are several early ''

Lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...

'', but none by contemporaries. Several of these, including the tenth-century biography by Hucbald, are printed by the

Bollandists The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century h ...

(Acta SS., January 11, 1034–35).

Notes

External links

Saint of the Day, January 30: ''Aldegundis of Maubeuge''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org'' {{Authority control 639 births 684 deaths 7th-century Frankish nuns People from Pas-de-Calais Benedictine abbesses Burials at Maubeuge Abbey Colombanian saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 7th-century Frankish saints