Thiatildis

Thiatildis was the first abbess of the Freckenhorst Abbey, founded around 854, and is venerated as a saint. Her feast day is January 30th.

Life

Although the founder's wife Geva is named the first abbess in the founding deed, this deed is a forgery. A Geva cannot be proven and is no longer referred to as the wife of the founder. Therefore Thiatildis is considered the first abbess.

In a later legend she is referred to as the niece of the founder. To what extent this is the case remains unclear. It seems certain that she was related to Everword. According to some representations, she is said to have been adopted as a child. As a toddler, she is said to have fallen into a pot of hot water. Because it is said to have survived this unscathed, it was consecrated to God and given to the pen.

Nothing certain is known about their work. According to legend, the holy cross venerated in Freckenhorst was already in their possession, which is historically improbable. According to legend, her death day falls on January 30th, which is also her memorial day.

Adoration

A chapel may have been built over her grave after her death. This formerly free-standing chapel should be located near the Thiatildis chapel in the later collegiate church. There was a separate fund for the maintenance of the band.

The Low German translation of their legend from around 1500 reports that the tomb moves slowly. This later gave rise to the legend that if the grave had reached the Thiatildis Fountain, the end of the world would be imminent.

Thiatildis was strongly revered in Freckenhorst in medieval times. The festivities, during which alms were distributed among other things , lasted from January 27th to 31st every year. The canons celebrated their anniversary with a festive meal. After that, also against the backdrop of the Reformation , the memory of the first abbess was forgotten and was only revived by the abbess Elisabeth von Berg at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1609 she had the grave of the Thiatildis opened and the remains buried in a shrine. During a visit to Freckenhorst, Prince-Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen had the grave and the tradition examined in 1666. As a result, the resumption of worship was officially sanctioned by the church. The bishop himself celebrated the reburial in 1669 in a shrine donated by him. Numerous canons and Count Ernst Wilhelm von Bentheim-Steinfurt, who converted to Catholicism, were present . The alleged former pasha Johann Michael Cigala was also present.

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl : The (free worldly) women's monastery Freckenhorst. In: Germania Sacra , New Series Volume 10, Berlin 1975, pp. 287–289

Web links

• Brief description