Irmgard of Chiemsee (, 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 Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

, was the second daughter of King

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

and his wife

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

. She was the first

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of Frauenwörth abbey from 857 until her death.

Life

Born at King Louis' court in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

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 ...

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

abbey of

Buchau Bochov () is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Bochov consists of 17 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): * ...

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 ...

, 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 The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...

duke

Tassilo III of Bavaria Tassilo – also spelled Thassilo – is a male name of West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic langua ...

in 782 and held the status of an

Imperial abbey Princely abbeys (, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of imperial immediacy (''Reichsunmittelbarke ...

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 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 ...

. 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 ...

Seeon Abbey Seeon Abbey () is a former Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Seeon-Seebruck in the rural district of Traunstein (district), Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. History Seeon Abbey was founded in 994 by the Duchy of Ba ...

in 1004. However, she was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

only on 17 July 1929 by

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

, on initiative of Cardinal Faulhaber. 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 inc ...

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 Consecrated virgins