Gertrude of Hackeborn
Encyclopedia
Gertrude of Hackeborn was the Abbess of the Cistercian convent of Helfta, near Eisleben
in modern Germany.
She was a member of the Hackeborn dynasty and a sister of St. Mechtilde. At a young age she ented the Cistercian convent of Roderdorf, where she was elected abbess in 1251 at the age of only nineteen. She founded the convent of Hederleben in 1253 with the help of her two brothers, Albert and Louis, but it suffered from a lack of water, so she received the castle of Helpeda (Helfta) and its surrounding land from them and moved her community there in 1258.
While she was abbess, the convent of Helfta became famous across the Holy Roman Empire
for its practices of asceticism and mysticism. Gertrude required her nuns to be educated in the liberal arts
, but most importantly in the Bible
. She was considered a model abbess, most especially in her behavior during the year-long illness that took her life.
Gertrude of Hackeborn is not to be confused with St. Gertrude the Great
. The abbess never wrote anything, nor did she received any relevations from God
or become canonized. Gertrude the Great was born over twenty years after the her, and lived as an ordinary nun in the Helfa convent.
Eisleben
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. As of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,552...
in modern Germany.
She was a member of the Hackeborn dynasty and a sister of St. Mechtilde. At a young age she ented the Cistercian convent of Roderdorf, where she was elected abbess in 1251 at the age of only nineteen. She founded the convent of Hederleben in 1253 with the help of her two brothers, Albert and Louis, but it suffered from a lack of water, so she received the castle of Helpeda (Helfta) and its surrounding land from them and moved her community there in 1258.
While she was abbess, the convent of Helfta became famous across the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
for its practices of asceticism and mysticism. Gertrude required her nuns to be educated in the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
, but most importantly in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. She was considered a model abbess, most especially in her behavior during the year-long illness that took her life.
Gertrude of Hackeborn is not to be confused with St. Gertrude the Great
Gertrude the Great
Gertrude the Great was a German Benedictine, mystic, and theologian.She is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, and is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar, for celebration throughout the Latin Rite on November 16.Gertrude was born January 6, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia...
. The abbess never wrote anything, nor did she received any relevations from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
or become canonized. Gertrude the Great was born over twenty years after the her, and lived as an ordinary nun in the Helfa convent.