Gisela (757, Aachen, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – 810–11, Chelles, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France) was a Frankish princess and abbess. There are also two variations of her name, which are Gisele and Giselle. She was the daughter of

Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...

and his wife Bertrada of Laon. She was the sister of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and Carloman.''Sanctity and Power: The Dual Pursuit of Early Medieval Women'', Suzanne F. Wemple, ''Becoming Visible: Women in European History'', ed. Renate Bridenthal, Claudia Koonz and Susan Stuard, (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987), 139.

Life

Early in life Gisela was betrothed to Leo, son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V, but the contract was broken. There is also a brief mention of Gisela being betrothed to Adalgis, son of the Lombard king

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...

in 770. It is likely that by this point she had been allowed to choose a life of religion for herself. Charlemagne's biographer

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...

states that Gisela had been dedicated to religion since her childhood. She became a nun at Chelles Abbey, where she was eventually made abbess. As the abbess at Chelles Abbey, Gisela oversaw one of the most prolific nuns'

scriptoria A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and Illuminated manuscript, illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for ...

active in the 8th and 9th centuries. While little is known about her education, there is suggestion she was well learned, for her correspondence with Alcuin was written and received in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. According to Einhard she had good relations with her brother Charlemagne, who "treated her with the same respect which he showed his mother."

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

was a close friend. Where he wrote personal poems for each of the king's harlemagne'schildren, he also wrote one for Gisela, in which "Alcuin hailed her as a noble sister in the bond of sweet love, assuring her of her prayers of the brethren at Tours." Other correspondence which hints at a friendly relationship is a letter written to Gisela between 793 and 796, where he thanked her warmly for the gift of a hat. In September 798, he writes to her from his monastery at St. Loup de Troyes, where he laments that an acute fever has stopped him from travelling to see her. In this same letter, he thanks her for the gift of a cross, apparently made at her monastery, and he bade her farewell as a most beloved sister. Along with this, he dedicated the last two books of his commentary on John's gospel to her and her niece, Rotrudis. Considering the active scriptoria in Gisela's abbey, it can be argued that she held an involved role in the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne's reign led to an intellectual revival beginning in the 8th century and continuing throughout the 9th ...

. Other work she was involved in was the rebuilding of the church of St. Mary at Chelles, as well as building up the library, according to a letter from Alcuin. In it, he encourages her leadership in the project and states his intention to send a pupil and friend, Fredegisus, to assist her. The specific year of her death is unknown, but she died between 810 and 811 AD in Chelles, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France, in the convent she had served for most of her life, aged between 53 and 54. Charlemagne and his wife Hildegard also named a daughter Gisela after the abbess. Gisela the Younger lived from about 781 to after at least 808, but little else is known of her life.

References

{{Authority control 757 births 810 deaths 8th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish nuns 8th-century Christian nuns 9th-century French nuns Frankish princesses Daughters of kings