Eustathius Or Eutychius and His Companions

ON ST. EUSTATHIUS OR EUTYCHIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS AT CARRHAE IN MESOPOTAMIA.

A.D. 741.

Eustathius, or Eutychius, and his companions, Martyrs at Carrhae in Mesopotamia (SS.)

[1] While God, the avenger of crimes, punishes the impiety of Leo the Isaurian, raging against the most sacred images with impious fury, through the Arabs who were hostile to the Eastern Empire; the palms of the Church Militant were multiplied from a double source: The Arabs hostile to the Romans, for on the one hand, the freedom of the Orthodox, generously opposing their breast to the Imperial wickedness, produced outstanding champions to be proven by the hardships of prisons and exiles for the confirmation of the rest: and on the other hand, among those whom the insane superstition of Muhammad had so demented that the mere profession of the Christian name was believed to be cause sufficient for inflicting death, a new harvest of martyrdoms constantly arose as often as the barbarian enemy carried back some victory over the Romans. And he carried back some every year, reviewed in summary by the most accurate of Chronographers,

Theophanes; under the auspices of his father Isam, under Leo the Isaurian, appointed Emir of the Arabs in the year 725 to replace his deceased brother Izid, with both sons conducting the campaigns: of whom one was named Mavia and the other Suliman. And when Mavia indeed, after inflicting many disasters upon the Christians and driving very many into servitude and captivity, was removed from the living in the year 738, Suliman succeeded to the supreme command of the military, and in his very first year, Theophanes says, he led away very many captives from Asia. Then in the second year, which was the twenty-second of Leo, they lead away many captives, having attacked Romania with arms, he laid waste the fortress called Sideroun, or "of Iron"; and led away captive Eustathius, the son of the Patrician Marianus. In the third year, which was numbered the seven hundred and fortieth from the birth of Christ, having brought out ninety thousand men, he poured his forces into Romania under four generals, of whom those who made incursions into Asia and Cappadocia, having collected a numerous multitude of men, beasts of burden and women, returned home unharmed... the others, attacked by Leo and Constantine, yielded to the victors, whom at last they slaughter to a man: a slight consolation for so many losses. For the aforementioned Isam, Prince of the Arabs, irritated by the slaughter of his own men, in the same year, which was the last for the most impious Leo, killed to a man the Christian captives throughout every city of his dominion: among whom blessed Eustathius, the son of the distinguished Patrician Marinus (he had previously written Marianus, finding both forms, as did Anastasius the Librarian who followed him), having suffered many torments and not on that account abjuring his sincere faith, shone forth in Charan, a celebrated city of Mesopotamia, as an ancient and illustrious Martyr: where his venerable and holy Relics, with the help of God's grace, provide healing of every kind. But many others also were consummated by the shedding of their blood through martyrdom.

Thus Theophanes, and nearly the same words are found in his Latin translator Anastasius, among these Eustathius, son of the Patrician Marcianus, according to the Luparea edition of both, reviewed according to the text of many manuscript codices. Anastasius was transcribed in the Mixed History at the end of book 21 by Paul the Deacon, with the proper names altered, in this manner: In the same year Euelid killed all the Christian captives in every city; among whom Eutychius, the son of the Patrician Marianus, was shown to be a true Martyr at Carrhae in Mesopotamia, where his Relics also work healings through the grace of God, and many others were consummated through their blood. Baronius, following Paul's reading, inserted the said Martyr into the Roman Martyrology for this day, making him a Patrician from a Patrician's son: supposing perhaps that, as among the ancient Romans all sons of Senators were called Patricians, so at Constantinople, by that name, not some particular and special dignity (of which we treat this month in the Acts both of the 42 Holy Martyrs on the 6th and of St. Anastasia Patricia on the 10th) but an appellation of nobler birth was meant: and so he wrote thus: At Carrhae in Mesopotamia, of St. Eutychius the Patrician and his companions, who were put to death by Euelid, King of the Arabs, for the confession of the faith. Among the Greeks there are many Eustathii, Eustachii, and Eutychii, to be commemorated on various days, and indeed with names sometimes confused, even though there is great diversity of etymology in each one: but, remarkably, there is none among them whom one might suspect either to have suffered in this eighth century, or to be venerated as having been slain at Carrhae. We believe, however, that the Most Eminent compiler of the Martyrology did not without foundation establish slain at Carrhae in the year 741, that he either died on this March 14 or is to be venerated on it: although in no calendars of the Saints, Greek or Latin, of which we have collected very many from throughout the world, is this Martyr found to be inscribed. Concerning the time, however, we have no doubt; which for the Greeks is the year 732, not 733, for it was the year 741 of the common era, when Leo, dying on June 18, Indiction 9, Constantine, by the ill-omened name of Copronymus, assumed the Empire on June 27 of the same month, pertaining to the following Indiction 10: and in the same year this martyrdom is established by Theophanes and his compilers Anastasius and Paul the Deacon: but we entirely deny that that year is numbered 733 by the Greeks. For all say that Leo died in the year 732 of the Alexandrian era. When, however, combining the first year of Copronymus with the following year, they add to it June 27, on which Copronymus was crowned; they do not wish to interpose one year between the death of the former and the beginning of the latter; but according to their custom they begin a new year with the new empire, and thus make the first year of Constantine (to which, however, the month of March with which we are dealing by no means pertains) one of fourteen months, namely from August of our year 741 to September of the year 742: whence it comes about that the Alexandrian era, differing by only eight years from the common era, from the Empire of Phocas to the end of the reigning Copronymus, disagrees by nine full years, and how Theophanes then returns to the earlier calculation, adding one year to Copronymus which he had taken from Phocas, we have sufficiently explained in the Prolegomena to this second Volume.

Not only is it credible that Eustathius was killed at Carrhae: however, there is no basis on which we can assert that other fellow-captives suffered death there on the same day as he: nevertheless, we give him companions along with Baronius; while Isam, otherwise Euelid, rules the Arabs, because at least it is established that very many others were slaughtered everywhere throughout the Arab empire by the command of Isam, the son of Izid, whom Paul the Deacon, mostly using names differing in reading and sometimes entirely different, calls Euilid the son of Gizid: then his sons Mavia and Suliman become Michavia and Zulcimin: his successor, who in Theophanes is Valid the son of Isam, he makes Gizid the son of Abdimelech: and for Izid the son of Valid, and his other son Abraim, reigning successively in the same year in which the father was killed until Marvas seized the empire, he has only Hycen the son of Gizid, whom Marvas succeeded. We marvel all the more at this diversity of names in matters that are virtually the same; but most accurately arranged by Theophanes year by year throughout, and more negligently and as if by digression interspersed by Paul, because in the entire Oriental history Paul appears to have done nothing other than to have interpolated Anastasius, the translator of Theophanes, with the addition of Western history: whence he imposed upon his work the name of Mixed History.

ON BLESSED MATILDA, QUEEN, WIFE OF HENRY THE FOWLER, KING OF GERMANY.

A.D. 968.

Preliminary commentary.

Matilda, Queen, wife of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany (B.)

§ I. Noble lineage. Life as written: sacred veneration.

[1] We present the Life of Blessed Matilda the Queen, of most noble lineage and distinguished by the most holy exercises of virtues. Among her ancestors was Duke Wittekind, celebrated for his many wars waged with Charlemagne, but far more celebrated for his most holy conversion to the Christian faith and his life thereafter piously led until death; Blessed Matilda descended from a noble stock, whose deeds we set forth at length on January 7, on which day his sacred memory is observed, and here for the sake of brevity, even though they are included in the manuscript Acts about to be given, we omit some military exploits. St. Matilda had an uncle named Immed, or Immod, from whom the Dukes of Savoy, the Marquises of Montferrat, the Counts of Savona and Saluzzo boast that their origin is derived. The Genealogical History of the Royal House of Savoy published by Samuel Guichenon may be read, in which at volume 1, pages 175 and following, two genealogical tables are presented: from which, however, Duke Bruno must be expunged, from whom the Otto Emperors are said to have descended. This Duke Bruno of Saxony was chief among the Martyrs of Ebbeckesdorf slain in the year 880, of whom we treated on February 2, where on page 311, §2, we traced his illustrious lineage. The Otto Emperors, however, descended from Otto the Great, brother of the said Martyr Bruno, and father-in-law of Blessed Matilda: for she was married to his son Henry the Fowler, from Duke of Saxony then created King of Germany. married to Henry the Fowler: Moreover, the said brothers, Bruno the Martyr and Otto the Great, had as father not Wighert, son of Blessed Wittekind, but Ludolph, the first Duke of Upper Saxony beyond the rivers Weser and Elbe: whose daughter Luitgardis was married to Louis II, King of Germany, and three other daughters, sisters of the said Bruno and Otto, Hathomuda, Gerberga and Christina were nuns and successively Abbesses of the monastery of Gandersheim, built by their father Ludolph. But the parents and ancestors of Matilda up to her great-great-grandfather Wittekind lived in the lower region of Saxony on this side of the Weser, which we now call Westphalia, where Matilda's paternal grandmother, as Abbess in the monastery of Herford, educated this her granddaughter, Blessed Matilda.

[2] This piety and spirit of their ancestors, in the construction of various monasteries, was continued by both Henry the Fowler and his wife Matilda, and they desired to be buried in the monastery of Quedlinburg among others built by them: in which also their granddaughter Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto I, afterwards flourished as Abbess: to whom Wittekind, a monk of Corvey near the river Weser, she bore him daughters, and the most ancient writer of Saxon history, dedicated three books of Annals. Trithemius, book 3 of Illustrious Men of the Order of St. Benedict, chapter 222, and following him Baronius at this March 14, believed her to be a daughter of Blessed Matilda, not a granddaughter. The words of Trithemius are these: Matilda, daughter of King Henry the first Emperor, sister of Blessed Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, foundress and first Abbess of the monastery of St. Servatius in Saxony: a Virgin of holy manner of life, she shone resplendent with many bright virtues. To her Wittekind, a monk of Corvey, wrote the history and deeds of the Saxons. She flourished in the year of the Lord 930. Albert Krantz lived at the same time as Trithemius, and in book 3 of Saxony, chapter 12, writes these things about King Henry: He regarded the city of Quedlinburg with singular care, erecting a monastery of Ladies there; in which he made his daughter Matilda the first Abbess, and ordered the church to be consecrated in honor of St. Servatius. So Krantz, but we fear that he believed the granddaughter, afterwards Abbess there and also called Matilda, whom he does not mention, to have been the daughter, since older writers do not include her. Sigebert in his Chronicle at the year 965 writes: Emperor Otto celebrated Pentecost at Aachen, with his sisters from France gathering there, namely Gerberga, Queen of the Franks, mother of King Lothar and Duke Charles: and Hathuide, wife of Hugh, King of Paris, whose son was Hugh, and sons: who afterwards reigned in France. His descendants reign to this day. But let us come to the sons begotten by Henry the Fowler and Blessed Matilda. They were Otto, the first Emperor from this family, Henry afterwards Duke of Bavaria, and St. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne. To Otto I there succeeded in the Empire Otto II, his son; and Otto III, his son in turn and the former's grandson. Another son of Otto I was William, Archbishop of Mainz, who heard the confession of the dying Blessed Matilda and administered to her the last

Sacraments, namely the sacred Eucharist and Extreme Unction. Henry the first Duke of Bavaria was succeeded by Henry the second, educated by his grandmother St. Matilda, the father of St. Henry, who after the death of Otto III was created Emperor from Duke of Bavaria.

[3] By his command and authority the Life of Blessed Matilda his great-grandmother was written, the Life is published from manuscripts, which, hitherto unpublished, our Johannes Gamansius extracted from an ancient codex of the Cologne monastery of St. Pantaleon and transmitted to us. It is exceedingly distinguished and worthy to see the light, and to bring it to all and especially to the Saxons, in which they will be able to perceive the sacred antiquity of their nation. Gamansius found a certain abridgment of this Life in the Carthusian house at Cologne and transmitted it to us, but it was mutilated: so that we judge it was for this very reason not printed by Laurence Surius, if it was there at that time. Our Nicolaus Serarius had a handwritten codex, from which he inserts various items into his history of Mainz affairs, and among other things, what is related here at numbers 29 and 30 concerning the visit of Archbishop William of Mainz to his grandmother Blessed Matilda on her deathbed, is there related somewhat more briefly in mostly the same words, as the cited Bavarian history will make manifest to those comparing our annotations to chapter 5 of this Life. The said monastery of St. Pantaleon was founded by St. Bruno, in which he was also committed to burial, so that they seem for this very reason to have preserved this Life among their most private documents.

