Richardis von Stade (1124(?) – 29 October 1152) was a German nun and

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 ...

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 Bassum Abbey. She was a member of the Udonids family as the daughter of

Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark Rudolf I (died 7 December 1124), Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade, son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Rudolf was the brother of his pred ...

and Richardis; and the sister of

Hartwig, Count of Stade Hartwig (1118 – October 1168), Count of Stade and Archbishop of Bremen, son of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Richardis, daughter of Hermann von Sponheim, Burgrave of Magdeburg. Hartwig became the last Count of Stade belonging to the Hou ...

and

Archbishop of Bremen This list records the bishops of the Archdiocese of Bremen, Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (), supposedly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops ...

, and

Lutgard of Salzwedel Lutgard of Salzwedel or ''Liutgard/Luitgard of Stade'', (b. , murdered 1152) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric III. Life Lutgard was born to Richardis, Countess of Sponheim-Lavanttal, and Count Rudolf I of Stade and Ditmarsh (d. ...

Queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Adelheid and Udo."Stade, Richardis von (d. 1152)." In ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages'', edited by Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, 1773. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Yorkin Publications, 2007. ''Gale eBooks'' (accessed April 22, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2588822163/GVRL?u=ed_itw&sid=GVRL&xid=109f1e60 . She is best known for her intimate friendship with

Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner ...

Friendship with Hildegard von Bingen

Richardis spent many of her early years as the secretary and advisor to Hildegard von Bingen at the abbeys of

Disibodenberg Disibodenberg () is a monastery ruin near Staudernheim in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was founded on the eponymous hill near the convergence of the Glan (Nahe), Glan and the Nahe (Rhine), Nahe rivers by Saint Disibod. Hildegard of Bingen, who ...

and

Rupertsberg Saint Bertha of Bingen (German: ''Heilige Berta'', died ) was the mother of Rupert of Bingen. Her biography was written, and subsequently her cult popularized, by Hildegard of Bingen, who lived in the same region, about four hundred years later. ...

, where she edited, translated, and compiled

Scivias ''Scivias'' is an illustrated work by Hildegard von Bingen, completed in 1151 or 1152, describing 26 religious visions she experienced. It is the first of three works that she wrote describing her visions, the others being and (also known as ) ...

, Hildegard's first publication of visionary writings. In 1151, she was elected abbess of Bassum Abbey, much to Hildegard's displeasure. In a letter to Richardis' Mother, she writes that it is "certainly not God's will" for Richardis to be moved from her abbey. Despite a long series of letters from Hildegard to increasingly important people, Richardis was eventually moved. A year later, Count Hartwig sent a letter to Hildegard notifying her of Richardis' death. In her reply, Hildegard wrote that she "cherished ichardiswith divine love".

In Popular Culture

In Margarethe von Trotta's '' Vision (2009)'' Richardis was portrayed by Hannah Hertzsprung.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995850/

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stade, Richardis von 1152 deaths 12th-century German abbesses 1124 births Hildegard of Bingen 12th-century German nobility