Aldetrude (died 696, or 526) was a Christian saint and from 684 was abbess of Maubeuge Abbey in the

County of Hainault 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 Be ...

, now in northern France. She is also known as Aldetrude de Maubeuge, Aldetrude of Maubod, Aldetrudis and Adeltrude. She was one of the four children 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, whe ...

, also known as Waldetrude, her siblings being Saint Landericus, a bishop of Paris; Saint

Dentelin Dentelin was a region of the Frankish Empire disputed between Austrasia and Neustria. Mentioned in the Chronicle of Fredegar, the Duchy of Dentelin included far north-eastern parts of modern France and south-western parts of Belgium. The cities o ...

who died very young; and Saint Madelberta, who was also abbess of Maubeuge. Her aunt

Aldegonde Aldegund ( 639–684), also Aldegundis or Aldegonde, was a Frankish Benedictine abbess who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in France and Orthodox Church. Aldegund was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her pare ...

, her mother's sister, was the first abbess of Maubeuge; Aldetrude was sent into her care as a girl and then succeeded her, and her sister Madelberte was the third abbess. She died and is celebrated on the 25 or 27 February. The exact year of her death is unknown though some sources say 696, and she is said to have lived to an advanced age. In ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary'' (2015), "edited ... on behalf of the Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, Chilworth" it is stated that "Her extant biography is unreliable" and "The revised Roman Martyrology has her 170 years earlier", giving a death date of 526.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldetrude Year of birth missing 696 deaths Christian female saints of the Middle Ages Benedictine abbesses 7th-century Christian saints