Guarinus

ON SAINT GUARINUS, CARDINAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, BISHOP OF PRAENESTE,

Year of Christ 1159.

Preliminary Commentary

Guarinus, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Bishop of Praeneste (Saint)

I. B.

[1] The Church of Praeneste (whose Bishop, as Ferdinando Ughelli writes in volume 1 of his Italia Sacra, has from time immemorial been one of the seven cardinal Bishops Saint Guarinus, Bishop of Praeneste, born at Bologna, who attend the Pontifical throne in ^a closer degree of dignity) was undertaken for governance near the end of the year 1144 by Saint Guarinus, born at Bologna of ^a noble family, whether of the Guarini, as Carlo Sigonio relates in book 2 of his On the Bishops of Bologna, Ughelli at the cited place, and Alfonso Ciacconio in his History of the Pontiffs; or of the Fuscari, as either the same Ciacconio or those who interpolated his work, and Gabriel Pennottus in the Tripartite History of Canons Regular have it; or finally of the Fuscarari, not sufficiently established from which family: as Onuphrius Panvinius in his work on the Roman Pontiffs, Cherubino Ghirardacci in book 2 of his history of Bologna, and the Offices of the Canons Regular of the Lateran printed in 1634 have it. In support of the Guarini, Ughelli adduces Saint Guarinus's family coat of arms: ^a bull erect and panting, with ^a collar about its neck. Ciacconio, however, attributes different arms to him, even in the latest edition, for the preparation of which Ughelli himself also lent his labor. Perhaps his paternal lineage was from one of these families and his maternal lineage from another; and if Fuscaria and Fuscararia are not one and the same, his grandmother may have been from the third, so that all might justly claim for themselves ^a share of the honor that redounds to his kinsmen from his dignity and sanctity. Pennottus and Ciacconio say that he was ^a kinsman of Pope Lucius II, who was himself also ^a Bolognese, previously called Gerard Caccianemici.

[2] Guarinus was first ^a cleric of the Church of Bologna. But out of zeal for greater perfection, he embraced the institute of the Canons Regular; at which place, he becomes ^a Canon Regular at Mortara, the writers do not sufficiently agree. Sigonio, Ghirardacci, and Ciacconio hold that it occurred in the monastery of Saint Mary situated near the Reno river, three miles from the city of Bologna. The proper Offices of the Canons Regular, the latest edition of Ciacconio of the year 1630, and Pennottus in book 3, chapter 50, assert that it took place at Mortara in the territory of Milan. For how otherwise could his virtue have become known to the people of Pavia if he had lived near Bologna, at so great ^a distance from there? Ughelli, in volume 1 of his Italia Sacra, writes that he was called to the episcopate from being ^a Canon of Saint Mary on the Reno, or, as others hold, or (as some hold) near Bologna: from the monastery of the Holy Cross at Mortara. Pennottus in Note 8 on the Offices of the Canons Regular reconciles the disagreeing opinions of the writers thus: "Some make him ^a Canon of the monastery of the Reno near Bologna; which matters little, since the Canons of Mortara, the Lateran, and the Reno were then of the same profession, if not of the same congregation. For which reason those who belonged to one were recorded in the Necrologies and Menologies of another congregation."

[3] When he had avoided the episcopate of Pavia, to which he was being virtually dragged by force, by flight and hiding, he was afterward made Cardinal Bishop of Praeneste by Pope Lucius II in December of the year 1144, he is made Bishop of Praeneste and Cardinal in 1144 against his will, and (as it is said in the latest edition of Ciacconio) with the obligation of obedience imposed upon him. In the earlier edition of 1601, however, these words appear concerning him: "A celebrated monument of his piety toward the wretched also stands, namely the Hospital erected in his homeland, which they call that of Saint Job. Ghinius writes that he constructed and founded it from his paternal goods." Ghirardacci in book 2, at the year of Christ 1141, narrates it thus: "In the same year, Cardinal Guerrinus Fuscararius built ^a hospital at Bologna, he founds ^a hospital at Bologna: which is now called that of Saint Job, with revenues assigned so that the poor of Christ might be aided, as is recorded in his Life, which is preserved by the Canons of the Holy Savior." But Guarinus was not yet ^a Cardinal in that year, for the same Ghirardacci himself afterward records that he was first co-opted into that body in 1144. If it was founded from his paternal goods, as Ghinius attests, it must have been done much earlier; afterward, if by ^a Cardinal. Antonio Masini, in his survey of Bologna, writes that he founded that hospital from his paternal goods in 1141.

[4] He died at last, full of merits, in the year 1159, being more than seventy years of age, he dies in 1159. having spent forty years in the canonical life (as Ghirardacci, Ciacconio, and others cited by Pennottus in book 3, chapter 50 affirm), fifteen in the episcopate, and in the world not many more than twenty, during which he is said to have been ^a youth of noble disposition and proven virtue who, spurning the laxer life of his companions, embraced the regular institute. Whence you may refute Ciacconio, at what age? Ghinius, and Masini, who write that he died at the age of 110. Who could find it credible that ^a man of 95 years, broken by old age, was finally admitted to the episcopal dignity?

[5] He was afterward numbered among the Saints by Pontifical authority, and indeed (if we follow Philippus Ferrarius) by Pope Alexander III, he is canonized by Alexander III who had himself also been ^a Canon Regular of the Lateran, as Panvinius records, and was proclaimed Pontiff in September of the same year in which Guarinus died, and himself died on the twenty-sixth of November in the year 1181.

[6] he is venerated on February 6. Saint Guarinus is venerated by the Canons Regular of the Lateran, as is clear from their proper Offices, on the sixth of the Ides of February, with the rite of ^a double. Concerning him, the manuscript Florarium says: "Likewise of Saint Narrinus, Bishop, Cardinal, and Canon Regular." Canisius, and Molanus in his additions to Usuard: enrolled in Martyrologies. "At Praeneste, of the holy Bishop and Confessor Garinus." The Roman Martyrology: "At Bologna, of Saint Guarinus, Bishop and Cardinal of Praeneste, renowned for the sanctity of his life." More extensively about him writes Constantinus Ghinius, cited frequently above, in his Birthdays of the Saints of the Canons, and Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy.

[7] Augustinus of Pavia, ^a Canon of the Lateran congregation, who lived around the year 1500 and afterward, wrote among other things ^a Life of Saint Guarinus, by whom was his Life written? which was also published by Surius; from which we give it here. Pennottus, in his Notes on the Offices of the Canons Regular, testifies the following concerning the Life of this holy Bishop: "I also saw the same Life of his, published with certain books of the Reverend Father Augustinus at Parma in 1491, under the care of Severinus Calcus, Provost of the Holy Cross at Mortara, of which the version found in Surius seems to be ^a compendium." We have not yet been able to see that larger version.

LIFE

by Augustinus of Pavia, published from ^a manuscript by Laurentius Surius.

Guarinus, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Bishop of Praeneste (Saint)

BHL Number: 8816

By Augustinus of Pavia, from ^a manuscript.

[1] Saint Guarinus, ^a nobleman of Bologna. Blessed Guarinus, Confessor of Christ, illustrious in lineage, ^a native of Bologna, shone forth to illumine the darkness of this world like ^a most splendid star. From the stock of his family there was ^a certain Septimus, ^a Bishop, who, as ^a worker of miracles through his learning and piety, brought renown to the Catholic Church. When he had resolved to set out for Jerusalem, in order to lead an eremitical life thereafter in Egypt, and had tarried ^a little while at Rome, he was detained by the Apostolic See and ordained Bishop of the Church of Rieti. There he led ^a life of admirable devotion for ^a short time, and then, persevering in his former purpose, attained the eremitical austerity he desired in the regions of Egypt, in ^a vast and longed-for solitude.

[2] devoted to piety from boyhood, This illustrious man Guarinus, therefore, nurtured from his earliest age by the diligence of his parents and educated in good morals, was intent not on the frivolities customary to boyhood, but on sacred letters; and just as he gave himself assiduously, so too did he give himself strenuously to fasting, prayers, and divine contemplation. And so, as this new planting grew day by day, watered by heavenly teaching, under the discipline of the Holy Spirit and tending toward the perfection of the religious and canonical life, his yet unformed and tender age was being shaped. For the Spirit of devoted piety cultivated the mind of the boy, and inscribing upon the tablet of his heart the rudiments of both the fear and the love of God, directed the gaze of his mind to the summit of humility and obedience; and he merited to continually increase the talent of divine grace bestowed upon him through the merits of good works.

[3] When Blessed Guarinus then became ^a young man, against the wishes of his relatives, who desired posterity from him, embracing the footsteps of Christ with all his heart, he was honorably ordained ^a cleric in the greater Church of Bologna. he becomes ^a Cleric: But when this youth of noble disposition and proven virtue saw his companions clothed in soft garments, seeking not the things of Jesus Christ but pursuing their own interests: but each his own, he himself, poor in spirit, began to devote himself more strictly to divine service; and by ^a pure and sincere devotion to God, having despised and trampled upon earthly enticements, seeking heavenly things with ^a courageous spirit, he was striving to attain the beloved perfection of divine love. And in order to pour out assiduous and ardent prayers to almighty God for the confirmation of this resolution, he frequented solitary places, and despised the glory of the passing world all the more sublimely, the more he recognized at the summit of his mind that nothing in the love of God can be taken away.

[4] Instructed therefore by these most holy pursuits, he hastened to the Canonry of the Holy Cross at Mortara, and there, having put on the habit of the Canons Regular according to the Rule of Saint Augustine with great desire, he becomes ^a Canon Regular: he merited in ^a short time to attain the summit of perfection. For, intent upon the pursuit of virtues for many years, he advanced to further things; and he chose the best part with Mary, and sitting at the mouth of his cave, suspended by divine desires toward eternal things, he perceived the whisper of ^a gentle breeze sounding silently in his heart. For the solace of his pilgrimage and to soothe the hardships of his temporal exile, he dug most carefully into the wells of the Scriptures, from which he might ceaselessly draw living water; and in this night of mortality he demanded three loaves from ^a friend, so that, he devotes himself to contemplation, thus refreshed with the water of renewal and nourished with the solidity of bread, he might at last vigorously and happily penetrate the secrets of divine contemplation on the mountain of God, Horeb.

[5] Having then been sent to the Church of Saint Fridian, he was received there most kindly and reverently by his fellow canons. For among the brethren he was like ^a servant in humility and obedient service, ^a teacher in word, ^a master by example. He meditated intently upon death as though it were imminent daily; he meditated constantly on death which meditation is indeed the destroyer of all sins, according to what is written: "In all your works remember your last end, and you shall never sin." Sirach 7:40 For where there is no fear of death, there is dissolution of life; where dissolution of life, there is abundance of sins; where finally abundance of sins, there also is the perdition of the soul. For fear always corrects, removes complacency, begets solicitude, puts torpor to flight, rouses the spirit, casts down pride, nourishes humility, increases charity, and multiplies virtues. He who fears God renounces sins in word, deed, thought,

and in all his movements; avoiding occasions of sin, he strives to keep himself, his body, and the whole life of his soul unharmed from evil. Revolving these things constantly in his mind, Saint Guarinus prepared himself for the service of God and fought unceasingly against the concupiscences of the flesh. Finally, voluntarily and humbly submitting his neck to the yoke of holy obedience, he strove to serve the heavenly Lord in holiness and justice.

[6] It happened, however, that when after ^a few years he had returned to the Canonry of Mortara and had dwelt there for some time, since the fame of his virtue had long been established and he daily grew more illustrious in virtues before God and men, it came about by divine will that the Church of Pavia was deprived of its own Bishop; and thus, by the inspiration of God, by the common vote of all, both clergy and the whole people elected Blessed Guarinus as Bishop. And when the clergy and people had gathered the offered Bishopric of Pavia he declines by hiding: to lift him up and proclaim the election, Blessed Guarinus began to resist with all his strength, saying that he was unworthy to be made Bishop who had not first been proven in teaching and the habits of virtue. And when he would by no means consent, an opportunity being provided by ^a certain Archdeacon who aspired to that episcopate, the holy man, who had previously been detained in ^a confined place, was let down through ^a window, his guards having been deceived; and thus he remained hidden until another was consecrated Bishop there. And so at last Blessed Guarinus, having obtained his desire, returned to his brethren, his fellow canons, and lived among them like ^a simple creature. For Blessed Guarinus became ^a faithful imitator of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, when the crowds wished to make him King, refused; and he likewise offered through this an example of imitation, lest under the occasion of prelacy the boat of his mind should be imperiled by the swelling of pride. John 6:15

[7] he is made Bishop of Praeneste: After some time, however, Pope Lucius II of happy memory, ^a Bolognese by birth, as his fame grew, made every possible effort to bring Blessed Guarinus to himself. The true friend of God, persisting in the custody of humility, piously refused the Pontiff's entreaty, declaring that what was being asked of him exceeded his merit, and that he who had spent forty years in the monastery feared to return to temporal cares. Conquered at length by the Pontiff's insistence and by the exhortation of his Superior, he traveled to Rome and was consecrated Bishop of Praeneste.

[8] a lover of poverty, And when he had received from the Pontiff as ^a gift ^a costly horse and other episcopal furnishings, he immediately sold everything and distributed the proceeds to the poor. Meanwhile there was rejoicing and general applause among the people; the favor and glory of Christ were extolled immeasurably, and the name of Saint Guarinus was celebrated with the highest praises in the city. Moreover, he refreshed the clergy and people with wholesome nourishment, and distributed food and clothing to the poor with his own hands. He dwelt in ^a place near the church of Praeneste, giving himself entirely to fasting and prayers and devoting himself to all other works of piety. generous to the poor: An evangelical merchant, he set the pearl of everlasting life above precious riches.

[9] At length, weighed down by old age and desiring to be dissolved and to be with Christ, also foreseeing the laying down of his tabernacle, he summoned the entire clergy to himself. Although temporal life had always been distasteful to him, he dies, as heaven shines in the night. yet at that time he was carried away with ^a more ardent impulse of the mind to contemplate the beauty of Christ. Finally, after his salutary counsels, God willed him to enter the path of all flesh by the common law of mortals. For on the following night the whole sky shone with immense light; and at the last such brightness flashed forth that in the clear air the radiance of the sun appeared. As the dawn of the sun drew near, Saint Guarinus, resplendent with glory, freed from the bonds of the flesh, departed with joy to the life that can be closed by no end, on the sixth day of February. Then this Confessor of Christ, dear to all, shining with signs of virtues on earth and living by his merits in heaven, was laid to rest with due veneration by the hands of the priests in the tomb and church of the blessed Martyr Agapitus.

[10] A demoniac healed by his merits: The glory of the holy man and the solemnity of his feast, dispersed far and wide to the neighboring regions round about, immediately drew them to devotion to him. On that very day, ^a certain woman tormented by ^a demon went about the city of Albano, and the devil spoke through her, saying: "Today ^a Bishop has departed to heaven, by whose prayers I, wretch that I am, shall be expelled." Immediately, when the possessed woman reached the tomb of the blessed man, the demon began to pour forth insults against the holy man through her mouth; but the woman, delivered by his prayers, hastened to embrace the tomb of the Confessor and rendered her vows of thanksgiving to him by whose ministry she had been so healed. Whence it came about that, at the sight of this miracle, lamps at the tomb divinely lit. when lamps were hung before the tomb, they were immediately lit without the application of fire, in the sight of all, by the grant of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

ON BLESSED HILDEGUNDE, COUNTESS, FOUNDRESS OF THE MONASTERY OF MEER, OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIAN ORDER,

After the year of Christ 1183.

Preliminary Commentary.

Hildegunde, Countess of Meer, Premonstratensian Order (Blessed)

By I. B.

[1] The monastery of Meer is in the territory of Cologne, below the city of Neuss, ^a house of noble Virgins of the Premonstratensian institute; which, though it has suffered many hardships in recent wars and in those of the preceding century, nevertheless flourishes even now in the uprightness of its morals and the practice of religion. It was founded about 500 years ago in Meer, or Mehre, ^a castle situated on ^a lake, whence its name, which in our Teutonic language signifies sea or lake; afterward it was built more spaciously and conveniently outside the castle, yet not far from the lake.

[2] This Blessed Hildegunde built it and endowed it with the possessions of herself and her children. Blessed Hildegunde founds it, She is said to have been born of Hermann and Hadwig, Count and Countess of Lidberg, and married to Lothair, Count of Are, whose domain appears to have been in the Eifel and around the river Ahr, where even now, besides Arenberg (recently honored with the title of ^a Duchy), there is the County of Neuenahr, commonly called Nievenaar, as well as Ahrweiler and Altenahr (that is, Old Ahr), and perhaps the ancient Ara Ubiorum. In the same district, Sibodo of Hochstaden, Count of Are, is said to have founded Steinfeld the century before the rise of the Premonstratensians. Hildegunde bore to Lothair the sons Hermann and Theodoric, and becomes ^a Religious in it, and ^a daughter Hadwig. When her husband and her son Theodoric had died, she consecrated herself with her daughter to God and founded the monastery of Meer, imitating the example of her mother and her sister Gertrude, following the example of her mother, who, after Count Hermann had died, had withdrawn to the Premonstratensian monastery of Dunwald above Muelheim, not far from Cologne, to serve God. The pious designs of Hildegunde were furthered by her son Hermann, who had already previously given his name to the same Order in the monastery of Cappenberg, with the help of her son: which he afterward governed commendably for forty years. Whence Archbishop Reinald of Cologne, in his first Diploma cited below, says that Blessed Hildegunde, with the joined hand of her venerable son Hermann, whom she then had as her only child, had offered her goods to God. And Pope Alexander III, in ^a Bull likewise to be presented shortly, says: "according to the constitution of Hermann, Provost of Cappenberg, to whose jurisdiction the castle of Meer is known to have belonged." Wherefore the same Hermann has been regarded as the founder of Meer. Thus on the thirteenth of January, section 10, in the Life of Blessed Godfrey of Cappenberg, no. 53, in the Catalogue of the Provosts of Cappenberg: "IV. Blessed Hermann, Count of Are, born of Lothair and Blessed Hildegunde, founder of the monastery of Meer, presided with the greatest praise for forty years." And immediately in another Catalogue: "The fourth to take up the governance of our Church was Lord Hermann, Abbot, founder of the monastery of Meer, who, having presided most laudably for forty years, rested in ^a blessed end."

[3] Other parents, and ^a different name for the foundress and her daughter, are given by the manuscript Chronicles of Cleves, Juelich, and Gelders: "Arnold," they say, "brother of Theodoric, the seventeenth Count of Cleves, ruled for forty-seven years, in the times of the Roman Emperors Henry V, Lothair II, and Conrad II; ^a Prince indeed of such great virtues elsewhere called the daughter of the Count of Cleves, that he merited to receive as his wife Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Swabia and sister of Emperor Frederick I; by whom he begot Theodoric, his successor, Aleydis, Countess of Altena or the Mark, by the name Margaret: and Margaret, Countess of Meer and Are; who, moved by singular devotion, after the death of her husband, ^a most warlike man indeed, from her castle of Meer near Neuss founded an abbey of the Premonstratensian Order, then newly beginning; in which she herself, together with her daughter Margaret, having despised the pomps of the world, became ^a nun, and after ^a few years was consecrated as Abbess in the year of our Lord 1168. She died in Christ and rests buried with the glory of miracles in the choir of the same church. Moreover, she so attracted and inflamed Arnold, Count of Cleves, her father, and her mother Margaret, by the weightiness of her morals and the sanctity of her life, that from the chapel of the Counts erected at Bedburg, they established and magnificently endowed ^a distinguished abbey of the same Order."

[4] Werner Teschenmacher writes nearly the same things, enumerating the children of Arnold of Cleves as the sons Theodoric and Arnold, successive heirs to one another, Aleydis, Countess of the Mark, elsewhere her mother is called Margaret, and Margaret, Countess of Are and Meer near Neuss. "From her," he says, "besides her son Theodoric, Count of Meer, who died young, two daughters in turn came forth: Elizabeth of Randerath and Hildegunde of Meer; the latter of whom, having made ^a division with her sister, converted her castle of Meer into ^a convent of Premonstratensian Virgins in the year 1160, and having professed the monastic life therein with her mother, and being herself designated the first Abbess, was buried after death in the choir of the church."

[5] This heterodox author conceals the miracles of Blessed Hildegunde, but also errs in other matters (being not very careful), as when he previously makes the wife of Arnold of Cleves Ida (who is Margaret in other sources) the daughter of Conrad and sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, whereas it is established that Frederick's father was not Conrad but Frederick, brother of Emperor Conrad II. He does, however, suggest ^a way in which the cited Chronicles of the Counts of Cleves might be corrected: namely, that the daughter of Arnold should be said to have been not Margaret or Hildegunde but Hadwig, who afterward bore Hildegunde. who was Hadwig. For indeed, Mauritius du Pre relates in his brief Annals of the Premonstratensian Order that she was from Cleves, writing thus: "Frederick, Archbishop of Cologne, endows the convent of Virgins at Dunwald together with Arnold, Count of Berg"; but of Cleves: and shortly afterward Hadwig, Countess of Cleves, and Gertrude, her younger daughter, submitted themselves to the regular discipline there. But there was no Count of Berg named Arnold at that time. Arnold of Cleves, however, just as he is said to have had from his daughter Aleydis, married to Adolph I, Count of the Mark, ^a grandson Bruno II, who was made Archbishop of Cologne in 1132, so from his other daughter Hadwig he may easily be believed to have gained ^a granddaughter Hildegunde; who, if she married in the year her cousin Bruno the Bishop died, 1137, could well by about the year 1160, or even earlier, have had sons of such an age that one accompanied the Emperor to Italy and the other devoted himself to the Premonstratensian family. What is said about Arnold being drawn to the pursuit of piety may plausibly be attributed to the example of his daughter Hadwig and his granddaughters Gertrude and Hildegunde, and his great-granddaughter Hadwig.

[6] It is unnecessary to dwell longer on tracing and establishing these genealogies. What leads us to think otherwise than those Chronicles and Werner is the authority of Aegidius Gelenius, ^a man most learned in sacred and profane antiquities, who communicated to us with singular courtesy both diplomas transcribed from the original records, whose credibility is far more certain than that of common genealogies, and the Life of Blessed Hildegunde, whence the Life of Blessed Hildegunde is published here? which we give here, from the first volume of his collected writings, in agreement with those diplomas. The same author, from the same diplomas, in book 1 of his work On the Greatness of Cologne, chapter 7, relates that Archbishop Reinald among other things acquired for the Church of Cologne from Blessed Hildegunde of Meer the County below Neuss, with the consent of the most holy children of Hildegunde and her sister Elizabeth, Countess of Randerath and Lidberg.

[7] Furthermore, Chrysostomus van der Sterre, Abbot of the monastery of Saint Michael in the city of Antwerp, honors Hildegunde with the title of Blessed in his Birthdays of the Saints of the Premonstratensian Order, which he published about thirty years ago. More is attributed to her in ^a booklet printed at Madrid in the year 1635, She is not venerated with the Divine Office. which is entitled Order for Reciting the Divine Office; for it reads thus: "VI. Of Saint Hildegunde, Countess, double." But beyond the Spanish Saints, the authority of that booklet among us is not great. For it designates some as to be celebrated with ^a double or semi-double office who, not even in those places where their bodies are preserved, obtain any commemoration in public prayers.

