Irmgard von Süchteln

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Saint Irmgard in the midst of the needy
Haus Aspel monastery near Rees
Irmgardiskapelle with a fountain on the Heiligenberg in Viersen-Süchteln
Irmgardiskapelle , view of the west side
Icon of Irmgard of Cologne ( Holy Virgin Irmgardis of Zutphen , patron saint of addicts, pray for us and the fatherland. 16th century)

Irmgard von Süchteln (also: von Köln / von Aspel / von Zutphen ; * before 1013 on Haus Aspel near Rees ; † in February 1064/1065 or on September 4th between 1082 and 1089) is mainly in Süchteln near Viersen and in House Aspel venerated as a saint near Rees. Her first name Irmgard is attested in many variants, including Irm (in) garda, Erm (en) gardis, Irmtraud, Irmentruth or [Y / E] rmenthrudis .

Sources and hagiography

The dates and circumstances of Irmgard's life are unclear, as the legendary tradition does not allow any reliable conclusions.

Among other things, the following is documented:

  • the existence of Countess Irmingardis in 1013
  • an imperial deed of donation to Irmingardis in 1041
  • the deed of donation from Countess Irmintrudis from 1075, in which she transfers the Rees provost to the Archdiocese of Cologne
  • a legend according to which Irmingardis lived as a hermit in the forest with Süchteln

In Stadler's Lexicon of Saints, one reads: “She has distinguished herself particularly through her hard-working charity and her rare piety. Her devotions moved her three times to take a trip to Rome to the tombs of the apostles, where each time she was presented with many relics of holy martyrs. Among other things, it should be part of the head of St. Pope Sylvester I. brought it to Cologne and gave it to the cathedral church in which she was buried after her death. "

Historically, not the slightest thing can be secured from the legend, in particular the New Year's Eve relics were not removed from Rome.

Attempts to reconstruct the biography (s)

While older church documents from the 12th century increasingly assumed that there was only one benevolent person whose names were to be equated, several attempts at reconstruction have been made in recent research that assume up to three people: an older Irmgard (von Aspel), a younger Irmgard (from Süchteln), and a sister Irmtrud (from Aspel). The ecumenical encyclopedia of saints assumes the donor / mother Irmgard and the pilgrim / daughter Irmtrud as two distinguishable persons whose legends are strongly mixed; Klaus-Gunther Wesseling , on the other hand, rejected the “constructed demarcation” between the countess / donor Irmgard and the virgin / pilgrim Irmgard: it was therefore only one person.

The Castle Aspel was built in the 10th century by Richizo of Aspel, the nephew of the Archbishop of Cologne Wichfrid . Richizo's son Godizo von Aspel inherited these facilities; he died around the year 1011/1012; his widow, unknown by name, around 1022. The birth of their daughter Irmgard is believed to have been around 1002. She is said to have married Count Kadelo between 1020 and 1030, this marriage remained childless. She was able to manage a large fortune and lived in Cologne, where she is said to have been a benefactor for the poor in the city. She donated a church in Haldern and founded the collegiate monastery in Rees. She was buried in Cologne Cathedral ; In 1319 her bones were transferred to the Agnes chapel in the new choir.

After a reconstruction, Countess Irmgard von Aspel died in the spring of 1064/1065. Her younger sister Irmtrud von Aspel made the donation from Rees to the archbishopric in 1075. One of Irmtrud's daughters was the later hermit Irmgard von Süchteln, who is said to have undertaken the three pilgrimages to Rome.

According to another reconstruction, the elder Irmgard von Aspel was an only child. As a distant cousin of Emperor Heinrich III. He gave her several estates in 1041, which after her death in 1065 passed into the possession of her daughters Irmtrud and Irmgard. The daughter Irmtrud made the donation to the archbishopric in 1075; the daughter Irmgard went on pilgrimages to Rome and became a hermit.

Another interpretation of the sources indicates that it was a question of a single person, to whom legends regarding hermitages and pilgrimages were made; only one of the death dates (around 1065 or around / after 1080) could be correct; the transfer of the estates to the Archdiocese of Cologne took place "after 1040".

