𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟒 • 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦

𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓

Matilda was the daughter of Count Dietrich of Westphalia and Reinhild of Denmark. She was also known as Mechtildis and Maud. She was raised by her grandmother, the Abbess of Eufurt convent. Matilda married Henry the Fowler, son of Duke Otto of Saxony, in the year 909. He succeeded his father as Duke in the year 912 and in 919 succeeded King Conrad I to the German throne. She was noted for her piety and charitable works. She was widowed in the year 936, and supported her son Henry’s claim to his father’s throne. When her son Otto (the Great) was elected, she persuaded him to name Henry Duke of Bavaria after he had led an unsuccessful revolt. She was severely criticized by both Otto and Henry for what they considered her extravagant charities. She resigned her inheritance to her sons, and retired to her country home but was called to the court through the intercession of Otto’s wife, Edith. When Henry again revolted, Otto put down the insurrection in the year 941 with great cruelty. Matilda censored Henry when he began another revolt against Otto in the year 953 and for his ruthlessness in suppressing a revolt by his own subjects; at that time she prophesized his imminent death. When he did die in 955, she devoted herself to building three convents and a monastery, was left in charge of the kingdom when Otto went to Rome in 962 to be crowned Emperor (often regarded as the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire), and spent most of the declining years of her life at the convent at Nordhausen she had built. She died at the monastery at Quedlinburg on March 14 and was buried there with Henry. Her feast day is March 14th.

𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑

𝘖 𝘎𝘖𝘋, 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘢 𝘦𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩:𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯.