Diemoth (latinised as Diemudus, Diemut, Diemud, Diemuth, Diemod or Diemudis) was a

recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin , which means 'to open' or 'disclose'. Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permissio ...

Wessobrunn Abbey Wessobrunn Abbey (Kloster Wessobrunn) was a Benedictine monastery near Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany. It is celebrated as the home of the famous Wessobrunn Prayer and also of a Baroque school of stucco workers and plasterers in the 18th century. ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, born around 1060 and died on 30 March, probably in 1130. She worked on 45 manuscripts from 1075 to 1130. Her name comes from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

word for "humility" or "modesty")

Life and works

Little is known about Diemoth's private life. Most of the available information is based on a sixteenth-century biographer. Much of this must be considered embellished legend rather than fact. According to the traditional version, she was born of a noble

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n or

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n family, and while still a child entered the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

nunnery A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

connected with the Benedictine monastery of

Wessobrunn Wessobrunn is a municipality in the district of Weilheim-Schongau in Bavaria in Germany. Paterzell airfield Paterzell airfield is located in Wessobrunn.The titles are given by Becker in his "Catalogi bibliothecarum antiqui" (Bonn 1885), pp. 155-136. of which the most important are: the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

; the ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' (Latin for "Morals", "Customs" or "Mores"; , ''Ethiká'') is a set of essays ascribed to the 1st-century scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea. The eclectic collection contains 78 essays and transcribed speeches. They provide insigh ...

'' and other works of Saint

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

; seven works of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

; four of

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

; two of

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

; and about fifteen liturgical works. Diemoth was a great friend of the Blessed Herluka with whom she exchanged numerous letters while the latter was a recluse at the neighbouring monastery of

Epfach Epfach is a village and former municipality () located on the left bank of Lech, in the municipality of Denklingen in the Upper Bavarian District of Landsberg, Bavaria, Germany. History Around 14 BCE there was, near the present village, on th ...

. The letters were long preserved at the monastery of

Bernried Bernried is a municipality in the district of Deggendorf in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the A ...

where Herluka spent the last years of her life, but they unhappily fell prey to the ravages of the forces of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

during the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. A few of Diemoth's manuscripts are still preserved at the

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central "State libraries of Germany, Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest u ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where they were taken after the secularisation of Wessobrunn in 1803. Diemoth was buried in the basilica of Our Lady at Wessobrunn, beside the bodies of Abbot Thiento and his six companions, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

in 955. In 1709 her remains were transferred to the abbey church of St. Peter. She is sometimes referred to as "Blessed," though she has never received public veneration and was never formally beatified.

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control 1060s births 1130s deaths Benedictine nuns German manuscript illuminators Romanesque artists Medieval European scribes German scribes German women artists Women calligraphers 12th-century women artists Medieval German women artists 12th-century German artists 11th-century German women writers 11th-century German nuns 12th-century German women writers 11th-century writers in Latin 12th-century writers in Latin