Gailana or Geilana (7th century – fl. 689) was a duchess consort of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

by her respective marriages to brothers Hedan I and .Wendehorst A. Kilian //Neue Deutsche Biographie(NDB). - Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1977. - Bd. 11. - S. 603. -. She reportedly ruled as duchess regnant after the death of her spouse in 689. She was first married to Heden I and, upon his death in 687, to his brother and successor Gozbert. She was the mother of Hedan II. She is known from the hagiography of

Saint Kilian Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ; , original Gaelic form Ceallach), was an Ireland, Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (now the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter half ...

. During her second marriage, Kilian came to the duchy as a Christian missionary, converting Gozbert to Christianity. Geilana, however, preferred to remain faithful to

Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the Bri ...

. Kilian then demanded that Gozbert divorce Geilana, since their marriage was not legal in accordance to the Christian view of kinship. When Gozbert left for military campaign warfare, Gayala had Kilian assassinated in Gozbert's absence with the support of the pagan courtiers, who resented Killian's ambition to control their lives. According to the hagiography, Geilana became mentally ill after the murder. A pagan reaction resulted in the death of Gozbert shortly after and forced Hedan II to flee. Other sources claim that Geilana ruled as duchess regnant (689). Sometime later Hedan returned as an adult and took over (before 704).

References

{{Authority control 7th-century duchesses consort Germanic pagans 7th-century Frankish women Thuringian nobility Thuringian women Duchesses in Germany 7th-century women monarchs 7th-century monarchs