Theophanu was the abbess of the convents of

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...

and Gerresheim from 1039 until her death in 1058. She was the daughter of Matilda of Germany and a granddaughter of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

princess

Theophanu Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor O ...

and the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy ...

. During her abbacy, Theophanu was responsible for a number of artistic and architectural commissions, including the renovation of the west end of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

church to reflect the design of the famous octagonal Aachen Chapel. She donated several lavish

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...

s, including the Theophanu Gospels (now in the Essen Cathedral Treasury) and the Cross of Theophanu.Falk, Birgitta, et al. Der Essener Domschatz. Essen: Klartext, 2009.

References

External links

Rheinische Geschichte: ''Theophanu (um 997–1058), Äbtissin von Essen und Gerresheim (1039–1056)''

Webpage of the Essen cathedral treasury for the cross nail reliquary
{{Authority control 1058 deaths Abbesses of Essen