Saint Bertille of Thuringia ( (died 660 AD) or also known as Saint Bertilla, the daughter of Bercarius, King of Thuringia, was a Merovingian princess and Frankish saint who resided in the County of Hainaut in Belgium.Baring-Gould, S. (1898). The Lives of the Saints. United Kingdom: J. C. Nimmo. Bertille was the mother of Saint Waltrude and Saint Aldegund, foundress of Maubeuge Abbey.Opera diplomatica et historica. (1734). (n.p.): (n.p.).
History Princess Bertille was born in the 7th century and was the daughter of Bercarius, King of Thuringia.
Bertille was married to Walbert IV, a prince of Lower Austrasia, whose duchy covered Cambrésis, Hainaut, Brabant, Hesbaye, Ardennes, and extended to the Rhine. They had two daughters: Aldegund and Waltrude. Walbert IV, husband of Saint Bertille, had a younger brother, Brunulphe, who was the Count of Ardennes, whose daughter was Saint Aye (heiress of the County of Haynau after Saint Waltrude).Documents pour faire suite à l'histoire de Sainte Waudru, patronne de Mons. (1846). (n.p.): (n.p.).Vinchant, F. (1648). Annales de la province et comté d'Haynau où l'on voit la suitte des comtes depuis leur commencement. (n.p.): De L'Imprimerie de Jean Havart.
Her daughter Saint Waltrude was born in the 620s in Cousolre.Du Tems, H. (1775). Le Clergé de France, ou tableau historique et chronologique des archevêques, évêques, abbés, abbesses & chefs des chapitres principaux du Royaume, depuis la fondation des églises jusqu'à nos jours; Par M. l'abbé Hugues Du Tems,... Tome premier [- quatrième]. France: Chez Brunet. She married Vincent Madelgarius and had four children: Aldetrude, Landry of Soignies, Madelberte of Maubeuge, and Dentelin of Mons."Waltrude, her life and her works", Wallonia tourism
Saint Bertille later became a nun at Maubeuge Abbey, founded by her daughter.
Death
Saint Bertille died in 660 AD in the pagus Hainoensis, Austrasia, Francia (now Hainaut Province, Belgium). She was buried with her husband in Cousolre, in the old church of Cousolre, later destroyed.Gossart, D. (1860). Précis de l'histoire des principaux Etablissements religieux de l'arrondissement d'Avesnes. France: Prignet. Her daughter Saint Aldegund established a convent of twelve Benedictine nuns near their tombs. When Saint Aldegund visited in 664 AD, she succumbed to cancer and was buried near her parents Bertille and Walbert. In 690 AD, her body was moved to Maubeuge Abbey by her niece, Saint Adeltrude, who succeeded her as abbess.Annuaire statistique [afterw.] Annuaire du département du Nord. An xi-1890. (1836). France: (n.p.).
Bertille and her husband Walbert IV are both canonized. Their relics were preserved and placed at the Saint-Martin Church in Cousolre ( in 1661.
On her death, her daughter Saint Waltrude inherited the lands and titles, marrying Prince Madelgaire. Their son Landry (or Landric) and two daughters entered the Monastery of St. Aldegund, and after their son Dentelin's death, the duchy was left to their cousin Saint Aye, who devoted her inheritance to Saint Waltrude's church.
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