Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter, or Hartlefsdotter, also called Gerdica (1370–1438), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Bridgettine The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (; abbreviated OSsS), is a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta (Bridg ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

. She was the abbess of

Vadstena Abbey 250px, Aerial view The Abbey Pax Mariae (), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, is situated on Lake Vättern in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm and is a monastery of nuns within the Bridgettine Order. It was active from 134 ...

from 1403 until 1422.

Life

Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter was the daughter of Hartlev Bolk (d.1390) and Ingeborg (d. 1400) from

Skänninge Skänninge () is a locality situated in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 3,140 inhabitants in 2010. It lies about 10 km north of the municipal seat Mjölby. Before the local government reform in 1971, the ''City of Sk ...

. Her mother became a member of Vadstena Abbey as a widow. Gerdeka, when abbess, had her father reburied in the abbey graveyard when it became permitted for non-members of the order to be buried there. Gerdeka was elected abbess in 1403 after the deposition of her predecessor

Ingegerd Knutsdotter Ingegerd Knutsdotter (1356 – September 14, 1412) was a Swedish nun and noble, the first official abbess of the Bridgettine Abbey of Vadstena in 1385/88–1403. Life Ingegerd Knutsdotter was the daughter of Märtha (Margareta) Ulfsdotter and ...

. Her reign has been described as a golden age for the abbey. In 1406, she received a delegation from England headed by

Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh ( – 11 January 1425) of Ravensworth Castle in North Yorkshire, was an administrator and diplomat who served under Kings Henry IV and Henry V. Origins FitzHugh was the first son of Hugh FitzHugh, 2nd Baron ...

, for the purpose of creating a daughter abbey of the Bridgettine order in England. In 1415, she completed the negotiations, and at the wish of the English King sent the nuns Anna Karlsdotter, Christina Finwitsdotter, Christina Esbjörnsdotter and Anna Esbjörnsdotter to England with great festivities, escorted by all the bishops of Sweden, the archbishop and a bishop from Norway, as well as several ambassadors, to found

Syon Abbey Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cent ...

in England. In 1419, Vadstena was subjected to an investigation after rumors that not only the abbess Gerdica but also the nuns had received male guests in private and accepted gifts from them.Frans Oscar Vågman: Vreta Kloster. Historik jämte vägledning vid besök i Vreta klosters kyrka och dess omgifning. Stockholm, P. A. Norstedt & Sönders Förlag (1904) Gerdeka resigned from her position for health reasons on 27 April 1422.

References

Sources

* Syster Patricia, OSsS 2003: ”Vadstena klosters abbedissor”. I: Beskow, Per & Annette Landen (red.) Birgitta av Vadstena. Pilgrim och profet 1303–1373.

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with its head office in Stockholm. It is known for an extensive series of teaching materials, and its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan H ...

, Stockholm. p. 297–314. * Tore Nyberg: Birgitta, hendes værk og hendes klostre i Norden (1991)
Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor /
* https://archive.org/stream/MN5063ucmf_4/MN5063ucmf_4_djvu.txt * https://archive.org/stream/MN42054ucmf_3/MN42054ucmf_3_djvu.txt
Historiskt bibliotek utgifvet af Carl Silfverstolpe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartlevsdotter, Gerdeka 1437 deaths 1370 births Bridgettine nuns Swedish Roman Catholic abbesses 15th-century Swedish nuns 14th-century Swedish nuns