[4] That holy Matilda fell asleep in the Lord on the day before the Ides of March in the year 968, her memory inscribed in the Martyrologies, on the Saturday after the first Sunday of Lent, we demonstrate below in the Acts. In the manuscript Florarium the memory of Queen Mechtild is celebrated on this day, concerning whom Hermann Greven composed this encomium in the supplement to Usuard: Matilda of holy memory, mother of the first Emperor Otto, a matron of the greatest humility and patience: who was so devoted also to the virtue of continual prayer that she was accustomed to chant the entire psalter before Matins. At last, predicting her death by a prophetic spirit, she departed to Christ. The same is read in the Martyrology of Canisius, frequently printed in German. But Molanus in his additions to Usuard appended the following at the end, and indeed separately: In the monastery of Quedlinburg of the diocese of Halberstadt, the falling asleep of Queen Mechtild, mother of the first Emperor Otto: whose life was a mirror of virtue. also in the monastic ones. But the tables of the Roman Martyrology from the aforementioned produce this encomium: At Halberstadt in Germany, the falling asleep of Blessed Matilda the Queen, mother of the first Emperor Otto, celebrated for her humility and patience. In the above-cited manuscript codex in Serarius she is called Lady Matilda and holy Matilda. In the same manner Wion and Menard call her Saint in the Benedictine Martyrologies. Wion adds in his Notes that she, after her husband Henry the Fowler the Emperor died, led a religious life in her monastery of Quedlinburg, and departed full of good works, and was buried there beside her husband: but that she died around the year of the Lord 940. So there, but after the said year she still lived twenty-eight years. Bucelin adorns with further detail what Wion said, designates her the most august wife of Henry the first Emperor, and asserts that after the death of her husband she professed the observance of the most holy Benedictine Rule and was clad in the cowl. Of all these things there is no mention in the Acts given below, or among ancient writers. Rightly, however, her memory is to be preserved among the Benedictines on account of so many illustrious monasteries built by her. Concerning her son Otto's assumption to the Empire, the Acts below relate, in which Henry the husband and Matilda are honored only with the titles of King and Queen.

§ II. Illustrious testimonies of ancient writers.

[5] Wittekind, in book 3 of his Annals, has this concerning Blessed Matilda: When William, the chief Pontiff of Mainz, had heard that the mother of the Emperor, the encomium of Wittekind, a woman of wondrous sanctity named Matilda, had begun to be ill, and while he was awaiting her funeral, his own funeral preceded hers. Concerning whose praise, if we wish to say anything, we fall short: because every argument of our small talent is surpassed by the virtue of so great a woman. For who could worthily set forth her watchfulness in divine worship? Every night in every manner and with every kind of singing she filled her chamber with the melody of divine songs. For she had a chamber near the church, in which she rested briefly, from which rising every night she entered the church: with singers and songstresses nonetheless stationed in three places, within the chamber and before the doors and on the way, who would praise and bless the Divine Clemency, while she herself within the church, persevering in vigils and prayers, awaited the solemnities of the Mass. Then she visited the sick wherever she heard of them nearby, provided necessities, then extended her hand to the poor, then received guests, who were always present, with all generosity. She dismissed no one without a kind word, she left almost none without small gifts or necessary aids; often she sent necessities to travelers whom she spotted from a distance from her chamber. Although she exercised such works very humbly by day and night, yet she diminished nothing of her royal honor, and as it is written, although she sat as with a royal people surrounding her, yet always and everywhere she was the consoler of the mourning. She instructed all domestic servants and handmaids in various arts, and also in letters: for she herself knew letters, which she quite clearly learned after the death of the King. Therefore, if I wished to narrate all her virtues, time would fail: if the eloquence of Homer or Virgil were at my disposal, it would not suffice. Therefore, full of days, full of every honor, full of good works and almsgiving, having distributed all royal riches to the servants and handmaids of God and to the poor, on the second day before the Ides of March she rendered her soul to Christ. Thus far Wittekind, addressing Matilda the Abbess, daughter of Emperor Otto I, whom Meibomius notes was carefully educated in letters by her grandmother Matilda. Another granddaughter of Blessed Matilda, but from her son Henry, was Gerberga, the second Abbess of Gandersheim of that name, of the nun Hroswitha, to whom the nun Hroswitha dedicated the history of the Saxon family composed by her in verse, in which at the beginning she presents the most happy reign of Henry the Fowler:

With his illustrious wife Matilda reigning beside him, To whom in the kingdom none shall now be compared, Who could surpass her in supreme merits.

[6] Liutprand also, a writer of this period, in book 4 of his history, chapter 7, having narrated the death and burial of Henry the Fowler, adds: of Liutprand: His venerable wife and consort of the realm, from the same nation, named Matilda, beyond all matrons I have ever seen or heard of, does not cease to offer a famous funeral office and a living sacrifice to God for the expiation of sins. of Dithmar, Bishop of Merseburg, There follows Dithmar, created Bishop of Merseburg in the year 1018, who in book 1 of his Chronicle asserts that Henry the Fowler desired the daughter of Theodoric and Reinildis, sprung from the tribe of King Widekind, named Matilda, on account of her beauty and appearance, who, joined to him, was his equal both in divine and human affairs. Then, having described the death of Henry the Fowler, which occurred in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 936, he subjoins the following: The renowned deeds of the venerable Matilda, who after the death of her lord made the greatest progress, I shall indeed briefly summarize for the good imitation of all the faithful. 2 Macc. 12:46 Because it is holy, as Scripture teaches, and wholesome to think of praying for the dead and obtaining absolution for them through almsgiving. We read that the chains of a certain captive, whom his wife, thinking him dead, had faithfully provided with funeral rites, were loosened as often as acceptable sacrifices to the Lord the Father were procured to be offered for him on her behalf: as he himself reported to her afterwards, when he revisited his home as a free man. Following this example, the Lady Matilda succored her husband, weighed down by the bond of temporal death, by providing sustenance not only to the poor but even to the birds. She also established a congregation of nuns on the thirtieth day in the above-mentioned city, and to this, as much as sufficed for the necessities of food and clothing, she granted from her own property, with her sons approving, and confirmed it by written documents. Finally, in book 2 of his Chronicle, he relates this about her death: Moreover William, the holy Archbishop of Mainz, when he was awaiting the end of the ailing Queen Matilda, died at Reduluerothe on March 2. The venerable Queen, oppressed by excessive bodily infirmity, though not yet certain by any messenger, announced his death to all present. My son William, she said, alas! already dying, is in need of saving commemoration. And Luidolf, the distinguished Abbot of Corvey, seeing him come to him bodily on the very night in which he passed away, was astonished and announced to his brethren that he had died. After this, holy Matilda departed from this exile on March 14, committing her spirit and rendering it to her Creator the Lord, and was buried before the altar of Christ's Bishop Servatius, beside her lord, because she whom she had loved while living, to him she always implored to be joined in death as long as she lived. So Dithmar, born one year before the death of Blessed Matilda, of an illustrious house of Counts of Saxony, and who flourished at the same time as the writer of the Life of Blessed Matilda.

[7] Henry Bodo in his manuscript Gandersheim Chronicle, as in Meibomius, writes thus: of Henry Bodo, The Most Serene Queen Mechtild, renowned for her sanctity, and ennobling the entire Saxon race by her virtues, erected many hospices in various places. She also built a monastery of nuns in Nordhausen, which, by ill omen, has been changed into a secular canonry, with the Virgins expelled. Let the authors of that deed see what they shall answer to the Foundress. At Kaufungen also she founded a convent of Virgins, and furthermore a monastery at Pöhlde, as if in a marsh. So he. But the monastery of Kaufungen was built not by Blessed Matilda the Queen but by St. Cunigundis the Empress, wife of St. Henry the Emperor, as we have said in her Life on March 3, number 4. This monastery of Kaufungen is situated in Hesse near its primary city of Kassel. In its place should be substituted the monastery of Memmleben in Thuringia on the river Unstrut. Of the others we treat below in the Acts.

LIFE

written by command of St. Henry the Emperor, from the manuscript of St. Pantaleon at Cologne.

Matilda, Queen, wife of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany (B.)

BHL Number: 5684

FROM MSS.

PROLOGUE

To Henry the King, most worthy of the highest veneration, the expounder of this work wishes for you the increase of spiritual gifts, the growth of virtues, and the prosperity of temporal affairs.

[1] Since it is known to many that you, endowed with the knowledge and discipline of diverse arts, have read through very many volumes, by the command of St. Henry the great-grandson these Acts were written, containing the Lives of the Holy Fathers; by whose examples your venerable manner of life can well be informed and carried to higher things; it is no small virtue that you should inquire into the pious deeds of your own preceding relatives; and especially of your great-grandmother Matilda, the illustrious Queen: whose luminous life is rightly to be imitated, and whose virtue is all the more praiseworthy as her sex is weaker. We give thanks to your Highness that it pleased you for this work to be composed by us, too great and formidable for our inexperience; since there are subject to your lordship very many who surpass us in talent and wisdom, who are able by the ray of their tongue to penetrate the depths. When at your command this work was to be begun, it seemed most difficult to our smallness: but it would be the height of presumption for us to resist your command. We have fulfilled

your command indeed beyond the measure of our strength: but we do not doubt that the efforts of the envious will be at hand, who will desire to censure what we have done. Therefore we beseech you, O glorious King, and, if it is permitted to say, most dear one, not from the audacity of rashness but from the cause of necessity; do not bring forth this handbook into the public for the wise to deride, before your skill has perceived what in it has displeased your piety; and let those things be mercifully corrected which seem not right to your wisdom. For it is fitting that he who is the author of this composition should also be its corrector and defender: lest what has been unwisely published by us be pierced by the tongues of the envious. You have indeed in this volume the few deeds of your fathers, from which you can learn what to do and what it is expedient for you to avoid. May the Ruler of the whole world, who by visiting their hearts granted them to know what is just and to fulfill it in works, grant you also to do what is right and to admonish others to do the same, and with manly fortitude to flee injustice and to forbid it to others: and may he grant you invincible arms by which the cruelty of your enemies may be overcome. May his grace also be your firm helper and constant companion, and make you an example and model of justice for governing and faithfully ruling the Church: so that, having been made a capable watchman, you may be a man of great counsel, industry and discipline. May the Lord Almighty so dispose your ways that in all his commandments you may live without reproach, and may arrive at the prize of the heavenly calling, and there receive the crown of justice and the gifts of heavenly treasures. If anything in this little work shall have pleased anyone, the praise will be the author's who commanded it.

CHAPTER I

The lineage of Blessed Matilda, her education, and her marriage to Henry the Fowler.

[2] In the time of the glorious Conrad, King of the Franks, there was in the regions of Germany a certain Duke, Otto by name, conspicuous in honesty of character, and prudent in deciding matters, renowned in the nobility of his birth, and famous for the triumphs of his wars. To whom the venerable matron Hathuwic was joined in the bond of marriage: To Henry the Fowler, son of Duke Otto, by whom two sons were born, adorned with noble beauty: and they nurtured them with the greatest diligence, as the honor of their nobility required. The elder was called Thancmar, and the other Henry. He, although younger, yet shone higher in the probity of his character, and from his boyish years applied himself to good works: following the footsteps of humility, by which one most certainly arrives at the heights of virtue. He loved all with whom he was no less than himself: he set himself before none, nor oppressed anyone by force. The boy, of wondrous brightness and lovable disposition, when he had reached the blooming years of youth, his parents began to discuss among themselves how to betroth him to a maiden not inferior to him in birth, and whose liberal character would be very similar to the distinguished young man. Meanwhile it came to their ears that in the convent of Herford there was lodging an excellent the future bride, Blessed Matilda, maiden, Matilda by name, noble in birth, desirable in appearance, and illustrious in character: so that with her grandmother the Abbess she might learn the psalter and the skills of works.