Worship and commemoration

In 1142, Archbishop Arnold of Cologne appealed to the donation from Rees and mentioned Irmtrudis in a document as christianissima mulier , the “most Christian (wife) woman”. Another document from the Cologne Cathedral Chapter from 1319 recorded Yrmetrudis as the donor of charitable gifts. In this document from 1319 Irmtrudis is referred to as "holy" for the first time. In the 14th and 15th centuries she was widely venerated as beate Ernitrudis (blessed Irmtrud). At the end of the 15th century, the chronicler Willem van Berchen reported that Irmgard Süchteln bequeathed a monastery in 1071. At the same time the veneration of St. Irmgardis begins in Süchteln; while the name Irmtrudis was suppressed. In 1523 a German-language legend of the saints was printed in Cologne under the title Eyne schone sunerlyche Historie van der edeler vnd hillyger Junferen sent Jrmgard ( VD 16 , S 3401).

The Catholic Church celebrates the name day of the saints annually on September 4th, the day the saints die.

The cult mainly focuses on addicts , the "Irmgardisstadt". Irmgard is the patron saint of the city who protects the community in emergencies. The St. Irmgardis Hospital in Süchteln , a kindergarten, the Irmgardis Stift (formerly a boarding school for girls, now an old people's home) and the Irmgardiskapelle on the so-called Heiligenberg bear their names in Süchteln .

The attributes of the saints include the pilgrim's staff and a bloody glove (based on a legend about their transport of relics).

Once a year, in September (on the Sunday after September 4th or on September 4th itself), the Irmgardis Octave takes place here in her honor , an eight-day church event with church services. The beginning of the celebrations, to which many guests from outside, partly also from abroad, are expected every year, is the Irmgardis procession , during which the monstrance with the bones of St. Irmgard from the Süchteln parish church of St. Clemens across a way of the cross with knee-dropping stations to the Irmgardiskapelle on the Heiligenberg, the alleged place of activity of the saint. A forest service will then take place there.

The Irmgardispfad runs as a hiking and pilgrim path near the Lower Rhine district town of Viersen .

literature

  • Arie Nabrings: Irmgardis von Süchteln, Volksheilige , in the online portal Rheinische Geschichte , published on March 8, 2013
  • Josef Kleinermanns: The h. Irmgardis von Aspel and their relationships with Rees, Süchteln and Cologne: a contribution to the Rhine. History of saints . Stauff, Cologne 1900 ( digitized version )
  • Aria Nabrings: The St. Irmgardis of addicts . Rheinlandia, Siegburg 1995, ISBN 3-931509-01-X .
  • Peter Norrenberg : The holy Irmgardis of addicts . From Rhenish History, Volume 19. Bonn 1894.
  • Margret Riedel: St. Irmgardis - ruler and saint of the Lower Rhine . Part 1 and 2. Wesel-Diersfordt 1985.
  • Irmgardis, B. . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 3 ([I] K – L), B. Schmid'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (A. Manz ), Augsburg 1869, p.  57 .

Web links

Commons : Irmgard von Süchteln  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Klaus-Gunther Wesseling:  Irmgard von Köln. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 1334-1335.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  2. ^ Art. B. Irmgardis . In: Johann Evangelist Stadler : Complete Holy lexicon or life stories of all the saints, blessed etc. etc. all places and of all ages, whose memory is celebrated in the Catholic Church or otherwise honored , Vol. 3: I-L . Schmid, Augsburg 1869, p. 57.
  3. ^ Heiligenlexikon.de: Irmtrud of Cologne
  4. ↑ a b Der Westen , April 21, 2015: Aspel - who was the founder of the castle?
  5. ↑ According to Wesseling, her name as a countess is only explained by her marriage to Kadelo, as her possessions were not a county.
  6. ^ Heiligenlexikon.de: Irmgard of Cologne
  7. ↑ Ekkart Sauser :  Irmgard, Countess of Aspel. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 23, Bautz, Nordhausen 2004, ISBN 3-88309-155-3 , Sp. 719-720.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  8. ^ A b Rhenish history: Irmgardis von Süchteln, people saints
  9. ↑ Josef Kleinermanns: The h. Irmgardis von Aspel and their relationships with Rees, Süchteln and Cologne: a contribution to the Rhine. History of saints . Stauff, Cologne 1900, p. 20.
personal data
SURNAME Irmgard von Süchteln
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Irmgard von Aspel; Irmengardis of Aspel; Irmgard of Cologne; Irmengardis of Cologne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Catholic saint
DATE OF BIRTH before 1013
PLACE OF BIRTH Aspel Castle near Rees
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: February 5, 1064 or February 19, 1064 or February 5, 1065 or February 19, 1065 or September 4 between 1082 and 1089