A letter from Elisabeth of Schoenau ()

Translated letter:

To lord Burchard, venerable abbot of Odenheim, sister Elisabeth sends devout prayers. On the day of Pentecost I acted on your request and asked the angel of the Lord who had appeared to me about the name of the holy virgin whose body you have and about her parentage. He responded to me, saying, “The name of the virgin about whom you ask is Viventia. Her father’s name was Arian and her mother was called Leticia and they both were upright before the Lord. When they had been married for forty years without child, they finally merited to receive this daughter from the generous Lord. Because they loved her tenderly, they wished her not to be joined to a husband. The fame of blessed Ursula and her companions had arisen, so they sent their daughter to Ursula and joined her to that society. Thus it happened that she suffered martyrdom among that number of holy virgins.”

Also, I don’t want you to be unaware that when I heard these things from the angel during the Canon of the Mass, I did not correctly retain the name of the virgin in my memory. When my brother asked me about these things after Mass, I said that her name was Convivia. After this, at noon, that very virgin appeared to me and completely persuaded me that I had not named her correctly and showed me her garment of marvelous whiteness and around it in gold letters was written, “I am called chosen Viventia.” I inquired of her, saying, “My good lady, why was I allowed to err in this way about your name and call you Convivia?” She said, “Because I was led to the banquet of heavenly mysteries.” (!2) When I asked her where she was born, she responded, “I was born in Bebruannia.”

I also asked the angel about your holy patrons Bonosius and Abrunculus and with what kind of merit they stood before the Lord. He said, “They were saints before the Lord from their earliest age and bore much fruit among the people. Therefore, their sanctity was declared by the Lord in the many miracles which have been performed in curing the sick and raising the dead.” He added to this, saying, “Know that the place where their relics are held has been sanctified greatly by their merits.” (1)

Original letter:

Domine B. venerabili abbati de hothenheim soror Elisabeht [sic] deuotas orationes. In die pentecostensi feci secundum peticionem tuam et interrogaui angelum domini qui michi apparebat de nomine sancte uirginis cuius corpus habetis et de parentela eius. Et respondit michi dicens: Nomen uirginis de qua interrogas erat uiuencia et nomen patris eius arrianus mater uero eius leticia uocabatur et erant ambo iusti ante dominum. Qui cum per annos quadraginta simul fuissent in coniugio sine prole nouissime largiente domino hanc filiam accipere meruerunt. Quam [ms: quum] quia tenerrime diligebant nulli eam marito sociare uoluerunt sed orta fama de beata ursula et exercitu eius hanc secum ad illam adduxerunt eiusque societati eam coniunxerunt sicque accidit ut in numero sanctarum uirginum martyrium pateretur. Nolo autem uos ignorare quod cum hec ab angelo infra cononem misse percepissem non recte in memoria retinui nomen uirginis quod dictum michi fuerat si fratri meo post missam suscitanti super his dixi quoniam nomen eius fuisset conuiuia. Post hec autem in meridie michi quiescenti apparuit eadem uirgo et ualde me arguit quod non recte eam nominassem et ostendit michi uestimentum suum miri candoris et scriptum erat per circuitum eius literis aureis electa uiuencia nuncupor. Et interrogaui eam dicens: Bona mea quare permissa sum sic errare in nomine tuo ut appellarem te conuiuiam? Et dixit: quoniam adducta sum ad conuiuia celestium sacramentorum. Cumque interrogassem eam unde nata fuisset respondit Bebruannia nata sum. Interrogaui nihrilominus dominum meum de sanctis patronis uestris Bonosio et Abrunculo qualis meriti coram domino extitissent. Et ait: Sancti ab ineunte etate fuerunt ante dominum et multum fructum fecerunt in populo. Uerumtamen declarata est sanctitas eorum a domino in uirtutibus multis quas operati sunt in curatione infirmorum et in resurrectione mortuorum. Et adiecit dicens: Scito quoniam locus in quo continentur reliquie eorum multum meritis eorum sanctificatus est.

Historical context:

Elisabeth transmits the answer she received from the angel to a question Burchard had put to her about the identity of bones in his possession. A large graveyard was discovered outside Cologne in 1156 and the bones, identified as those of St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgin martyrs, were taken to various local religious houses, see the letter to Gerlach of Deutz and his brothers. This letter was not transmitted as part of the collection created by Ekbert but is found in a manuscript transmitting a collection of hagiographical materials, including Elisabeth’s revelations about the virgins of Cologne, from the Benedictine abbey of St. Magnus in Füssen.

Scholarly notes:

(1)This translation is copyrighted by Anne Clark. For permission to reproduce, contact Paulist Press.

(2)This explanation relies on a pun on the Latin word for banquet, convivium. The other name of the virgin, Viventia, would also have evoked an etymological resonance for a Latin audience, suggesting “one who lives.”

Printed source:

Ph. Schmitz, “’Visions’ inédites de Sainte Elisabeth de Schoenau,” Revue Benedictine 47 (1935), 181-83; trans. Anne L. Clark, The Complete Works of Elisabeth of Schönau (New York: Paulist Press, 2000), 23.