[3] This maiden also drew her distinguished lineage from the venerable man Wittekind, who had been a glorious Duke in the western region, she traces her origin from St. Wittekind, powerful in resources, but alas! captivated by error, he adored idols made by the hands of craftsmen, and inflicted various tortures on those who worshipped Christ; because there were lacking preachers to preach Christ and convert unbelievers to the faith. King Charles, however, a most Christian man and benevolent toward the worshippers of God, at that time held the pinnacle of sovereignty. When, moreover, he had discovered the unbelief of the aforesaid Duke, he grieved exceedingly, and gathering all his army, he entered upon war against the same Wittekind, for the sake of defending the faith and converting the erring one to the way of salvation... Then, by God's gift, Wittekind cast aside the weapons defeated by Charlemagne and converted to the faith of Christ, of perfidy and took up the shield of the Christian faith, burning with a new zeal, in the mystery of the sacred font, to put off the old man and to put on the new in Christ. The most Christian King, kindly receiving him, commanded him to be baptized, and himself raised him from the sacred font; and through the kinship of faith they were thereafter concordant friends. And Wittekind, once baptized, was immediately converted in a wondrous manner entirely to the work of God. Thereafter his entire army subject to him confessed this same belief of faith, and devoutly imitating their Prince, was immersed in the font of holy baptism. When these things had been accomplished and a pact of peace was agreed upon between them, King Charles returned joyful with his victory: but Duke Wittekind returned to his own country, illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit: and just as he had previously persecuted those who invoked Christ, so afterwards he drew all who were in error to the faith of Christ: and as he had formerly been a persecutor of good men, so then he appeared as a most vigilant defender of the sacred faith. Now he desired to rebuild the churches he had previously destroyed in his unbelief: and where he had set up idols, there he now placed oratories of the Saints.

[4] From the descendants, therefore, of the same Wittekind, the distinguished Duke, there proceeded the stock of the most blessed Matilda: whose father, named Theodoric, had been a glorious Count in the western region, and had joined to himself in marriage the venerable Reinild, born of Danish and Frisian stock, born of distinguished parents, praiseworthy in character: who merited by the gift of God to bear a child lovable to men. O happy birth of this child, to whom the grace of Christ afterwards brought the dignity of royalty! for she was the glory of her parents, the joy of her relatives, the hope of inheritance, and the ornament of all future offspring: lovable at birth and more lovable as she was nurtured. What more? At that time such a child was rarely to be seen. When therefore the illustrious little girl had been weaned, the Abbess Matilda, mother of Count Theodoric, who presided over the abbey at Herford, educated by her grandmother the Abbess, desired to receive the aforesaid maiden to be nurtured. Her parents, however, consenting to the petition of the Abbess, entrusted her to their care, to teach her the sacred readings and the skills of manual work. The distinguished maiden therefore progressed in a wondrous manner in all things, tender in age, mature in probity; capable in the study of literary discipline and the skills of manual works.

[5] When, moreover, her praiseworthy virtue was everywhere divulged, it also came to the ears of the distinguished Duke Otto, who immediately sent his Count Thietmar to examine these things. He, obedient to the Duke's command, hastened eagerly on his way to the above-mentioned convent, and immediately entering the chamber of the matrons serving the same maiden by order of the Abbess, and by their assistance secretly gaining entrance to the monastery, he diligently observed the noble and wondrously praiseworthy form of the maiden. Therefore, having quietly investigated and carefully considered all that he desired, he joyfully reported to his Lord everything he had seen. her character and form having been examined, The following day Duke Otto arranged for his son Henry to go to the aforesaid convent, together with Count Thietmar his tutor, so that with careful observation they might see whether the maiden's form and character were suited to him. He therefore chose not a few youths, elegant in birth and appearance, to accompany the young Henry, so that he might present himself more splendidly at the destined place. Approaching the monastery, they encamped in the field: a few of them indeed, as if for the sake of prayer, entered the oratory and saw the maiden sitting within, holding a psalter in her hand, most honorable in habit and of exceedingly reverent appearance. Henry, however, inflamed with love for the exceptional maiden, forbade his companions to indicate to anyone for what reason they had come: and immediately returned to the camp where the rest of the youths were staying: and dressing himself in noble attire, he again entered the church with a great retinue, asking that he be given the opportunity to speak with the Abbess: who also, coming forth, received him and all his attendants with joy. After they had exchanged words of greeting, she took the young Henry together with Count Thietmar into her chamber, and drew out a familiar conversation at length with them. The excellent young man, meanwhile gaining confidence of spirit, he is sought in marriage by Henry; gradually began to speak of the maiden, asking how advanced she was in age, or of what stature, and finally also desired to be given permission to see her. When she was called at the Abbess's command, there appeared in her a maiden's gait and the bearing of modesty, a serene brow and a face beautiful to behold: in whiteness she was most like lilies, and in vivid color she was likened to the petals of roses. When the excellent young man saw her of such great beauty, unable to conceal any longer the love of his heart, he asked with insistent prayer that the maiden herself be betrothed to him. The Abbess, in response, cast down her eyes and hesitated long in her reply with wavering mind. But when the young man persisted more and more in the undertaking of his petition, at length the Lady responded with these words: It is not for us to give her in marriage to anyone without the counsel and consent of her parents: for it is fitting that she be restored by us with complete faith, who was entrusted to our care. Moreover, it is doubtful to us whether they have decreed her for the marriage chamber of another man: for very many, illustrious in birth and form, were desiring her. Although, however, it is unknown to us whom of these they wish to choose as a son-in-law, we shall nevertheless fulfill your wish, and, if God's will be present, we shall not delay the marriage on our part: because the excellence of your lineage has often sounded in our ears, and this is no small part of the bond, that you yourselves directed your journey to us. Without delay, with ornaments suitably prepared, which were fitting for the betrothal of a maiden, on the following day Henry took with him the venerable maiden into the regions of Saxony. she is married to him: Then the city of the distinguished Duke Otto was led around by Count Thietmar and the other soldiers: until at Wallhausen the nuptial feast was prepared with great honor, as befitted those who afterwards ruled over many nations: there they enjoyed the marriage and the lawful bond of love. Henry, moreover, gave to his venerable bride as a dowry everything pertaining to the same city, with his father's consent: and the venerable Duke Otto himself raised her as a daughter until the end of his life. Three years after this, the venerable man underwent temporal death, and by God's ordinance Henry received the honor of the Duchy. three years before the death of Duke Otto. Having ascended, moreover, to the grade of dignity, he showed such great humility to his subjects that, if it could happen, they would have wished him already to possess the royal throne.

p. Walehusum, in German Wallhausen, on the river Helme, on the borders of Thuringia and Mansfeld.

q. the death of Otto. Otto died on November 30 of the year 916, as is established from the ancient Saxon Chronicle and Dithmar, and these Acts agree. Therefore the marriage of St. Matilda would have taken place in the year 913 or the preceding one.

CHAPTER II

Deeds during the marriage and at the death of her husband. The dignities of the sons.

[6] Meanwhile, while these things were being done, a cruel illness attacked King Conrad, and a death more cruel followed. Then, by God's disposition, Henry succeeded to the royal throne, whether by war or by peace is uncertain: but that it happened without God's disposition is not to be doubted. When these things had been thus arranged, with her husband elected King of Germany, with Christ's help, he exercised many good works with watchful diligence, giving thanks to God the giver for the dignity of the age, and appeared as the most ready consoler of the destitute and of widows. and made illustrious by victories, When, moreover, the laudable Prince was making wondrous progress, Christ increased his honor of dignity all the more, subjecting to his dominion very many nations: the Danes, the Slavs, the Bohemians, the Bavarians, and many other kingdoms which had not been subject to his predecessors. Here many things concerning the praises of King Henry are passed over, because we must hasten to the life and character of the illustrious Queen Matilda, daily progressing by the grace of Christ in every good work; so that her descendants and posterity may have joy of heart as often as they find the merit of so holy a mother to be read: the Queen herself is renowned for her chastity, whose probity and merits are credited with whatever dignity and honor came to her future offspring. When, therefore, the venerable Queen had ascended the grade of the royal throne, illustrious by the power of her husband and more illustrious by divine piety, she remained chaste in the bond of marriage, and yet did not lack the palm: for her humility, with a humility nearest to virginity thus tending toward glory, that by the gift of God she might afterwards merit to be chosen for the heavenly homeland. For the greater the power that came to her, the more devoutly she humbled herself: and what rarely happens, she possessed the dignity of the world without pride. In public she went forth adorned with gems and silk, but within she bore a more precious ornament, a heart acceptable to God: and she displayed such humility to her subjects and, in the place of a mother, such charity, that she was an object of both love and honor to all. Even in the nighttime she would stealthily withdraw from the side of the King, as if he were unaware, for her devotion, leaving the royal bedchamber, she devoted her mind to prayer, to reconcile herself with God, whom she loved with chaste love and served with entire faith. Who indeed doubts that, without the King's knowledge, the chosen handmaid of Christ could do such things? For he himself well understood, but pretended as though he did not know, because he truly knew that all her works were good and profitable to both. Therefore he readily gave her his consent to all that she desired: for her will began with God and ended what was begun in God. for her contempt of the world, Whatever the world held delightful, she despised almost entirely for the love of Christ: she did not covet riches, she did not fear poverty, her hand was always generous to the poor, and was rarely found idle from dispensing alms. for her mercy toward the afflicted: Never did anyone come to her sorrowing who did not depart rejoicing, and whoever approached her obtained what he wished. But if she understood that anyone was oppressed by some violence, or imprisoned for the crime of sin, or sentenced to death by popular judgment, she had no cheerfulness until she had reconciled the exasperation of the King. If she ever departed unheard, which was brought about by popular opinion, the King groaned silently within himself that he had disturbed the petitioner's wish by not fulfilling it, and having often left the judgment, as if soothing her, he left to arbiters the matters to be discussed which had been legally punishable: and having entered the church or engaged in some good work, he solicitously fulfilled that Gospel which the handmaid of Christ had diligently poured into his ears: Judge not and you shall not be judged: for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. Matt. 7:2

[7] Almighty God, however, never forsaking those who serve him, she bore her husband Otto, graciously looked upon the good works of King Henry and the most blessed Matilda, and multiplied for them the excellence of most noble offspring. The blessed issue also, which was most beautiful in both sexes, is not grasped in its parts, nor entirely passed over in silence. Otto the distinguished, begotten before the royal dignity, was the eldest in birth, remarkable in form and illustrious in character. Henry, however, born on the royal throne, was younger in years but by no means inferior in the excellence of probity. Henry, loved above the others, He indeed possessed such beauty that at that time he could scarcely be compared to any man. In the confidence of arms he was similar to his father; but in all endurance of adversity he carefully observed the footsteps of his renowned mother, and on account of these things he was especially beloved by his mother; who, as if he were her only child, cherishing him with every delight, placed him above the other children in her love, and desired him to possess the kingdom after the death of the renowned King Henry, if by God's permission her wish could be fulfilled. Hence also came the first stain of evil upon the boy, and on this account Otto the excellent was somewhat stirred against his brother, and thus envy and constant strife were growing between them. Bruno, But Bruno, the youngest in age but by no means the least in honesty of character, given over to scholastic discipline in his boyish years, was daily sweating in divine service. But indeed the remarkable glory of the parents already forbids prolixity of discourse about the sons, because we must return to the life of King Henry and the most blessed Queen Matilda: whose probity cannot be enumerated as is fitting. Both were fortunate and rightly worthy of praise: for their virtue had merited whatever good now shines in their descendants. O blessed ones, who were not only united in the flesh, but prompt in one mind and spirit for every good work! She had with her husband the King one will for living well. There was in them one love in Christ, equal union in good, a will pleasing to God, and the faculty of rightly performing, equal love toward neighbors, equal compassion for subjects. O blessed man, zealous in the cultivation of divine service, and excellent woman who loved Christ the King with all her heart! It is not therefore to be doubted that by the grace of God they received the reward nearest to virginity, because in them reigned conjugal chastity, nor was praiseworthy continence lacking. In all their acts the virtue of modesty shone forth: rightly were they rulers of the kingdom, endowed by God with such virtues. They are blessed, and shall possess the rest of eternal beatitude: for whom those very alms intercede which they gave with generous hand to the needy, as long as they remained in mortal life. What more? The higher the grade of dignity they had ascended, the more devoted the service they rendered to Christ.

[8] When, moreover, they continued in great prosperity of peace, by the inspiration of almighty God they desired to build monasteries and of building monasteries. and to furnish support to those dwelling therein from the royal resources, so that the memory of themselves and their fathers and descendants might be held most firm there in perpetuity. Therefore, when they were deliberating where to lay the foundation of so great a work, having convened the Princes of the people, they asked that counsel be given to them, in what part of the region these things might be suitably accomplished. To this the Princes responded, saying: That within Winethusum there were nuns lacking regular discipline, who could not remain there any longer unless they were sustained by royal assistance: and they counseled that they should be transferred to Quedlinburg. Therefore this counsel pleased both, and they conspired together to carry it out. Afterwards King Henry went to Bathfelden, where he very frequently hunted. There, after a few days, he was seized by illness and labored exceedingly from the violence of fevers, but when the pain of the illness had somewhat abated, he directed his course thence to Erfurt, and commanded all the Princes of the kingdom to assemble there, to decide together which of his sons they would choose to possess the royal throne. There came also the Abbess Diemot of Winethusum, summoned by the King's command, and not unmindful of his former desire, she asked that he consent to the nuns subject to her being transferred to Quedlinburg: which request of the King she received with pleasure and gladly granted.

[9] With these things thus arranged, King Henry proceeded to Memleben, with few accompanying him: there his illness recurred, and not long after the harshness of death followed. she deals with her dying husband, When, moreover, he felt the dissolution of his body approaching, calling the Queen to him, he discussed many secret matters with her, and finally concluded his speech with these words: O you who have always been most faithful and rightly most dear to us, we give thanks to Christ that we leave you surviving. For no one joined to himself a woman more firm in faith, more praiseworthy in every good thing. And so may you be grateful that you diligently soothed us when angry, and in every matter gave us useful counsel: you often called us back from iniquity to justice, and diligently admonished us to show mercy to the oppressed: now we commend you and our sons to almighty God, and to the prayers of God's elect together with our soul, which is now about to depart from the body. When he had said these things, and the Queen had given him no less thanks, full of grief, she entered the church, commending herself and all her possessions to God, as she

had always been accustomed to do. Meanwhile the soul of the King departed from the prison of the flesh: she prays for the soul of the dead King, the holy woman of God, perceiving from the lamentation of the people that the renowned man had departed from human affairs, prostrated herself in prayer and commended his soul to the faith of Christ. Then rising, she asked whether anyone was still fasting who might chant a Mass for the soul of her Lord. Hearing this, Adeldac the Priest responded hastily: My Lady, we have not yet tasted anything. she has a Mass sung, The venerable Queen had long ago put on two bracelets, wrought with wondrous art, which had been fastened around her arms with such firmness that they could by no means be removed without the help of a smith: these she then shook off by touching them with the slightest finger, more quickly than can be said, speaking thus to the Priest: Take this gold for yourself and sing a Mass for souls. As long as the venerable Lady afterwards lived, she showed great favor to the same Priest, never consigning to oblivion the fact that he had sung the first Mass for the soul of King Henry: and for the mindful sake of this deed she obtained for him the episcopal dignity through her son Otto.

[10] When the Mass for souls was finished, the Queen, weeping, entered the chamber where the dead body lay, after tears patiently shed, and within she found the royal sons weeping greatly, and together with them all the Princes of the soldiers. When the renowned Queen saw this, her comely cheeks were bathed in tears, and having thrown herself at the feet of the lifeless body, she wept most bitterly, as the venerable King had merited toward her. But God had bestowed upon her such grace and such praiseworthy temperance that she neither offended him through impatience, and yet worthily lamented the death of the King. Then, having called her sons to her, she exhorts her sons, she admonished them with these words, saying: O dearest sons, diligently impress this upon your mind, to fear God and always to honor him in all things, who is powerful to do such things. He is rightly called King and Lord, who displays such power over the poor and the rich. Cease now to contend for transitory dignity; every worldly glory meets such an end. Blessed is he who prepares for himself eternal things ever remaining; nor let your mind be saddened as to which of you is placed before the other: remember what is said in the Gospel by the mouth of Truth: Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. the King having been buried at Quedlinburg, Afterwards, with all things duly prepared that were necessary for the funeral, with the greatest honor they transported the body to Quedlinburg, where he himself had decreed to rest, and there they honorably committed it to burial. Luke 14:11 she arranges for the nuns of Winethusum to migrate there, Then the venerable Queen again summoned to herself the above-mentioned Abbess of the monastery of Winethusum and admonished that the congregation subject to her be transferred there. Which the Abbess at first refused, but afterwards, at the command of her son Otto, she consented.

[11] After the death of the renowned King Henry, the leading commanders assembled and held counsel concerning the state of the kingdom. Of the sons, Otto receives the kingdom, Very many judged that Henry should hold the kingdom, because he had been born in the royal hall; others desired Otto to possess the honor of the principate, because he was older in age and more provident in counsel. What more? By the disposition of divine Providence, the scepter of governance fell to Otto. Thence the discord between the brothers, which had existed between them from infancy, grew more and more, constantly quarreling, they spoke nothing peaceful to each other. Then the royal youth Henry endured many adversities: which his renowned mother, on the other hand, softened with salutary admonitions, and diligently reminded him of what Scripture says: For whom the Lord loves he reproves, and as a father he takes pleasure in his son. Prov. 3:12 Here many things concerning his distresses are passed over, because if they were unrolled one by one, they would seem prolix to narrators and readers alike. At length Christ the mediator, not wishing the brothers to remain in discord any longer, Henry receives the Duchy of Bavaria, through the merit of their holy mother reconciled them as one. After this, King Otto appointed his brother Henry as Duke over the people of Bavaria. But holy Bruno, youngest in age, was still living under the discipline of literary instruction, and with joyful disposition was daily making progress in the service of Christ. When, however, he had advanced in age and wisdom, Bruno from Archichaplain, the King attached him to himself through the love of brotherhood, in the ministry of Archichaplain. Meanwhile the venerable Wigfrid died, who had held the Archiepiscopal See of Cologne, and by the gift of the supreme Disposer, the honor of the episcopal dignity fell to Bruno. receives the Archbishopric of Cologne, Having ascended, moreover, to so great a summit of power, the swelling of pride by no means grew in him, but the holy mind of the Bishop rather inclined itself to humility; storing in his memory what Scripture admonishes, saying: The greater you are, humble yourself in all things. Eccl. 3:20 He was ever-watchful in wisdom, placable with exceeding gentleness, he preserved the cunning of the serpent with the law and did not lose the spirit of the simple dove. with great fruit for souls. He loved the flock committed to him, and by the staff of discipline snatched many from error: leading some to better things by the conferences of constant disputation, filling others with the desire for holy conversion by the placid maturity of his teaching. In speech he was mild, in doctrine humble, a most fierce destroyer of evils and a zealous assertor of truth: gentle to the humble, severe to the proud, receiving some within the folds of the flock, he made sheep out of wolves, and nurtured others outside the folds: and whatever he taught others, he himself first fulfilled, and he also built very many monasteries in the same city. In all things also he was a strong athlete of God and a champion of the Christian faith. What wonder that the sons should make progress in good, whose mother never ceased to serve God?

This is Adaldagus, afterwards Archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen: who was the first of all to ordain Bishops in the kingdom of Denmark. Adaldagus. Concerning him, Adam of Bremen, book 2, chapters 1 and 2. Krantz in Metropolis, book 3, chapter 16, and we on various occasions.

CHAPTER III

Virtues exercised in widowhood. Tribulation inflicted by her sons: reconciliation.

[14] Who will be able to comprehend in writing or whose tongue will be able to express as a widow, she devotes herself to exercises of virtue, how the glorious love of Christ began to burn in the mind of the illustrious Queen Matilda after the death of King Henry? She remained steadfast in faith, humble in the fear of God, mindful of every discipline, and retained justice with religion: strong for every endurance and mild for sustaining injury, ready for performing mercy, bearing an equal brotherly spirit. In all her acts and conversations a praiseworthy gravity and admirable dignity appeared: and she showed herself so honorable in modesty chaste, that very many would have thought her to be a virgin, had they not seen the excellent fecundity of her offspring. O what great reverence of the fear of God! She was always intent upon the study of prayer, and with a very strong spirit prepared herself to resist the devil, confidently bearing the shield of fortitude to combat the sea of worldly temptation. For she was not entangled in transitory things; she followed Christ alone. Even in the nighttime, when it is the custom of all to rest, she placed herself in bed as if for the purpose of sleeping, so as to conceal the intention of her good work, and she gave herself briefly to sleep so that she might rather be strengthened for serving God. at night she rises to pray: When, however, she perceived all sleeping, those spending the night with her in the chamber; spurning her splendid bed, she secretly rose and silently aroused her chambermaid: and with suspended step leaving the chamber, she entered the church with the holy celebration of hymns, not attended by the escort of crowds, but she proceeded without human favor, with the grace of Christ accompanying her: spending the night in prayer, she did not cease to serve God. Whenever she entered the church, she never approached the altar with empty hand, neither while the King lived nor in her widowhood. O how happily she spent the length of the night in every study of good work, and with what familiar voice she cried to God, and asked pardon for sins, and what friendship she merited to have with holy souls, for whom she implored from Christ eternal rest. Before the cock's crow she would finish the entire psalter, unless impeded by the shortness of the night. Sensing, moreover, the time approaching when it was fitting for the Nocturnal praises to be celebrated, she returned to her chamber in silence, and placed herself on the bed without anyone's knowledge, as if she had spent the entire night sleeping there and had never moved her foot from it. When the signal was given for Nocturns, she rose not sluggishly and hastening entered the church again, listening to the divine praises and laboring with intent heart in the urgency of prayers. After the Nocturn, however, when all had gone out, she remained within with the doors closed, with eyes and hands directed toward heaven, she did not relax her unconquered spirit from prayer until the dawn of light dispelled the shadow of night. Afterwards, entering the chamber, she reclined briefly to rest, so that she might refresh her weary limbs, lest she should fail in the service of Christ.

[13] Meanwhile a multitude of the poor assembled, about to receive from her hand food and clothing: in the morning she distributes alms: whose clamor, as soon as she perceived it, she rose briskly from sleep, mercifully feeding the hungry and clothing the naked with garments, she did not hesitate to cover what she believed were the members of Christ under the garb of the poor. When they were also refreshed and the necessities were abundantly provided, she put on garments befitting widowhood and entered the church with reverence. No one is able to say with what great devotion she was accustomed to hear Mass: meanwhile she uttered no

word, but by both act and bearing she was intent upon God. What more? From the morning hour until evening, no one saw her idle from good works. Nor is the temperance of the most blessed Queen to be passed over in silence, which she praiseworthy maintained in all things: sparing in food and sleep: for she indulged in neither food nor sleep more than the necessity of nature demanded. O blessed one, who was free from guile, and in whom piety appeared! Gentle and peaceable and most ready to help all the wretched: judging no one, condemning no one, rendering evil to no one for evil, she did nothing by her own judgment, but in all things she tended toward the will and purpose of God. she sincerely seeks God: All who did evil hated her, and those who lived uprightly loved her. She assumed great patience against all injuries, and she who was an eminent Queen endured many adversities for God's sake. She was rarely seen angry or even disturbed: no one saw her mourning or laughing beyond measure: she shone forth with a wondrous splendor of charity: a remarkable lover of modesty and a placid pursuer of humility: usually more severe toward herself but more merciful toward others, she was to all an example of complete goodness, by giving, kindly toward the poor, by having compassion, by converting the erring. As often as taxes were paid to her by the tributaries, she gave tithes of them to the poor and to those serving Christ, and where she could not go on foot, she went about by sending gifts. Nor indeed are the things she did so small that they can all be comprehended in writing: for if anyone had wished to enumerate them all, he would have produced an immense volume for readers.