[8] John Pagius also calls her Blessed in book 2 of his Premonstratensian Library, as he does also Hadwig, of whom we shall treat on the fourteenth of April. Aegidius Gelenius, already cited, also honors both her and her daughter Hadwig with the same dignity in his Agrippine Calendar, but on ^a firmer basis, She is, however, called Blessed, because he was able to investigate everything at close hand; and in the Life, besides the miracles with which she was honored by God, it is related that her body, having been buried in the choir of the Conversae (as they call them), was twice exhumed at night by divine power, and by the counsel of Provost Hermann of Cappenberg and others was placed before the high altar; translated, afterward it was also taken from there and honorably deposited in ^a beautifully carved tomb. Finally it is added: "They have long since called her Blessed and Saint, depicted, invoked: and have depicted her in the customary manner of other Saints; indeed they have also invoked her, as an ancient short prayer addressed to her attests. That her girdle has benefited women in labor, and her comb those suffering from headache, her relics, miracles. with the desired effect, is certain." So it says there. And above it was reported from the manuscript Chronicles that she shone after death with the glory of miracles.

LIFE

by Peter Rostius, Canon of the Premonstratensian Order at Steinfeld.

Hildegunde, Countess of Meer, Premonstratensian Order (Blessed)

[1] Blessed Hildegunde, foundress of the monastery of Meer, parents of Blessed Hildegunde, had as her father Hermann, Count of Lidberg, and as her mother Hadwig, likewise ^a most noble Countess; who, after her husband's death, together with Gertrude, the third of her daughters, withdrew to serve God in the Premonstratensian monastery of Dunwald, to which she is known to have conferred ^a distinguished estate called Zuelkhoven.

[2] Following the example of her pious mother, Blessed Hildegunde, after the death of her husband Lothair, Count of Are, and of Theodoric, the second of her sons, husband, sons. and after the other, Hermann, had professed the monastic life at Cappenberg, around the year 1165, having made ^a pilgrimage to the shrines of the Holy Apostles, pilgrimage, made Christ the heir of all her goods and in her castle of Meer founded ^a monastery of sacred Virgins. foundation of the monastery, Her pious efforts and undertakings were somewhat delayed by her sister Elizabeth, who sought to revise the original division of goods between them and petitioned Archbishop Reinald for another to be adjudicated to her, which she obtained. A second division was therefore celebrated with many Prelates, Counts, division of goods with her sister, Barons, and others present; and Blessed Hildegunde retained the castle of Meer with all its ministerials, men, possessions, and jurisdictions; likewise the estate at Burich, Seist, Krefeld (formerly Crinfeld and Quirinfeld), Barmen, Huelzen, Watscheid, Winteren, Wuestorf, Overmundt near the Meuse, Deueren, and Bendorf, with all their appurtenances. To Elizabeth fell the castle of Lidberg with all its ministerials, men, possessions, and jurisdictions; also the estate at Steinfale, Steinfurt near Lidberg, Schetershusen, Zoppoldisbroich, and Pruemere, with all the appurtenances of each. To her sister, now content with her portion and renouncing for all time any further importunity, Blessed Hildegunde, out of her customary generous piety, and her generosity toward her; further added and donated her estate at Overmundt, at Deueren, and at Bendorf; also her ministerials at Barmen (but not the estate there) and her benefice at Bruch.

[3] The spiritual care of the newly founded monastery was entrusted to the venerable Master Ulrich, Provost of Steinfeld, Doctor of Sacred Theology, governance of the monastery: and to his successors. Blessed Hildegunde, together with her daughter Hadwig, assumed in it the order and habit of the Premonstratensians; and not long afterward she was designated as the Superior, or (as the heads of this institute were then called) the first Prioress, of the Virgins who flocked to her.

[4] As the number of souls increased, she herself built the present monastery in ^a more convenient location not far from the sea, construction of the new monastery, or lake that bathed the castle. Its church of Saint Lawrence (to which ^a chapel had already previously been dedicated) was built in the year 1168, having ^a tower of remarkable design, tower, said to have been made in imitation of the Basilica of San Lorenzo outside the walls of the city of Rome. It is related that Theodoric, serving in the military in Italy, set fire to the church of this holy Martyr, and that for this reason, although he repented of his sin, he was punished by God with sudden death and was honorably buried in the City.

[5] spiritual progress, Furthermore, Blessed Hildegunde, surviving for several more years, saw her plantation flourish with incredible joy and bear fruit of sweet fragrance; and, suffused with ^a singular spirit of devotion, she ceased neither by day nor by night from divine praises and prayer, and shone before her daughters in Christ by the holiness of her life, continuing solicitously to provide for them ever better in temporal sustenance, being greatly assisted by Count Theodoric of Are and Hochstaden, said to have been the brother of her late husband. and temporal,

[6] This new community was favored with benevolent patronage by Reinald and his successor in the archbishopric, Philip; treasury of Relics, the latter granted it various privileges, while the former bestowed upon the foundress, who was zealous in acquiring relics, two arms of Saints Felix and Nabor, Martyrs, which had already been translated from Milan to Cologne together with the holy three Kings.

[7] Pope Alexander III in the year 1178 confirmed the foundation of Blessed Hildegunde privileges: and granted the most ample privileges to the monastery of Meer. In the year 1183, ^a stream which had flowed through the neighboring fields in another direction a stream directed there: was diverted by her through the convent itself.

[8] After death she was illustrious for miracles, which seem to have perished when the books of the monastery were plundered in the War of Cologne. The body of the deceased (as we have received from the tradition of our forebears), having been committed to the earth twice in the choir of the Conversae, body of Blessed Hildegunde was found exhumed on each occasion the following day and directed as best it could toward the door leading to the presbytery: not without ^a miracle, honorably placed, elevated: and therefore, by the counsel of her son Hermann, Provost of Cappenberg, and others, it was buried ^a third time before the high altar. Her sacred bones were in the course of time elevated, as we say, and at the very place of burial were honorably placed in ^a beautifully carved and painted tomb.

