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Countess Jutta von Sponheim (22 December 1091 – 1136) was the youngest of four noblewomen who were born into affluent surroundings in what is currently the
staff.uni-mainz.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jutta Von Sponheim 1091 births 1136 deaths German countesses Benedictine nuns 12th-century German nuns
Countess Jutta von Sponheim (22 December 1091 – 1136) was the youngest of four noblewomen who were born into affluent surroundings in what is currently the Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. She was the daughter of Count Stephen of Spanheim.
Jutta, instead of entering the convent at an early age, became an " anchoress," a symbolic "anchor" for the world to God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
, and thus she closed herself for life in a one-room shelter, with only a small window through which food was passed in, and refused to be taken out. This hut was next to the 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 ...
monastery on Disibodenberg Disibodenberg today
Disibodenberg ruins
Disibodenberg ruins
Disibodenberg picture
Disibodenberg is a monastery ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded by Saint Disibod. Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote Disibod's biography "Vita Sanct ...
, where she was 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 ...
. She tutored several female pupils from wealthy families and they lived with her in her hermitage. She taught and raised them all, but most notably the child Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
.
On the Day of All Saints, 1 November 1112, Hildegard was given over as an oblate
In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service.
Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...
into the care of Jutta of Sponheim, who was only six years Hildegard’s elder. Jutta was also related to Marchioness Richardis of Stade, the mother of Hartwig, Archbishop of Bremen
This list records the bishops of the Archdiocese of Bremen, Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were ...
and of Richardis, who was intimate friends with Hildegard.
Jutta taught Hildegard to write; to read the collection of psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
s used in the liturgy; and to chant the ''Opus Dei'' (‘work of God’), the weekly sequential recitation of the Canonical hours
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.
In ...
. She probably also taught Hildegard to play the zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
-like string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
called the psaltery
A psaltery ( el, ψαλτήρι) (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and dulcimer; the harp, virginal, harpsichord and clavichord were also inspired by ...
.
Jutta was a severe practitioner of asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
, including penitential self-flagellation
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...
. She wore a chain under her clothes, prayed barefoot in the extreme cold of a German winter, and refused the allowed (and even encouraged) modifications to the Benedictine diet for those who were sick.
As an adult, Hildegard would teach moderation. Hildegard succeeded Jutta upon her death in 1136. Hildegard's other well-known teacher is the monk Volmar.
Literature
* : ''Reform und Reformgruppen im Erzbistum Mainz. Vom ’Libellus de Willigisi consuetudinibus’ zur ’Vita domnae Juttae inclusae’'', Anhang II. In: Quellen und Abhandlungen zur mittelrheinischen Kirchengeschichte Bd. 68: ''Reformidee und Reformpolitik im spätsalisch-frühstaufischen Reich…'', 1992, pp. 172 ffExternal links
*staff.uni-mainz.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jutta Von Sponheim 1091 births 1136 deaths German countesses Benedictine nuns 12th-century German nuns