[14] Then the cunning of diabolic fraud, always envying one who does good, strove to hinder the Queen beloved of God from the service of Christ by his most crafty temptation: and against the venerable handmaid of Christ he stirred up certain perverse men, envious of her life and virtues: who spread abroad to the ears of her sons that she had amassed innumerable sums of money, and had utterly consumed the opulence of the royal treasury. When these and other things of this kind were spread abroad to King Otto, she suffers great tribulation from King Otto, being gravely incensed, he demanded back in imperial fashion all that the holy woman of God distributed to the poor; sending everywhere spies who would strip her messengers carrying gifts to the needy, and send them back insulted. While the handmaid of Christ was enduring these and similar things undeservedly; what seemed to her more grievous, Henry inflicted upon her no less grave an injury, and Duke Henry, whom she had set above all her children with a wondrous affection of love. Finally they compelled her to leave her dower lands and to take the sacred veil. O blessed Lady, who, tested by many things, did not succumb, vanquished by temptation! What grief must be believed to have been in her, while she was pressed on every side by such great force of tribulation? She would have borne it less grievously if Henry, whom she had loved so greatly, had not agreed with his brother. Therefore the impious discord which had existed between them from infancy then united in iniquity those whom it had previously prevented from maintaining fraternal peace. Against all these things the venerable Queen displayed a wondrous patience in all things and a strong constancy in adversity; a guardian of her mouth lest she utter anything unfitting, devoted to the study of continual prayer to overcome the snares of adversaries, indeed more steadfast because of the injury inflicted upon her, not unmindful of the Psalmist's verse: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man may do to me; Ps. 118:6 esteeming lightly what she bore, provided she not become contemptible to Christ. She cursed no one, but attributed to her own deserts whatever distress she endured from her adversarial sons; always retaining in memory what she had learned in holy Scripture: strong in adversity: Because through many tribulations and afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22 If anyone indeed groaned in her presence on account of the calumny she was suffering, as if desiring to soften her grief; she is reported to have responded in turn with these words: King Otto calumniates us, and this is due to our deserts: but may God know him who has stirred up against us our beloved son Henry, through whose consolation we had hoped to swim through whatever might befall us that was sorrowful: now he is adversarial to us who should have been our consoler. By no means, however, can we suffer to hear anything said too harshly about him: because he is now loved by us from the heart, although he is thought to be our enemy. But this deeply pierces us when we recall how he, most sweet to us, is so bitter toward us: but he would accomplish nothing if the King's support were lacking to him: may God spare him, lest he receive vengeance from him. Would that, by God's gift, it could be done without peril to both, that for our sake such a unity of peace might be established between them that they would no longer enter upon enmities! she departs to the territory of Angria: When, however, the holy woman of God saw that the hostilities of her sons were not diminishing toward her, but were growing more and more from day to day, leaving all that King Henry had given her as a dower, in the western region she went to the territory of Angria, desiring to spare her adversarial sons, lest they incur the wrath of divine vengeance: there, with God cooperating, she exercised every good no less than she had been accustomed. After this, by divine disposition, innumerable evils overtook the King, she prays for her adversarial sons, with the triumphs of victory reversed, and other affairs no less prosperous. Henry, moreover, was attacked by a severe illness, which both purified him from fault, and yet divine mercy spared him by striking him, as if Christ were satisfying the wish of his mother, who by assiduous prayer entreated for him the pardon of remission.

[15] Seeing, moreover, that King Otto was accomplishing nothing in his prosperity as before, he feared even unto death in his distress. Then the Priests and the other Princes, whose hearts God had illuminated, having gone to the venerable Queen Edith, exhorted her to admonish the King through the intercession of Queen Edith, to recall his mother to the kingdom with honor: who, immediately going to the King, spoke thus: Let our Lord not be saddened, having been corrected by divine scourges: let your most holy mother be recalled, and let her hold the first place in the kingdom, as befits: and, as we hope, all your affairs will prosper and be restored to their former state. The King, moreover, stricken with penitence and not unmindful of the fault he had committed, recognized by divine inspiration that he had sinned against his holy mother. Without delay, having sent Bishops, Dukes and Counts, and all the wisest of his soldiers, to recall his mother with honor, he commanded the following letter to be delivered to the handmaid of Christ: O venerable Lady, we have already quite sufficiently and excessively provoked God's anger against us by persecuting you; we confess that we have sinned and acted unjustly against you: for God's sake forgive us, and implore pardon and remission from Christ. We willingly endure whatever punishment, provided only we may enjoy your grace. she is recalled by her son Otto, Furthermore, we ask that you direct your journey to us; we submit ourselves and all our possessions to your authority, and moreover we shall restore whatever we have unjustly taken from you; nothing will be pleasant to us before we have the good fortune to see you. The most blessed Queen, receiving the petition of her son with a glad mind, utterly consigned to oblivion whatever adversity she had suffered, nor did she delay any longer, but hastening on her journey she came to Grona. When, moreover, the arrival of the venerable Queen Matilda was spread abroad to the ears of King Otto; with a great retinue he went to meet her, with Queen Edith accompanying him. When he first saw the beloved of God approaching, he leapt from his horse and drew nearer, and bending his knee on the path asked forgiveness, saying: O all the ornament of our honor, and solace of every labor, to whose sole merits we shall attribute the kingdom we possess, take from us whatever punishment you wish, provided only that we may be permitted to return to the grace of reconciliation. We have already paid enough for whatever we have done against you: for from the time you departed from your dower region, all the prosperity of war has been reversed, and our strength has been broken, and repeatedly enemies have prevailed against us. she is kindly received: In response, the venerable mother, her comely eyes bathed in tears, immediately gave her son the kiss of peace, as if she had suffered no adversity from him, and consoled the spirit of the suppliant with these words: My son, do not be distressed, for we hope that you will obtain pardon from the Lord: for if the deserts of our sins had not required it, no adversities would have befallen us on your part: may God grant you indulgence through his ineffable mercy, who is ready to have mercy on every penitent, if he has perfectly lamented what he has committed and hereafter does not commit it.

[16] When Henry, moreover, the handsome man and greatly beloved of his distinguished mother, learned that King Otto his brother had reconciled his renowned mother to himself with such great satisfaction, no less stricken with penitence, he directed his course, and where he found the holy woman of God, he addressed her with these words: she is reconciled with her son Henry, O venerable Lady, and if it is permitted to say, most dear mother, we confess that we have gravely sinned against your maternal tenderness: but now we ask pardon, which we do not deserve: and now we beseech you by the soul and name of our father, that you grant us to return to the former degree of your grace. We do not doubt that we shall obtain pardon and remission from Christ, if you forgive us from your whole heart: because from the time we provoked your kindness to anger, we have been exceedingly imperiled by the severity of illness. When the venerable Lady saw him weeping and humbly supplicating for forgiveness, she could no longer endure it, but quickly broke forth in this exclamation: My son Henry, do not weep, desist my son, desist: for your mother cannot bear to hear from you these beseeching words: come nearer and give your mother a kiss: may faithful God be propitious to you; we love you as before: for we are not unaware that the persuasion of enemies stirred you up against us. Without delay, with such satisfaction received, King Otto and Duke Henry introduced the holy woman of God into the dower lands, and she enjoys perpetual peace with her sons, and as was fitting, they established her in the first place. After this, a wondrous tranquility of peace existed between mother and sons, and a will united for every good: in the consolation of the poor they were unanimous, in the construction of churches and monasteries concordant. In the mother toward her sons there was wondrous charity, in the sons holy humility obeyed, and to conclude briefly, they persevered in the stability of peace until the end of life, trampling through charity upon the devil who had recently sown the tinder of strife among them.

is erroneously read in some: concerning the year in which she was married to Otto we shall treat below.

CHAPTER IV

Pious works and almsgiving. Grief at the death of her son Henry. Otto's journey to Italy.

[17] Meanwhile it happened that the pious Queen Edith, destined to live forever, lost the present life. The King, moreover, Otto, now of advanced age, together with his mother built churches and monasteries, bringing peace and judging rightly; imitating in all things the piety of his father. After the death of Queen Edith, After the death of the illustrious Queen Edith, he spent three years in widowhood, diligently attending to all good works and studiously reading sacred lessons. When he had now proved to many the chastity of his widowhood and the constancy of his prayer, she founds a monastery at Pöhlde, he indicated his intention henceforth to abstain from conjugal union. Then the most blessed Queen Matilda built a monastery at Pöhlde, gathering there three thousand clerics, to whom with generous hand she provided all necessities.

[18] Meanwhile there died Lothar, the distinguished Prince of the Latins, to whom Queen Adelaide had been joined in marriage, excelling in probity of character. A certain perverse man named Berengar assailed her with many injuries, Otto the King marries Adelaide, the widow of King Lothar of Italy, so that by obtaining her as his wife, he might at the same time usurp dominion over the kingdom of the Latins. When this had come to the ears of the renowned King Otto, he summoned his brother Henry and all the Princes of the soldiers, and ordered arms to be prepared for war, saying that it was his intention to visit the region of the Romans, to resist the arrogant Berengar and to aid the oppressed widow. What more? With things duly prepared, they arrived in Italy with a prosperous course, and by the grace of God the lot of victory fell to King Otto, having defeated Berengar, in the defeat of King Berengar and the deliverance of Adelaide. With these things accomplished, the King with his army offered to Christ a sacrifice of praise, who had fulfilled his wish in all things and had strengthened his hand against his enemies. Afterwards the King committed Berengar to his brother Duke Henry to be guarded, commanding him to be sent to the region of Bavaria and to be confined there under close guard, where he also ended his present life. he takes her as his wife: The aforesaid Lady Adelaide he gladly took with him through the cities of the Latins. Seeing, moreover, that she was of wondrous prudence and a praiseworthy life, he indulged his heart in love for her and joined her to himself in marriage. They remained in Italy for some time, and not long afterwards they set out for the region of the Saxons. she gives birth to Matilda, later a nun, They, moreover, possessing the royal throne for a long time, were blessed by the grace of God with royal offspring; first they begot a girl, called by the name of the renowned Queen Matilda, whom King Otto joined to the company of nuns at Quedlinburg, according to the wish of his mother. Then they begot a boy, and Otto his successor: called by his father's name: to him after the death of his father, by God's ordination, the royal dignity came. Whenever the most blessed Lady Matilda learned of the birth of her offspring, she gave thanks to Christ, to whose merits she attributed whatever good and joy befell her.