[9] her image as ^a Saint, invocation, Relics: They have long since called her Blessed and Saint, and have depicted her in the customary manner of other Saints; indeed they have also invoked her, as an ancient short prayer addressed to her attests. That her girdle has benefited women in labor, and her comb those suffering from headache, with the desired effect, is certain.

[10] son and daughter are Blessed. That her son Hermann was likewise held to be Blessed is attested by the image of him, once painted in the church of Meer at his mother's right hand. Moreover, the bones of her daughter Hadwig (who succeeded her mother in governance and was the first to receive the title of Magistra) were reverently wrapped and preserved near the high altar until the time of the devastation wrought by Truchsess.

DIPLOMA OF REINALD, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE,

concerning the donation of Blessed Hildegunde and the foundation of the community of Meer, from the manuscript codex of Aegidius Gelenius.

Hildegunde, Countess of Meer, Premonstratensian Order (Blessed)

By Aegidius Gelenius.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity, I, Reinald, by the grace of God Archbishop of the holy Church of Cologne, to all the faithful of Christ, in perpetuity.

[1] Those things which the supernal bounty has ordained for the surpassing glory of the House of God during the time of our prelacy and through our ministry, we have deemed it necessary to commit to the enduring record of writings, lest hereafter in ^a most well-ordered matter, most worthy as an example of virtue, forgetfulness should introduce error, and error disturbance. Therefore we desire to make known to all the faithful of God's Church, both of the present age and of the future, through this present page, that the illustrious matron Hildegunde, Countess of Are, inspired by divine counsel, when we had returned to Cologne ^a second time from Italy under God's guidance, offered to God into our hands her castle of Meer and all her estates, Blessed Hildegunde gives the castle of Meer to the Church of Cologne. which had come to her in ownership and use by hereditary right, together with her ministerials, highly commendable both in number and in probity, with the joined hand of her venerable son Hermann, whom she then had as her only child, and for the remedy of her own soul and that of her beloved son Theodoric, formerly Count of Are, and of her entire lineage, she donated them in perpetuity to God and to Blessed Peter in Cologne, to us and our successors, and to the Holy Church of Cologne.

[2] for the foundation of the monastery of Meer So honorable ^a donation was preceded by ^a most honorable and (as we hope) most pleasing condition to God, namely that, with our consent and the patronage of the Church of Cologne, in accordance with the blessed desire of the aforesaid matron, the same castle of Meer should pass to the lot of religion and become ^a dwelling of sacred chastity; so that where once the exercise of earthly warfare prevailed, now spiritual warfare under the Rule of Blessed Augustine, through ^a community of sacred Virgins and handmaids, should serve the Lord; and the care of spiritual governance under the spiritual direction of the Steinfeld community. and the government of the order should be in the hands of the venerable Master Ulrich, Provost of Steinfeld, and of his successors following one another in perpetuity.

[3] Furthermore, by our concession and that of the Priors, it was ordained and established that all the revenue and jurisdiction arising from the estates of the same matron, whether in fields, or in vineyards, or in woodlands and forests, or in fisheries and pastures, or in any rents and serfs, the Church of Meer should possess in its entirety under the lordship of Blessed Peter; the Bishop of Cologne confirms all, and that under our patronage and that of our successors everything should contribute to the sustenance of that sacred community. Moreover, with the aforesaid Countess conceding and conferring every concern of the ministerials and every right arising from their benefices into our hands and those of our successors, we have freely reserved them; yet we have permitted this much to the Countess herself alone: that if what is commonly called Hergewede should fall vacant from the ministerials of Meer during her lifetime, she should receive it at our command; and all those ministerials should serve the Lady Countess at our command, as before this donation, for as long as she shall live. Moreover, if any person from among those ministerials should wish to transfer herself to that sacred community, or freely resign any of the benefices which she formerly held from the castle of Meer to the Church of Meer, whether voluntarily or for ^a payment, [and permits other things to be given; he provides for the immunity of the monastery:] this shall be lawful for her at all times. Furthermore, we decree and prohibit under penalty of anathema that no advocate or sub-advocate shall ever presume to intrude himself into the Church of Meer, because we specially reserve to ourselves and all our successors the protection of the place and the right of advocacy.

[4] If anyone wishes to know in detail the estates conferred upon our lordship and for the uses of the sacred community, let him count them in the following list: the first is at Meer, the second at Buderich, he enumerates the goods given, the third at Seist, the fourth at Krefeld with ^a quarter of the Church, the fifth at Barmen, the sixth at Huelzen, the seventh at Wertscheid with the entire Church, the eighth at Winteren, the ninth at Wulkesdorf. And so that this donation, so welcome to the Church of Cologne, and this provision, so prudent and so holy, for the Church of Meer, may remain inviolate and entirely intact, we most firmly ratify what has been done and decreed by the ban of Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and of the holy Mother of God Mary, and of all the heavenly powers, and by our own; so that if anyone ever rashly attempts to oppose these things, unless he quickly comes to his senses, he shall incur the wrath of almighty God and the vengeance of the entire heavenly court. And so that none of our posterity may doubt the truth of what was done or said, we have sealed this present page, setting forth the entire sequence of events, with our seal, as with ^a mirror of truth.

[5] These are the names of the witnesses who were present at this donation: Hermann, Provost of the Cathedral Church. Philip, Dean of the same Church. Gerard, Provost of Bonn. Hugo his brother, and witnesses to the Donation. Provost in Gradibus. Bruno, Provost of Saint George. Hermann, Provost of Knechtsteden. Gernod, Provost of Hamborn. Nicholas, Abbot of Saint Martin. Hermann, Count of Saffenberg, Advocate of the Cathedral Church. Adolph, his brother. Henry of Vorburg, Vice-Count. Henry, Count of Geldern. William, Count of Juelich. Ulrich, Count of Are. Theodoric, Count of Hochstaden. Eberhard, Count of Sayn. Engelbert, Count of Berg. Henry, Count of Kuik. Gozwin, Count of Heinsberg. Gerard of Muelfort, Conrad of Linnep, Hermann of Hengebach, Theodoric and Florentius of Kempenich, Hermann of Diedenhofen, Engelbert of Harnau, Eberhard of Himberg, Rabodo and his brother Constantine of Berg, Everwinus of Holze, Arnold, Vice-Count of the castle of Meer, Hermann of Werbe, Giselbert of Berg, Arnold of Heilislo, ministerials of Saint Peter. Gerard, Advocate of Cologne, Hermann of Alfter, Henry of Volmerstein, Henry of Alphen, Hermann the Chamberlain, Hermann of Happendorf, Godfrey of Zuelch, Gerard the White of Cologne, Conrad of Buergel, and many others, both ministerials and Counts and freemen, who were present as witnesses. These things were done in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1166, in the fourteenth Indiction, during the reign of the most victorious Roman Emperor Frederick, in the first year of our pontificate. Given on the eighth of the Kalends of March, at Neuss.

