Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled Geretrude, Geretrudis, Gertrud; c. 628Butler, Alban. "Saint Gertrude, Virgin and Abbess of Nivelle". Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints, 1866 – 17 March 659) was an abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. She is venerated in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.
Life Family and childhood The early history of Gertrude's family is not well documented. The anonymous author of her Early Middle Ages biography, Vita Sanctae Geretrudis, only hints at her origins: "it would be tedious to insert in this account in what line of earthly origin she was descended. For who living in Europe does not know the loftiness, the names, and the localities of her lineage?"Vita Sanctae Geretrudis Gertrude's father, Pepin of Landen (Pippin the Elder), a nobleman from east Francia, had been instrumental in persuading King Clothar II to crown his son, Dagobert I, as the King of Austrasia. Due to her position at the palace, Gertrude's mother, Itta of Metz, was likely acquainted with Amandus, the Bishop of Maastricht.
When Dagobert succeeded his father and the court moved to Neustria, Pepin and his family (including young Gertrude) moved with the king's court.Fredegar ch 84 Thus, Gertrude became introduced to politics during her childhood in the royal court. Arnulf of Metz, Pepin's close ally, was one of several royal counselors who received ecclesiastical posts after a secular career. McNamara argues that Arnulf retired into religion at the time of Clothar's death in 628, but he kept close ties to the family by marrying his son to Gertrude's sister, Begga.McNamara et al. 221 However, later scholars have disagreed.
Marriage proposal Gertrude's biography begins with her father hosting a banquet when Gertrude was ten years old.Some scholars think it may have been written by an Irish monk after Begga's death in 693. The dispute is discussed in Gertrude in Literature, below That the king accepted Pepin's invitation to the dinner at all shows Pepin's standing as well as that of his family.Fouracre At this feast, the King asked Gertrude if she would like to marry the "son of a duke of the Austrasians.... for the sake of his worldly ambition and mutual alliance." Gertrude declined and "lost her temper and flatly rejected him with an oath, saying that she would have neither him nor any earthly spouse but Christ the Lord."McNamara et al 223
Marriage alliances were important in this era although scholars disagree as to the extent parents or kings asserted power over spousal choice.Contrast Peyroux pp. 51–52, Wemple p. 54, and Wood p. 260 The marriage between Gertrude's sister Begga and Ansegisel helped set the stage for a Carolingian takeover of Austrasia.Wemple 54 The marriage of their son Pepin the Middle and Plectrude later secured the lands of Plectrude's parents Hugobert and Irmina of Oeren between the Rhine, Moselle and Meuse rivers, because Plectrude was an only child. Begga's sons enhanced Pepin's power by marrying women with political connections in the north and northwest. All agree that the girl's personal feeling mattered little. One scholar speculated that if Pepin I had lived longer, he would likely have forced Gertrude to marry the son of the Austrasian duke, thus giving power to the Pippinids sooner to supplant the Merovingians.
Dagobert died in 639 and was succeeded in Neustria by Clovis II and in Austrasia by Sigebert III. When Pepin died, Gertrude's brother Grimoald competed with Otto to become the new mayor of the palace.Fredegar ch 86 After Otto died in battle, "the dignity of mayor of Sigebert's palace and control of all the kingdom of Austrasia was thus decisively assured to Grimoald" and the Pippinids.Fredegar, ch 88
The mention of Gertrude's decided rejection of her Austrasian suitor is unique for the era. At least one scholar considers it to have been deliberately included by the chronicler as expressing her character.Peyroux 40–53 The reference to a prior betrothal to Christ becomes common in later saints' lives. The suitor, while irritated, is not emotionally affected by this rejection.
After Dagobert's death, Pepin returned to the east in 640, taking Gertrude with him. Soon after, Pepin himself died, giving Gertrude the freedom to take the veil and enter the monastic life. Scholars debate the date of the death of Pepin. Some sources date it as late as 650, although others date it much earlier.
After her father's death The Vita describes how Itta, in order to prevent "violent abductors from tearing her daughter away by force," shaved her daughter's hair, leaving only a crown shape. This action, known as tonsuring, marked Gertrude for a life of religious service. There were constant requests by "violators of souls" who wished to gain wealth and power by marrying Gertrude. As detailed in the Vita, only Itta's foundation of the Abbey of Nivelles stopped the constant flow of suitors interested in marrying Gertrude in order to ally with her wealthy family.
Susan Wemple argues that Gertrude's story is an example of mothers dominating their daughters in Merovingian times in an effort to "safeguard [their] daughters' sexual purity and secure [their] future."Wemple 60 Mothers, she says, were required to raise their daughters to be obedient and disciplined, and the standard "maternal feelings" were "vigilance and worry".Wemple 60–61 The biographer of Gertrude mentions that after the death of Pepin the Elder in 640, his widow Itta pondered daily on what was to become of her and her daughter. Upon the advice of Amand, she ordered the construction of a monastery to which she and Gertrude could retire.