[19] Therefore the venerable Queen, having become very joyful because her sons had returned safely from the borders of Italy, and the progeny of her illustrious offspring was multiplying in both sexes; but unexpectedly a great grief occurred, which utterly consumed this joy in sorrow, and which she did not consign to oblivion her sick son Henry deals with his mother: as long as she drew the breath of mortal life. Henry, the distinguished Duke of Bavaria, was seized by an extreme infirmity: who, when he felt the severity of his illness not diminishing but rather increasing more and more, he hastened on his journey to Pöhlde, for the purpose of seeing his pious mother there, and for the last time he saw the holy woman of God, and asked leave to depart to his own region. The Queen, however, kept her ailing son with her for a few days, and applied every care and medicine to his infirmity. As the day on which he had decided to depart drew near, his holy mother foretold many things to him, and finally admonished him with these salutary words: My dearest son, diligently attend to the words of your mother, and do penance for your sins, that you may obtain pardon from God. For it is doubtful where this illness may tend: for, as we fear, we shall not see your beloved face again. Beyond this, by the spirit of prophecy she foretold many things to him, which the outcome of events afterwards confirmed. Then, embracing each other, they exchanged kisses, weeping greatly. What more? Henry departed to the region of Bavaria, and there labored in illness for very many days, until by God's command his soul departed from the body, and, as is hoped, entered the gate of Paradise. he returns to Bavaria and dies. With these things accomplished, in the city of Regensburg they buried the body of the renowned Duke. Then the venerable Lady Judith, joined by the bond of law to her illustrious husband, sent messengers to announce the grave news to his pious mother: who, when they had come in a direct course to Quedlinburg and had announced the sad death of the Duke to the Princes, all day long everyone was in doubt as to who might gently announce this to the holy woman of God. On the next day, after she had heard Mass, when she had taken the Dialogues in hand and had studiously begun to read, her faithful attendant Richburg entered and indicated that messengers had come from the region of Bavaria. She, immediately shaken with grief, as if foreknowing the evil that had occurred, said: Order them to be summoned, that we may learn how the infirmity of our son is faring. When they had entered and an opportunity to speak had been given before her, they greeted the Queen and as yet said nothing sad. She, however, asked many questions about her son with an anxious heart, whether the illness was milder, or how the prosperity of affairs stood with him. The legates, however, responding briefly about these things, presented very sorrowful letters, which contained the matter they had come to announce. When therefore the glorious Queen learned that her beloved son had departed from this life; pallor appeared on her face, and a cold tremor ran through all her limbs, the mother is deeply saddened; she has prayers offered for him, and the book which she was holding in her hands caught her falling face. When, moreover, the bitterness of grief had somewhat cooled, she immediately burst into tears and spent the entire day weeping, nor on account of the bitterness of grief did she taste any food that day. Summoning the nuns to the church, she exhorted them to implore the Lord's mercy for the deceased, and she herself, first bending her knees, poured forth this prayer for the soul of her dear son: O Lord God almighty, have mercy on the soul of your servant, whom you have commanded to depart from this world: remember, I beseech you, that he rarely lived happily, and spent almost the entire time of his mortal life in distress. After this she rose from prayer and with moderate step made her way to the sepulcher of King Henry: upon which, bowing her head, she thus spoke through her tears: O our Lord, how much more fortunate you were than us, who did not await this bitterness of grief in the course of mortal life. Now, as we hope, you rejoice in rest, nor do you care at all about our disturbance. As often as we brought to mind the bitter day of your death, we found consolation in this alone, that the life of our most beloved son survived, she puts on mourning garments, who in face, name and bearing most closely resembled you. On this day also she laid aside the noble garments which she had worn in widowhood as an ornament. For after the death of the memorable King Henry, she constantly wore scarlet of one color, not in public but under a linen garment, and bore a small amount of gold before her for the sake of ornament. All this she then laid aside, and thereafter went forth dressed in mourning garments.

[20] After this she refused to hear anyone singing secular songs or to see anyone performing games: but she only heard holy songs written from the Gospels or other sacred Scriptures. she rejects games and secular recreations; And in this she diligently delighted, that the life or passion of the Saints be sung to her: she rejected the other delights of the world and with safe intention devoted herself solely to divine service; loving God in all things and above all things, and placing nothing before his love. In her there shone the gold of justice, the gem of mercy, a lovable gravity, an admirable honesty, modest speech, and to be suitably uttered at its proper time. She never kept silent about whatever it was fitting to say. She presided over pilgrims, widows and orphans, as a mother over her children. In all that she did, the temperance of justice was not lacking to her. she sends the food of her table to monasteries or to other poor: It is difficult to enumerate how greatly the venerable Queen devoted herself to the generosity of almsgiving. Twice a day she refreshed the destitute with all kinds of delicacies of food: moreover, when she approached the royal table, she commanded the pilgrims and needy to be summoned, devoutly distributing to them the most sumptuous food that was set before her, believing herself to be feeding Christ under the guise of the poor. If a monastery was nearby, the food placed three times on the table was sent to those serving Christ and those lying in illness; but if a monastery was not nearby, she sent these same things to the other needy. What wonder that she was generous and benevolent to human beings, who daily ministered to the cock that announces the light of day and rouses all the faithful to the service of Christ. Nor was she unmindful of the birds singing in the trees in the summertime, commanding her servants to throw crumbs of bread beneath the trees, so that if any of the birds sat above, it might find sustenance there in the name of the Creator. Wherever she traveled, she ordered candles to be carried beside her carriage, which she would distribute to individual oratories; and likewise food with which she might refresh the needy whom she met on the road. on her journeys she gives many alms: But if she was so intent upon reading or the chanting of psalms that she herself could not see those passing by, or if she had inclined her head in sleep, because she was accustomed to spend the night in good deeds; she commanded Richburg, the nun attending her, to observe diligently that no poor person should pass by ungreeted or not refreshed from her bounties. If, however, with that one being negligent, any needy person passed by without receiving food, immediately raising her head from sleep, as if full of the spirit of prophecy, she ordered the carriage to stop and the poor person who had passed to be called back, offering him food or other necessities. After this, somewhat disturbed, she admonished the nun with salutary words to observe more diligently henceforth whatever had been committed to her trust. The voice of the needy never sounded vainly at her side, nor did she pass by with deaf ears. No less was the practice of mercy than the concourse of the people: nor were there lacking those who asked, nor did that which was to be given run out.

[21] for the poor she has fire made, In whatever city she stayed during winter, throughout the entire night fire burned in every building that was there, and even under the open sky, so that whoever was in need might warm himself there, or whoever wandered in the darkness of the night, seeing the light, might not stumble. Beyond the daily generosity of alms, she celebrated Saturday with singular honor; from the first hour, indeed from the very dawn of light, she never ceased from good works.

In the morning she ordered a bath to be prepared and had the poor and pilgrims washed. and a bath, Sometimes, however, when she could steal away from the crowd of people, she herself would secretly enter, and with her own hands would wash the filth from each one, and she who commanded many as a Queen served the poor as a handmaid. If, however, she was prevented from entering, surrounded by a multitude of people, she sent in her female attendants, whom she knew to be most trustworthy in faith, to minister necessities to the needy and to serve them humbly in her place. When they came out of the bath, she brought them all into her chamber, giving food to the hungry and clothing to the naked; for she did not doubt that the members of Christ were covered under the clothing given to the poor. she heals the sick by sending food: For those laboring under infirmity who could not come to her, she sent fruits and whatever seemed best among the royal dishes: and it often happened by the grace of God that one who had tasted nothing for ten days received through her merits refreshment and health alike. she observes Saturday, Nor do I think this should be passed over in silence, why she guarded Saturday with such reverence: first indeed on account of the vigil of the Lord's Resurrection, which is celebrated on this day throughout the world: on which both her husband and she herself died, then because the soul of the venerable King Henry was released from the body on the same day, and, as is hoped, entered the gate of Paradise. Therefore as long as the holy woman of God lived, she studiously observed the octave, the thirtieth day, and the anniversary of the renowned King. Nor should anyone doubt that her good works pleased God, which she performed with such devotion on Saturday; she devoutly celebrates feast days, for she herself also departed from this world on the same day and arrived from labor at rest. On feast days, on which it is not permitted to engage in manual labor, she herself read or lent her ear to readers, and whatever sacred Scripture commanded she kept in memory: on ordinary days, however, she devoted herself to psalmody and divine reading, nor was she any less occupied with manual work. If, however, she was impeded by the diverse conversations of the people on other days she works with her hands, from celebrating the customary pursuit of divine work, at least at the hour of refreshment, standing before the table, she tasted no food before she had done some piece of work, not forgetting what the Apostle says: He who does not work, let him not eat. 2 Thess. 3:10

CHAPTER V

Miracles: prophetic spirit. Last words with Otto, crowned Emperor.

[22] The clemency of almighty God, not wishing the merit of the venerable Queen to lie hidden any longer, she is distinguished by miracles, worked miracles through her, so that it might clearly be known to all how much the life of his obedient servant pleased him. For at a certain time, when in Quedlinburg she was celebrating the anniversary day of King Henry with great preparation, as she had always been accustomed, so great a multitude of the poor assembled that they could be encompassed by no number. The Queen, made joyful by their arrival, ordered some to be placed on the summit of the hill and the rest in the bottom of the valley, she herself ministering to those eating on the hill, while she feeds the poor, and commending the others to the stewards. When, however, she had expended all the royal foods and had generously provided all necessities in abundance; those sitting in the valley had not yet received their portion of bread. Standing, therefore, upon the summit of the hill, she suddenly seized a loaf of bread, upon which she imposed the sign of the Cross, [she throws a loaf of bread, signed with the Cross, from the hilltop to a poor person:] and invoking the name of Christ, she threw it from the high summit: which, rolling from place to place, through the thickets of rocks and hedges, arrived intact in the lap of a certain poor person to whom she had decreed to give it, in the presence of a great multitude of people who had been witnesses of the same miracle. At this the most blessed Queen humbly gave thanks to Christ, by whose gift and power she knew this had come to pass. But she was also declared by another miracle, no less, in the same city.

[23] For it had been the custom of the holy Lady to present daily to the Priest at Mass an offering of bread and wine for the salvation and benefit of the entire holy Church. she recovers a golden flask swallowed by a deer: On a certain day, therefore, after Mass was finished, one golden flask was carelessly lost; in which the holy woman of God had offered wine for the sacrifice. Richburg, her attendant, and others ministering to her, greatly distressed by excessive fear, searched everywhere but could not find it. On the following day, when Mass was being sung, the handmaid of Christ asked for the customary flask from the aforesaid nun, who, suffused with a blush, said it had been stolen. After Mass the Queen left the church, somewhat disturbed, and immediately met a certain young deer, tamed within the enclosures of the monastery: which, when she saw it, she called to herself with a gentle nod, adjuring it by the name of Christ to return to her the vessel it had swallowed. The beast, obedient to the power of her who commanded, more quickly than can be said, vomited up the flask, not undeservedly obeying the command of one who was always obedient to God. All who were present gave thanks to God, because the Queen received the undamaged vessel from the brute animal, which she herself had not seen swallowed nor had heard about from anyone.

[24] Nor did she who shone with the efficacy of signs lack the gift of prophecy. The royal progeny at a certain time assembling at Frosa, the royal boys came together, namely the grandsons: Otto the boy, she tenderly loves her grandson Henry, son of Emperor Otto, and Henry, son of Henry Duke of Bavaria, and just as the venerable Queen had loved this one above her other children, so also his son Henry, her little grandson, she placed above the other grandchildren in her love. Therefore, with the venerable Matilda sitting at the royal table, and Queen Adelaide with her, the boys were standing before them playing with childish sport. Then Henry drew nearer to the table, he who was dearer to the holy woman of God, diligently gazing at his excellent grandmother, and familiarly reclined upon her lap, as if desiring a kiss from her: whom the venerable Queen gladly received and, embracing him with her arms, spoke thus: O Lord God almighty, we give thanks and praises to your goodness, who have preserved this little grandson safe for us, whose father the dark day of death snatched away. But thanks to you, who did not wish to blot out this name from our generation; preserve him safe for us, I beseech you, as long as you wish to keep us in mortal life, so that he may imitate our beloved son Henry at least in name and voice. Then the venerable Queen Adelaide also spoke thus: How desirable is the appearance of this boy, and how comely his face to behold. Where then will a maiden be found who may match him in beauty and talent? We have a little daughter named Emma: let us keep her for him, if it pleases God and you, that this desirable son-in-law may be joined to us. In response the handmaid of Christ was silent, and for a long time hesitated in her reply. Then, drawing long sighs, she returned these words: Far be it that on our part so great a sorrow should befall you: for it is expedient for your daughter to join herself to a more fortunate man. This name had honor only she predicts the reign of St. Henry: as long as our Lord Henry lived. After it passed to his descendants, it was never free from misfortune. What shall we say of the distresses and tribulations which his father endured? But it is still in the divine disposition what must happen to this one. We hope, however, that this name will not fall from our race before some little grandson is born from the seed of this same boy, who shall be raised to the royal dignity. Who indeed doubts that the prophecy of the chosen handmaid of Christ has now been fulfilled in the most Christian King Henry, who without force and arms received the summit of governance, and now holds the honor of dignity in the tranquility of peace? O King Henry, rightly to be praised, again and again impress upon your mind the prophecy of the illustrious Queen, and recognize that you have ascended the throne of so great a dignity through her intercession and merit. May the Lord God almighty, who chose you and without force granted you the summit of honor, grant you the abundance of his blessing and crown you with the crown of justice: may he make you gentle to the just and terrible to the impious, so that you may strengthen those pursuing justice by the mildness of gentleness and terrify the erring by the strictness of justice. May the Angel of the Lord always precede, accompany and follow you, who may direct all your deeds and crush all your enemies under your feet, so that for the benefit of the holy Church you may live for a long time, and afterwards receive life without end. The author of this composition would not omit to wish you, O glorious King, more of perpetual felicity and worldly prosperity, if he were not more likely to be imputed by the envious to the censure of flattery rather than to the charity of truth. There remain very many things to be said in your praise: but these must be passed over

so that the mouths of the envious may be stopped.