The customary seal of Reinald.

SECOND DIPLOMA

of the same Archbishop Reinald, concerning the division of goods between Blessed Hildegunde and her sister.

Hildegunde, Countess of Meer, Premonstratensian Order (Blessed)

From the manuscript of Aegidius Gelenius.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Reinald, by the grace of God Archbishop of the Church of Cologne, to all those reborn in Christ, in perpetuity.

[1] Prudence counsels and necessity requires that we meet the annoyance of forgetfulness, which the multiplicity of worldly affairs and the frailty of human life are accustomed to produce, with the remedy of an enduring written record. And therefore, by the support of this present writing, we desire to make known to all, both present and future, that when Lady Elizabeth of Randerath complained that the former division which had been made between her sister, the Countess of Meer, A second division of goods with her sister having been made, Lady Hildegunde, and herself, had been unjust, by the judgment of the noble lords who were present, ^a second division was adjudicated to her. Both sisters therefore, by our command, coming together again in the presence of our representative, under mutual consent, with the sons of Lady Elizabeth also consenting, made their division. To Lady Hildegunde fell the castle of Meer, with all the ministerials and other men, and all the possessions and jurisdictions pertaining to the same castle. Furthermore, her allodial estate at Buderich and at Seist, at Krefeld, and at Barmen, and at Huelzen, and at Watscheid, at Winteren, at Wulkesdorf, at Overmundt near the Meuse, at Deueren, and at Bendorf, with all their appurtenances. To Lady Elizabeth, on the other hand, in this division fell the castle of Lidberg, with all the ministerials and other men and all the possessions and jurisdictions pertaining to the same castle. Furthermore, the allodial estate at Steinfale and at Steinfurt near Lidberg, at Schetershusen, at Zoppoldesburg, with all their appurtenances. When both had consented and approved this division, with ^a most sincere reconciliation interposed, and each renouncing in perpetuity her claim to the other's portion, Blessed Hildegunde graciously bestows some additional gifts upon her. then Lady Hildegunde, out of her customary generous piety and so that this reconciliation should remain indissoluble and entirely definitive (which is commonly called Durasuna), from the portion that had fallen to her added further gifts to her aforesaid sister, namely her allodial estate at Overmundt near the Meuse, at Deueren and at Bendorf, and her ministerials at Barmen (though she reserved to herself the allodial estate at Barmen), and in addition her benefice at Bruch, so that during her lifetime she should hold half of it, and the other half should serve her aforesaid sister; but after the death of Lady Hildegunde, the same benefice should devolve in its entirety to Lady Elizabeth and her heirs.

[2] The names of those who were present at this division are as follows: William, Count of Juelich, and his brother Gerard. Albert, Count of Neuenich. Eberhard, Count of Sayn. Gozwin the elder of Heinsberg and his son Godfrey. Theodoric of Milendunk and Hermann of Dicke. Gerard of Schneida, and the younger son of Walter of Hengebach. Reinard of Stalburg. Gerard of Muelfort. Names of the witnesses. Goderamus of Fredealdenhoven. Gerard of Randerath and his brother William. Gerard, Advocate of Cologne, whom we had delegated to be present at the same division in our stead. When these things had been carried out in the manner described, they had assembled at the place called Paffeneich near Neuss and publicly confessed in our presence and that of Count Hermann of Saffenberg and all the Priors of the Church and Nobles of the land who were present, that this division of their patrimony had been made under the good pleasure of both and with the consent of the sons and daughters of Lady Elizabeth. Lest, however (God forbid), the certainty of this second partition should again be cast into doubt by any length of time, it was decided, by the counsel of the Prelates of our Church and of our Nobles and ministerials, that the present page should be confirmed by the impression of our seal, and that anyone who rashly attempts anything against it should be condemned by us with perpetual anathema; moreover, it was decided to append the names of those who were present at the aforesaid confession, whose names are as follows: Hermann, Count of Saffenberg, and all those named above; besides them also others who are noted in the subscription: Theodoric, Count of Cleves. Engelbert, Count of Berg. Ludolph of Dasseln. Reiner of Frodesburg. Godfrey of Esperode. Harpern of Helpenstein. Christian of Wevelinghoven. Richard of Schidreke. Arnold of Trostorf. Sibodo of Hoingem. Arnold Roggo. Arnold of Meer. Giselbert of Berg. Frederick of Battenburg. A certain one of Bronkhorst. Everwinus of Hohe and his kinsman Brutio Spede. Constantine of Berg. These things were done in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1166, in the fourteenth Indiction, during the reign of the most glorious Roman Emperor Frederick, in the first year of our pontificate. Given on the eighth of the Kalends of March, at Neuss.

Below hangs from silken threads the round seal of Reinald, in which the Bishop is seated upon his throne, holding the crosier in his right hand and the Book of the Gospels in his left. The inscription around the seal reads:

REINALD, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE.

BULL OF POPE ALEXANDER III

confirming the foundation of Meer.

Hildegunde, Countess of Meer, Premonstratensian Order (Blessed)

From the manuscript of Aegidius Gelenius.

Alexander, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved daughters in Christ, Hildegunde, Prioress of the Church of Saint Mary of Meer, and her Sisters, both present and future, who have professed the canonical life.