According to Wemple, "A mother's importance was acknowledged in law insofar as she had the right to assume the guardianship for her fatherless children. In the propertied classes, this meant that a widow could exercise considerable power by managing the estates of her minor children and arranging for their marriages."Wemple 61
Itta lost this right after the death of her husband, Pepin, because their sons had come of age. She still had the option to find a suitable husband for Gertrude. Catherine Peyroux has said that Itta established the monastery in order to protect her and her daughter in the event that her sons fell out of favor with the ruling dynasty, as well as to safeguard the family lands from plunder or seizure through forced marriage.Peyroux 52
Foundress
Christianity was not widespread in Gertrude's place and time. It was only the development of cities and the initiative of bishops that led to a vast movement of evangelism, and a flowering of monasteries in the 7th and 8th centuries.Donnay-Rocmans in translation, 34
Gertrude's Vita describes how Bishop Amand came to Itta's house, "preaching the word of God. At the Lord's bidding, he asked whether she would build a monastery for herself and Christ's handmaid, Gertrude."McNamara et al. 224 Itta founded Nivelles, a double monastery, one for men, the other for women. However, after they entered the religious life, Gertrude and her mother suffered "no small opposition" from the royal family. During this period, trials for the family are mentioned involving the usurper Otto's bid to replace the Pippinids at the side of the king.
There is some precedent for Gertrude and Itta's move to the monastery at Nivelles. According to Wemple, "during the second half of the seventh century, women in Neustrian-Burgundian families concentrated on the creation of a network of monasteries rather than on the conclusion of politically advantageous unions, while families whose holdings were in the northeastern parts of the kingdom, centering around the city of Metz, were more concerned with the acquisition of power through carefully arranged marriages." Itta's move to start a monastery was thus not completely out of the ordinary, and may have in fact been the norm for a widowed noblewoman.Wemple 54–55
Upon Itta's death at about the age of 60 in the year 652, twelve years after the death of her husband, Pepin, Gertrude took over the monastery. At this time, Gertrude took the "whole burden of governing upon herself alone," placing affairs of the family in the hands of "good and faithful administrators from the brothers." Some have argued that this implies that Gertrude ruled the monastery with an abbot. Frankish double monasteries were almost always led by an abbess, or jointly by an abbess and abbot.Wemple 162 However, when Suzanne Wemple used Nivelles as an example of the latter, claiming that Gertrude ruled Nivelles jointly with Amand "around 640," she casts doubt on her own theory by mistaking the date. Many later scholars date the foundation of Nivelles between 647 and 650.Fouracre 315
Monastic life
The Vita states that in Gertrude, "temperance of character, the sobriety of her heart and the moderation of her words she anticipated maturity." She was "an intelligent young woman, scholarly and charitable, devoting herself to the sick, elderly, and poor," and as knowing much of the scripture by memory. Gertrude also memorized passages and books on divine law, and she "openly disclosed the hidden mysteries of allegory to her listeners." Her Vita describes Gertrude as building churches, and taking care of orphans, widows, captives, and pilgrims.
Upon becoming abbess, Gertrude "obtained through her envoys men of good reputation, relics of saints and holy books from Rome, and from regions across the sea, experienced men for the teaching of the divine law and to practice the chants for herself and her people."
Fouracre and Gerberding assert that the men from across the sea are from Britain and Ireland and also highlight this as an example of the importance of Rome to the Franks long before Charlemagne ever had a relationship with the Pope. This is supported by Peyroux, Wemple, and the ancient Chronicles of Fredegar.
She welcomed foreigners, lay or religious. She especially welcomed Irish monks who, since the sixth century, traveled to evangelize.Donnay-Rocmans in translation, 34–35 Among the numerous pilgrims that visited the monastery of Nivelles were the two brothers, Foillan and Ultan, both Irish monks on their way from Rome to Peronne, where their brother Fursey, lay buried. According to Wemple, "The Irish monasteries, with the ancient tradition of oral learning, were at the time the most distinguished centers of scholarship".MacNeill 39–48, 449–460
Death of Foillan
In the Additum Additamentum Nivialense de Fuilano, an addendum to the Vita Sanctae Gertrudis, there is a story about several events involving Irish monks led by Foillan that involve Gertrude and the Abbey of Nivelles.Additamentum
Before the foundation of Nivelles, Irish monks led by Foillan traveled to Francia, from Fursey's monastery in Ireland to escape pagan raids. They were received by Erchinoald, mayor of the palace, but were later expelled by him and moved to live with Itta and Gertrude. Grimoald and the Pippinids were happy to accept them and built the monastery of Berbrona for them with the help of Itta and Gertrude. In other works this monastery is referred to as Fosses. There is much praise of Gertrude in the text.
Sometime later, Foillan went on a journey, saying mass in Nivelles before leaving. Ian Wood says that the purpose of Foillan's journey was to visit his benefactors, but he provides no evidence for this claim other than a citation of the Additamentum. After only a day of traveling, Foillan and his three companions were betrayed and murdered by a man who offered them shelter for the night in his house and then sold their belongings. Upon learning that Foillan did not reach his destination, the brothers of his monastery began to search for him. However, it was Gertrude who succeeded in finding Foillan's body 77 days after he was murdered, on the anniversary of his brother Fursey's death. The four bodies were immediately brought to Nivelles.