Bertha of Val d'Or (birth unknown, death c. 690), was an

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 ...

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, and is venerated in 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 ...

as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. Her husband was Gombert, Lord of Champenois, who was a nobleman and member of the royal family of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, with whom she lived "a celibate life". The legend of Bertha's life is "very late and unreliable. Laurent Majoret wrote a ''vita'' that was first published in Toul in 1650 and reissued in Rheims in 1700 and in 1743. Gombert built a

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 ...

for Bertha and her maidens at Avenay, and then retired to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

on the coast.Dunbar, p. 117 After Gombert was killed by "idolaters" and "pagan marauders", she was directed by a vision to move her nuns to Val d'Or, near Avenay, in the

Champagne region The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term " ...

of northeastern France. It is uncertain if the convent followed the Dominican Rule. There was a drought in the area; according to hagiographer Agnes Dunbar,

Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupatio ...

appeared to her and guided her to a garden with a good spring. She created, with her

distaff A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly use ...

, a stream she called "Libra" because she bought the spring with a pound of silver. The stream flowed in front of her convent and supplied water for both her nuns and for the town; Dunbar reported that "there it flows to this day, an abundant supply of beautiful, clear water, curing many infirmities, and witnessing the truth of the legend of the distaff". In 690, the relatives of Bertha's husband became angry with her because they were indignant that she distributed her husband's money to the poor and because she "gave to the poor a great deal that they hoped to get for themselves". so they killed her. Dunbar reports that they "were immediately seized by the devil, and tore themselves to pieces, all but one woman named Nuncia, who had some pangs of repentance". Bertha appeared to Nuncia, asking that her husband's body be brought to Val d' Or so that she could be buried with him. Nuncia requested proof that her actions would be forgiven if she granted Bertha's wish; as soon as Nuncia moved Gombert's body to the convent, blood spouted out of her nose and mouth as Bertha had said it would. One hundred years later, Bertha's body was found "fresh and life-like;"Dunbar, p. 118 when her body and Gombert's were brought to the place where she was killed, "her wounds bled afresh". Bertha's feast day is May 1.

References

Works cited

* Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). ''A Dictionary of Saintly Women''. Volume 1. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 117−118. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertha Of Val D'or 690 deaths 7th-century Frankish saints Frankish abbesses Year of birth unknown Female saints of medieval France 7th-century Frankish nuns