Irmgard of Chiemsee (german: Selige Irmgard, also ''Irmengard''; – 16 July 866), a member of the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pi ...

, was the second daughter of King

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the Pi ...

and his wife

Hemma Emma of Altdorf, also known as Hemma ( – 31 January 876), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was Queen consort of East Francia by marriage to King Louis the German, from 843 until her death. Life Her father was Welf I (d. 825), Count of A ...

. She was the first

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of Frauenwörth abbey from 857 until her death.

Life

Born at King Louis' court in Regensburg,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, young Irmgard, like her sisters, was destined for a monastic life. She was raised at the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

abbey of

Buchau Bochov (german: Buchau) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Číhaná, Dlouhá Lomnice, Herstošice, Hlineč, Javorná, Jesínky, Koz ...

in Swabia, whose estates she later received from the hands of her father. She was known for her comprehensive education About 850 Louis appointed Irmgard abbess of Frauenwörth, which had been founded by the last Agilolfing duke

Tassilo III of Bavaria Tassilo III ( 741 – c. 796) was the duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. The Son of Duke Odilo of Bavaria and Hitrud, the Daughter of Charles Martell. Tassilo, then still a child, began his rule as a Frank ...

in 782 and held the status of an

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

since 788. During her leadership the decayed premises were restored and the former chapter for noble ladies developed into a Benedictine

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

. Since she was of Imperial descent, the incumbent abbess of Frauenwörth had the right to wear a thin golden hoop, resembling a little crown.

Veneration

Irmgard was already venerated in the early 11th century, when abbot Gerhard had her head reliquary

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Seeon Abbey in 1004. However, she was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to Intercession of saints, intercede on behalf of individua ...

only on 17 July 1929 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fr ...

, on initiative of

Cardinal Faulhaber Michael Cardinal ''Ritter'' von Faulhaber (5 March 1869 – 12 June 1952) was a German Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Munich for 35 years, from 1917 to his death in 1952. Created Cardinal in 1921, von Faulhaber criticized the We ...

. Her relics were re-unified during a festive ceremony in 2003. Irmengard's

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

is 16 July. In Frauenchiemsee, ''Irmengardstag'' is celebrated the Sunday nearest to 16 July. In paintings Irmgard is portrayed in a Benedictine habit either crowned with Bible and abbot's staff or with heart in her hand.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irmgard of Chiemsee 830s births 866 deaths Year of birth uncertain German beatified people Benedictine nuns Women of medieval Germany Carolingian dynasty Women from the Carolingian Empire Christian saints Consecrated virgins