[1] Since, as the Apostle says, we bestow greater honor upon the weaker members, the order of charity requires that the care of the Apostolic See should come all the more powerfully to the aid of women dedicated to God who, having spurned the allurements of the world, have bound themselves to the embraces of their true spouse, the Lord Jesus Christ, inasmuch as on account of the weakness of their sex they are less able to provide for themselves against the storms of the world. Wherefore, beloved daughters in the Lord, yielding to the prayers of our Venerable Brother Philip, Archbishop of Cologne, [Alexander III, at the request of the Archbishop of Cologne, confirms the foundation of Meer,] and granting your desires, we take under the protection of Blessed Peter and ourselves your Church, founded out of love of the Divinity by the noble and God-devoted matron Hildegunde on her own estate and established in the observance of sacred religion by the Provost of Steinfeld, and we fortify it with the privilege of this present document; decreeing that the canonical order which, according to God and the Rule of Blessed Augustine and the observances of the Premonstratensian Order, is known to have been established in that Church by the aforesaid Provost, shall be inviolably observed therein for all time. In such manner that the Church of Meer shall always attend to the direction of the Provost of Steinfeld and from him receive the pattern of living and the discipline of amendment; nor shall any Prioress be placed there unless one whom the aforesaid Provost, with maturity of counsel, shall have judged fit to be appointed according to God. No advocate or sub-advocate shall ever intrude himself into your Church granting immunity or be placed over it by another; but its protection and the support of advocacy shall rest in the hand and power of the same Archbishop. We add also that, according to the constitution of Hermann, Provost of Cappenberg, if anyone shall at any time wish to sell or freely confer upon your Church any benefice which was known to belong to the jurisdiction of the castle of Meer, you shall have free license to receive it. Furthermore, whatever possessions and whatever goods the same Church justly and canonically possesses at present, or shall be able to acquire in the future by the concession of Pontiffs, the generosity of Kings or Princes, also in goods to be acquired, the offering of the faithful, or by any other just means, with the Lord providing, shall remain firm and inviolate to you and to those who shall succeed you. Among which we have deemed it proper to specify the following by name: the place itself on which the aforesaid Church is situated, with all its appurtenances: Meer, Buderich, Seist, Langenserist, Niederseist with the Church of that place, Barmen, Huelzen, Walscheid with the Church of that place, Winteren, Wulkesdorf, and Luppe, with all the appurtenances of the above. Indeed, let no one presume to exact tithes from you on the new lands which you cultivate with your own hands or at your own expense, from tithes, or on the nourishment of your animals. It shall also be lawful for you to receive to conversion persons fleeing the world, free and unbound, and from general interdict, and to retain them without any contradiction. When, moreover, there shall be ^a general interdict upon the land, it shall be lawful for you, with doors closed, with the excommunicated and interdicted excluded, without the ringing of bells, to celebrate the divine offices in ^a subdued voice. We further prohibit that none of your Sisters, after having made profession in that place, shall have the right to depart from it; establishing the stability of the nuns, and no one shall dare to receive ^a departing member without the surety of common letters. We also decree that the burial rights of that place shall be free, so that the devotion and last will of those who shall have decided to be buried there, unless they be excommunicate or under interdict, shall not be opposed by anyone, and the right of burial; saving, however, the just rights of those churches from which the bodies of the dead are taken. Wishing also to provide for your peace and tranquility with paternal solicitude, we prohibit by Apostolic authority that within the enclosures of your properties or granges, no one shall dare to commit violence, robbery, or theft, or set fire, prohibiting their disturbance and vexation, or capture or kill anyone. Moreover, lest any occasion for disturbing your peace be afforded to secular persons, we prohibit by Apostolic authority that no secular person whatsoever, male or female, shall make any dwelling within the precincts of the monastery, namely within the circuit of the outer court or the inner cloister; and if anyone shall do so and not quickly desist, let that person be struck with anathema as an invader of sacred places. We therefore decree that it shall be lawful for no person whatsoever to rashly disturb the aforesaid Church, or to seize its possessions, or to retain them once seized, to diminish them, or to harass them with any vexations; but let all things be preserved entire for the uses and benefit of those for whose governance and sustenance they were granted: under grave penalties. saving, however, the authority of the Apostolic See and the canonical justice of the diocesan Bishop. If therefore any ecclesiastical or secular person in the future, knowing this page of our constitution, shall rashly attempt to contravene it, and having been warned ^a second and third time shall not have corrected the offense with fitting satisfaction, let that person be deprived of the dignity of position and honor, and know that he or she stands guilty before the divine judgment for the iniquity perpetrated, and be separated from the most sacred body and blood of God our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and in the last judgment be subject to divine vengeance. But to all who preserve the rights of that place, may there be the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they may both here receive the fruit of good action and before the strict Judge find the rewards of eternal peace.

Seal.

SIS SIS

Peter. Paul. Alexander Pope III

Around the circumference of the seal is found the following: + Show me your ways, O Lord.

I, Alexander, Bishop of the Catholic Church, have subscribed. + I, Hubald, Bishop of Ostia, have subscribed. + I, John, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saints John and Paul of Pomachius, have subscribed. + I, Peter, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saint Chrysogonus, have subscribed. + I, Cencius, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saint Cecilia, have subscribed. + I, Hugo, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saint Clement, have subscribed. + I, Arduinus, Cardinal Priest of the title of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, have subscribed. + I, Matthew, Cardinal Priest of the title of Saint Marcellus, have subscribed. I, Rainerius, Cardinal Deacon of the title of Saint George at the Golden Veil, have subscribed. I, Gratian, Cardinal Deacon of Saints Cosmas and Damian, have subscribed. I, Rainerius, Cardinal Deacon of Saint Adrian, have subscribed. I, Bernard, Cardinal Deacon of Saint Nicholas in the Tullian Prison, have subscribed. Given at Tusculum, by the hand of Albert, Cardinal Priest and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, on the sixteenth of the Kalends of February, in the twelfth Indiction, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1178, and in the twentieth year of the pontificate of the Lord Pope Alexander III.