[25] Anxious for Otto as he sets out for Rome to receive the Imperial crown, We must return to earlier matters, so that what was begun may be brought to a conclusion. When, therefore, the innumerable virtues of Queen Matilda were spread far and wide with wondrous reputation, her son King Otto was called to the kingdom of Rome by the Pontiff of the Apostolic See, to receive the glory of the Imperial crown and to preside over the Romans. Then, commending the kingdom and his little son Otto to his pious mother and to Archbishop William, he took with him the brave hearts of his men, and with Christ as his guide hastened to Rome, as the Pope had commanded, with Queen Adelaide accompanying him. When, moreover, he had arrived at the Chair of St. Peter, together with his wife he received the Imperial crown by the gift of Christ, and the whole people of the Romans willingly submitted to his dominion, and paid tribute to him and after him to his other descendants. Meanwhile the venerable Queen was pressed between hope and fear, uncertain whether prosperous or adverse things had befallen her son, and for the safety of his life she always offered to God the sacrifice of continual prayers and generous almsgiving. she builds the monastery of Nordhausen: Then also she built a monastery in the city of Nordhausen, with the consent of her little grandson Otto, for the soul of King Henry and of her most dear son to whom she had given his father's name, and whom she had borne in the aforesaid city: there she gathered three thousand sisters serving God and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[26] Meanwhile it was reported to Emperor Otto in Rome that his excellent mother was greatly saddened by his absence; and he, burning with wondrous love to see the one beloved of Christ, immediately left Rome and arrived in the city of Cologne, where his brother, the venerable Bruno, held the miter of the archbishopric. she goes to meet him on his return at Cologne: There the holy venerable Queen came to meet her son with the little grandson whom he had commended to her when he set out for Rome, with the princely boy Henry also accompanying her, whom she had loved in the place of a son since that same Duke of Bavaria, namely her own son, had departed from this life. There came also Queen Gerberga, the daughter of the holy woman of God. There the royal assembly exchanged their last embraces, and there they were allotted the final words of their conversation, so disposing it by divine clemency. For afterwards they did not see each other in this mortal body, but as we hope, they now rejoice together in eternal rest. Therefore the renowned Queen, first honorably received by her son the Emperor, Archbishop Bruno, and the rest gathering there, rejoiced to have seen her sons and grandchildren, and offered praises and thanks to Christ for the safety of all. Afterwards, when they had greeted each other, they entered the chamber, drawing out a familiar conversation among themselves. Meanwhile Bishop Balderic entered, who had been the tutor of Archbishop Bruno in the times of King Henry, and bowing his head to all, he blessed the royal assembly. Then he addressed the holy Lady Matilda in particular: Rejoice, venerable Queen, honored by God with such gifts: now you see your children and the children of your children: truly the verse of the Psalmist has been fulfilled in you, who says: And may you see the children of your children. Ps. 128:6 In response the Queen gave thanks to God, as she had always been accustomed. Then she discoursed to her sons and grandchildren about the construction of the monastery of Nordhausen, and she commends the monastery of Nordhausen: as if she were distressed by the fear that she could not complete the work she had begun; at last she spoke thus, bathed in tears: This monastery of our building is, as we reckon, our last work; our age is frail for laboring. Moreover, we have distributed to the other monasteries possessions and resources of goods: for which reason we commend to you all to complete the work we have begun; because we began it for the soul of our Lord and our most dear son Henry, and also for the stability of the kingdom and the safety of all men. To this Emperor Otto responded before all: May God prosper your undertakings: our assistance shall not be lacking: indeed we exhort our son Otto and our other grandchildren to provide them with support as long as they live. Afterwards they proceeded together to the city of Nordhausen to see the congregation itself. Then the Queen, beloved of God, ordered the nuns to be summoned, she goes with him to see it: and commended them all to the Emperor. She, receiving them all with a placid spirit and cheerful face, commended them to God, saying: May the holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, heavenly Queen, graciously receive them, that they may love God alone above all things and serve him with all their mind, not for the desire of human praise, but solely from the desire of eternal reward. To this we pray that our sons and grandchildren may be moved by such compassion toward these nuns that, as long as one spark of our offspring remains, they may never lack the support of consolation. Then she confirmed all these things for the sake of herself and the safety of her parents and grandchildren by repeating them, and moreover she added what the mother had desired.

[27] Afterwards they remained for seven days in the same city, and the holy Queen commended very many things to her son, as if she were not going to see him any more in this mortal body. When, moreover, the day dawned on which the King had decided to depart, rising in the morning they drew out their conversation at great length, weeping much. Then they entered the church to hear Mass together, and the venerable Queen simulated cheerfulness on her face, she gives final admonitions to him as he is about to depart: but was pressing a great grief in her heart. When Mass was finished, she again addressed her son with these words: My dearest son, diligently commit to your memory all that we have commended to your faith in this place: we often lived here happily, and God delivered us from the peril of childbirth. In this city we begot your brother Henry, whom we loved exceedingly on account of his father's name, and here also your sister Gerberga was born. Therefore, since by the intercession of the holy Virgin Mary we twice navigated the distresses of childbirth in this place, we have laid the foundation of this monastery, and especially for the soul of your father and brother and for your safety, as we mentioned above. Wherefore it is fitting that, as often as you remember these things, on our account you show greater compassion to those dwelling in this place. To this, as we suppose, we exchange here among ourselves the final words of our conversation. What more? This last sight of your mother, let it be the admonition of this monastery. Then the Emperor, stricken in heart, promised to fulfill all that she had requested. Then, leaving the church together, they stood before the door, she escorts him to his horse, and embracing each other, tears moistened the face of both. After they had exchanged kisses, all who were present shed tears. The Queen, moreover, standing in the very doorway, followed her departing son to his horse with a clear gaze of her eyes. Then, she kisses his footprints in the church, having entered the church, she went straight to the place where the Emperor had stood while Mass was being sung, and bending her knees, she tearfully kissed the footprints of her departing son. When Count Witigo and the other soldiers who had still remained saw this, struck with groaning, they went out and told the Emperor. Who immediately, leaping from his horse, returned groaning to the church, and entering, found her still praying in the same place and weeping greatly, and immediately falling prostrate to the ground, when he returned because of this, he spoke thus: O venerable Lady, with what service can we repay these tears to you? And having approached again, they spoke a few words in a tearful voice. Finally the venerable Queen spoke thus: What does it profit you she renews what she had said, to delay any longer? Although unwilling, we are nevertheless compelled to be torn from each other, and by gazing upon you we shall not diminish the grief but rather increase it. Go now in the peace of Christ: you shall not see our face again in mortal flesh, as we reckon. We have omitted nothing, but have commended to your faith all that we bore in mind. Only send these gifts to our soul, that you diligently commit this place to your memory. The Emperor, proceeding thence, traversed other cities of the region of Thuringia, and then went again to Rome, with his son accompanying him.

CHAPTER VI

Death foreseen: illness, death, and burial.

[28] Now the hour approached, mournful to many, in which God willed the soul of the renowned Queen to be released from the prison of the flesh, to receive the reward of her labor and the glory of eternal recompense. Throughout the entire year she labored under a grave illness, but nevertheless she went around to the royal residences, she visits the monasteries, although her bodily strength was failing. When, moreover, she had traversed the cities of the region of Saxony and had provided all necessities to each monastery, she again went to the city of Nordhausen, especially Nordhausen, which she loved exceedingly, to see Richburg, whom she had recently appointed as Abbess. As soon as she arrived, she ordered her to be summoned, asking many questions about the congregation committed to her. Then she herself entered the monastery and diligently investigated with what study of discipline each one had been trained. For from the time she first built a monastery, she always had this custom, that she herself would enter the school and intently learn the progress of each: because this was

a most pleasing gift to her, to see or hear of anyone's progress. Then she stayed in the same city from the time of autumn until the feast of the Nativity of Christ. After the solemnity of the holy Apostle Thomas she again summoned the Abbess to her and had this conversation with her: O you who have always been faithful to us, she predicts her death to the Abbess and announces her departure, and most conscious of our labors, we now recognize from the frequency of our illness that the day of our dissolution is approaching us; and therefore it is expedient for us to hasten our journey hence, lest the last day of the present life overtake us here. The Abbess, in response, at first kept silence from sobbing and tears, and shortly after spoke thus: O lovable Lady, what does this prophecy mean? Why do you predict so sad an evil to us, or to whom do you leave us desolate? For we hope, with God being propitious, that nothing of this sort will yet happen. But since it is doubtful where your illness may tend, we humbly ask you to remain here for some time, until we see whether, by God's gift, your illness may be alleviated, so that, if the grave misfortune should occur that death, envious of our salvation, should deprive us of your life, at least we may breathe with this consolation, that in this place your beloved body may rest with us. that she may die at Quedlinburg. Then the Queen, beloved of God, gave this response: These things have long since been thought over by us, and how greatly it would have pleased us for our body to be buried in this place, if it had been predestined by God, so that the care of our sons Otto and our other grandchildren toward you would have been greater. But we greatly fear that this will not be consented to, because our Lord Henry rests in Quedlinburg, beside whom we must be committed to burial and await the last day. Now, however, if our death should occur in this place, your spirit will be more grievously distressed, and the calumny of contempt will be inflicted upon you, she gives final admonitions, if the dead body is taken from you against your will. These reasons therefore admonish us to hasten our journey hence. What more? Always love God, and do not admit any lover besides him, but always attend with your whole mind to his service. Be watchful in prayer and persevering in your holy purpose. Be mindful of the souls for whom we established this monastery, and also of our grandchildren still living in mortal life, and also make mention of us: for you will see no one hereafter more kindly disposed toward you. We commend you to God, the Father of orphans, and to the holy Virgin Mary and to the intercessions of the Saints, whose relics we have placed here. Let not your heart be troubled, but in hope reach out toward God; for although we may be absent in body, yet in love we shall always be present to you.

[29] Therefore the Queen, beloved of God, departed from the city of Nordhausen on December 22, and left the greatest sorrow for the nuns dwelling there, whom she had always loved with a mother's love: because they would never again see her in this mortal body, she who was their honor, joy, glory, and ornament. Then she hastened to Quedlinburg, where God had preordained that her holy soul should be released from the prison of the flesh: and there, seized by an extreme illness, she was sick until the day of her death. As the day of dissolution drew near, she ordered the above-mentioned Abbess Richburg to be summoned to her, to whom all her secrets were then best known, so that she might await the day of her death there and faithfully minister in her final moments as before. the sick Queen receives the Archbishop of Mainz, Sensing, moreover, that the last day was coming to her, the holy Lady distributed to Bishops and Priests all the funds she had not yet devoted to the benefit of the poor, and divided them with generous hand among the monasteries; storing in her memory what the Gospel Scripture commands: Sell all that you have and give to the poor. Luke 18:22 When therefore an innumerable multitude assembled to visit the ailing Queen; there came also William, Archbishop of the See of Mainz, and although by God's command he was to undergo death first, nevertheless he approached the holy woman of God to minister words of consolation; about to die, he visited one about to die, and unaware of his own death, he consoled one who was to survive him but a short time. The blessed Queen, when she saw the Bishop, received him with a cheerful face and a most familiar greeting: We have no doubt, she said, that you are now directed to us; for no one could be more familiar to us and more acceptable for this task; since we had taken up this hope that our beloved son Bruno would remain as a survivor until he should see our last moments and commit our body to the earth. Now, however, first hear our confession, and grant us remission, through the power which has been given to you by God and St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and she confesses her sins to him, then enter the church and sing Mass for our sins and negligences; moreover, for the soul of our Lord King Henry and for all faithful Christians, living and dead. When the confession was completed, the Bishop entered the church, fulfilling all that the Queen had desired. When Mass was finished, he again entered the chamber and repeatedly gave her remission of sins. she receives the last Sacraments: Afterwards he anointed her with sacred Oil and refreshed her with the most holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ. Then he remained there for three days, because he believed her death was imminent. On the fourth day, however, when he understood that the day of dissolution had not yet arrived, he approached the ailing Queen and asked leave to depart, lamenting with inconsolable weeping, because he perceived that her infirmity was by no means being relieved; but, if the harshness of grief should grant any respite to his mind, he ought not to grieve but rather to rejoice; because the soul of the holy woman of God, about to depart from the body, is believed to arrive from labor at rest. The holy Lady and the Bishop conversed between themselves about very many things which are too lengthy to enumerate.

