Hildegard (abbess)

Hildegard (828-December 23 856 or 859), was the daughter of Louis the German, Carolingian king of East Francia, and his wife Hemma. She was the abbess of Fraumünster, an abbey founded by her father.

Fresco by Paul Bodmer in the abbey of Fraumünster showing the two daughters of Louis the German

Biography

Hildegard was the eldest child of Louis the German and the countess Hemma, born a year after their marriage.

Interior view of Fraumünster showing a reprsentation of the legend of the founding of the abbey.

In 844, she became the abbess of Münsterschwarzach in Bavaria, the Eigenkloster of the Carolingian court, founded in 780. On June 21, 853, Louis the German founded the abbey at Fraumünster, placing his daughter Hildegard as the abbess, while her younger sister Bertha succeeded her as abbess of Münsterschwarzach.

According to legend, the two sisters were living a cloistered life together at Baldern Castle. While travelling to Zurich to pray at the chapel of Saints Felix and Regula, they saw a deer with lighted antlers, who led them through the forest to a location beside the River Limmat. The sisters took this as a sign from God that a church was to be built at that location, and Louis the German obeyed this divine invitation. What is historically certain is that an abbey had been recently founded at Fraumünster, and this abbey with its considerable property and right to autonomous jurisdiction was entrusted to Hildegard.

Hildegard died December 23, 856 (some sources say 859). As before, her sister Bertha succeeded her as abbess of Fraumünster.

References

• (in German) Gerhard Hartmann, Karl Schnith (Hrsg.), Die Kaiser. 1200 Jahre Europäische Geschichte. Marixverlag, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-86539-074-9, S. 70.
• (in German) Peter Vogelsanger, Zürich und sein Fraumünster. Eine elfhundertjährige Geschichte (853–1956). NZZ Libro, Zürich 1994, ISBN 3-85823-515-6.