[30] Meanwhile the Queen summoned to her the Abbess Richburg, asking whether anything remained that she could give to the Bishop. She, responding, said: What can remain for you, most dear to God? [she gives to him, as one about to die before her, the cloths set aside for her own burial:] All your possessions have been distributed for the needs of the poor. But she said: Where are the palls which we ordered to be hidden away for our burial? Let them be presented to us, so that they may be given to our grandson as a pledge of love: for he needs these before us, as we think, because he is about to begin a most difficult journey: for it is always doubtful which way the condition of unstable fortune may turn, or to what labors it may wretchedly drag men. Moreover, when our death shall have occurred, this proverb can be fulfilled in us, which is commonly spoken by the lips of the people: kinsmen often find both the wedding garment and the mourning garment. Meanwhile, while the Queen was speaking these things, the Abbess came bringing the palls: and she, receiving them, gave them to the Bishop and said: Let these gifts be a memorial of us. And when the Bishop had received these, he gave thanks and, blessing her, withdrew. Turning, however, to the bystanders, he spoke thus in silence: We are heading hence to Raduluerothe, and we leave behind one of our clerics here, so that if the death of our Lady should occur, he may quickly return to us and announce it, that we may come again and commit the body to the earth with fitting honor. The Queen, however, raising her head, as if the Bishop had said these things to her: It is not necessary, she said, for him to be left here, but rather let him travel with you: you need him more in the company of your journey. Go in the peace of Christ, wherever his will has decreed. she knows of his sudden death: The Bishop, proceeding thence to Raduluerothe and there taking a medicinal potion, died a sudden death. Messengers, however, going thence, reported these things at Quedlinburg. When, moreover, all were doubtful how these things might be reported to the Queen, lest the severity of her illness be increased, the venerable handmaid of Christ, as if illuminated by the spirit of prophecy, said with a tearful smile: Why are you murmuring among yourselves? And why do you desire to conceal a sad evil from us? For we know that Bishop William has departed from this world, and this is a great addition to our illness: order the church bells to be rung and the poor to be gathered, that they may receive alms which may intercede with God for his soul. After this she drew the breath of mortal life for twelve more days.

[31] On Holy Saturday, however, on which the handmaid of Christ was about to depart from the world, as soon as she perceived the dawn breaking, she admonished all who were sleeping with her in the chamber to rise from sleep, to summon the Priests and nuns and to do what needed to be done. When therefore an innumerable multitude of both sexes assembled, the holy woman of God ordered no one to be forbidden entry. she gives admonitions to Priests and nuns, Therefore, when all had entered, she instructed them with salutary admonitions, saying: Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling: embrace discipline, lest the Lord be angry and you perish from the just way; turn away from evil and do good, so that in the last hour your souls may be snatched from the snares of the devil, and eternal rewards may be granted to you by God. After this she commanded all to go out in the peace of Christ, except those who were needed to minister to her. Then and to her granddaughter the Abbess: she summoned to her her little granddaughter, the Abbess Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto, giving her salutary admonitions, to be pious and humble, prudent and cautious, to guard the flock committed to her, and rarely to leave the monastery, lest, given over to secular things, she be impeded from the service of Christ. She also gave her a computarium, in which the names of deceased nobles were written. She commended to her the soul of her Lord King Henry, and commended her own, and of all the faithful whose memory she recalled. Finally, however, the Abbess Richburg came forward sadly, and with bended knee upon the ground she tearfully embraced the Queen's feet, saying thus: My dearest Lady, to whom do you leave the desolate congregation, over which you have established me as an unworthy Abbess: for it is difficult to guard the flock committed, because your support will be absent. The holy Queen, moved by these words, said: We commend you to the supreme Defender: we do not leave you to strangers but to our son Otto and to our other grandchildren. But she said: We are uncertain, Lady, which way their mind may turn. When therefore the Abbess was weeping bitterly and seeking words of consolation, the Queen, desiring to soften her grief, said: she consoles the weeping one: Where should our hope be directed, where our mind guided, except to God? Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you. Luke 12:31 We believe that our son Otto, not unmindful of his former promise, will provide you with consolation. Whoever, however, tears apart or diminishes by unjust despoliation the ecclesiastical property delivered on our part for your needs, let him consider what he shall answer: but on the other hand, whoever fortifies or increases it, may he receive from God a worthy reward in faithful recompense.

[32] After these words she commanded the Priests and nuns to approach more closely, to hear her confession having received the sacred Eucharist, and to ask God for remission on her behalf. Which being done, she ordered Mass to be celebrated and the body

of Christ to be brought to her, so that through the communion of the sacred mystery she might more safely escape the harm of the crafty enemy. making the sign of the Cross on a hairshirt and ashes, she dies. When all these things had been duly performed, she admonished those standing by her to chant the Psalms watchfully and to read the Gospel until her soul should depart from the body by God's command. After this she uttered no word, but with her eyes raised and her hands outstretched, she directed her mind and spirit toward heaven. As the ninth hour drew near, she ordered a hairshirt to be placed on the ground and her dying body to be laid upon it, with her own hands placing ashes upon her head: It is not fitting, she said, for a Christian to die except on a hairshirt and in ashes. Then, fortifying herself with the sign of the holy Cross, she fell asleep in the Lord in peace and rest on March 14. As far as could be most carefully ascertained, the soul of the holy woman of God departed from the body at that very hour of the day at which she had always been accustomed to refresh the poor in the name of the Lord during the days of Lent.

When, moreover, they had washed the body and brought it to the church, messengers arrived from Queen Gerberga, the daughter of the venerable Lady Matilda, bearing a pall interwoven with gold, suitable for covering the coffin. Then the prophecy of the chosen handmaid of Christ was fulfilled in all things, both concerning the departure of Archbishop William and the mourning garment.

[33] Therefore they buried the body in the basilica of St. Servatius, beside the sepulcher of King Henry, with great honor, where she herself had decreed to rest and to await the day of judgment. and is buried, She departed from the body, noble in birth, more noble in character and sanctity, old and full of days, leaving a good example to all her posterity. For she had led her present life with honor, and departed from the world with honor, and whatever she had lived temporally, she brought to completion in good works. For she is not to be believed dead, to whom, as is hoped, the crown of justice has been restored: to be numbered among the saints, because living temporally, she desired all to be saved and none of the flock of Christ to perish. In the progress of each person she was joyful, in adversity, however, very sad: toward all she was pious and compassionate, except toward vices, to which not compassion but rectitude is owed. The festivities of many Saints are celebrated in the church, whose merits she does not fall short of, as we hope, and from whose company she will not be separated in eternal blessedness. Truly she had been a worthy temple in which the Lord had dwelt, chastened by fasts, refreshed by prayers, cleansed by purity. But what can be worthily said of her praise? Let the Lord be praised in her, and she in the Lord: for he himself is her praise, whose praise never departed from her lips: to whom is honor and glory, beauty and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

ON BLESSED ARNALD, ABBOT, AT PADUA IN ITALY.

FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.

A.D. 1254.

Arnald, Abbot, at Padua in Italy (B.)

[1] Concerning the illustrious monastery of St. Justina, the Paduan Virgin and Martyr, which the sacred Order of St. Benedict held for many centuries and which gave the beginning to recalling a great portion of that Order throughout Italy to the primitive vigor of the institute, In the church of St. Justina of Padua, whence the Congregation of St. Justina also received its name: concerning this, I say, monastery, Bernardinus Scardeonius, writing about it, says: Here rest the bodies of the Saints, of the blessed Justina, blessed Prosdocimus, blessed Maximus, the blessed Urius, Rainaldus and blessed Jacoba, three Innocents and the bones of innumerable Martyrs. Which venerable relics, concealed through various calamities of public or private affairs, were finally, translation of relics in the year 1562, two years after Scardeonius had published this at Basel in a second edition in the year 1560, brought to light and carried in a celebrated procession through the city, as may be seen more fully in Arnold Wion, part 2 of the Lignum Vitae, book 3, at this day: for from that time the entire Benedictine Congregation had this day enrolled among the feasts of the Order, as the Cassinese Breviaries testify, and from them Ferrarius, Menard, Dorgany, and Bucelin: but all have, in place of blessed Jacoba, unknown to the entire Paduan history, St. Felicitas to be commemorated on March 26: and in place of Rainald, Abbot Arnald: preceded by Wion in these words: At Padua, the translation of the holy Arnald the Abbot, Urius the monk, Felicitas the Virgin, and others: he who is here called Urius, however, is in more ancient documents called Julian. The feast of St. Justina is observed on October 7, of St. Prosdocimus on November 7, of St. Maximus on August 2, and on the 17th of this month, among which the body of Blessed Arnald, on which day the birthday of blessed Urius recurs, we shall treat of the finding and canonization of certain of these, erroneously extended by Arnold Wion through Leo IX to this blessed Arnald: whose birthday since it is nowhere found, we shall assign to him in particular this day of the Translation which is common to all. Scardeonius treats of him at greater length on the cited folio 119, after treating of blessed Jordan Forzateo, who suffered under the tyranny of Ezzelino, in the year of Christ 1208, on August 7, who was himself Abbot there, when his commemoration is observed with the greatest veneration in the church of St. Benedict. We present here the words of Scardeonius.

[2] There follows, equal to Jordan in the discipline of life and the distress of calamities, blessed Arnold, Abbot of St. Justina: a man, as they say, for all seasons, and equally vigorous in both private and public affairs: who, although he was distinguished by his noble family of Catanea and the royal stock of the Counts of Limina, yet shone far more by the virtue of his mind and the sanctity of his life than by the distinction of his birth. He, being esteemed so noble and dear to all, obtained from the Republic of Padua, for the benefit of the monks, a canal to be dug beside the monastery over which he presided, and in it a mill constructed with wondrous skill. Afterwards, however, when the Republic was oppressed, fleeing the tyranny of Ezzelino, a fugitive under the tyranny of Ezzelino, he first went to Este, then to Ravenna; fearing lest what had happened to Jordan and to many other religious men might happen to him: and there, secretly withdrawing himself from all acquaintances, he lay hidden until the arrival of Emperor Frederick: whom he humbly approached at Monselice and followed his court for two months. Finally, through the intercession of the Duke of Saxony, he was restored to both his abbey and his former honor. and worn down by eight years of imprisonment. But when the insatiable and impious avarice of the tyrant could not endure the loss of so great revenues, as soon as the Emperor had departed in the year 1246, Arnold was dragged captive into prison and grievously afflicted in chains at Asolo, which is a town of the Trevisan district: where, patiently enduring chains and prison for eight years, he finally departed, freed, to the Lord, in the year of salvation 1254, in the seventieth year of his age: and continuing until that age in virginity (which happens to very few indeed), in the year 1254 he is buried with two Abbots who were his kinsmen, he was distinguished in every kind of virtue. Rightly therefore we call him Blessed, and mingle him among the number of Martyrs. He was buried in the basilica of St. Justina; so that where he had not found rest while alive, at least when dead he might rest: moreover, he was placed in the same chest in which two other Abbots of the same family and the same monastery, James and Odoricus, lay: where this epitaph is read:

The renowned house of Limina, once bearing royal insignia, Produced the Abbots whom this urn covers, two.

Christ, I pray, may your light illuminate James in the open heaven: And may Odoricus likewise be above the stars.

[3] to be elevated when the Republic was pacified. It is credible that the burial was only temporary, and that when tranquility was restored to the republic, a separate monument was erected for him as a Martyr who had merited special religious veneration, or that his bones were duly translated into a reliquary, which in the year 1562 happened to be found with the bodies of other Saints, but not with the aforesaid James and Odoricus.