Rodelinda, sister of Peter Damian

Overview

Date of Birth

11th century

Date of Death

c.1062?

Biography

Rodelinda was the eldest sister of Peter Damian. We know her from a letter Peter addressed to her and to another sister, Sufficia, both widows. Peter also refers to her in a letter he wrote to retired empress Agnes, in which he says: “And no one could ever persuade me to return to the house from which I had set forth, a swift traveller, except once, by I know not what destiny, I crossed on a stormy night that gate on a public road. The second time I was compelled to visit my oldest sister of holy life who had brought me up in the place of a mother and then lay very sick” (ep.149). This letter suggests both that his early life was not very happy and that Rodelinda was a rare good memory from that period. Another letter Peter wrote to a "very dear sister" (dulcissimae sorori) in answer to her questions about the end of the world is thought to be to her, though she is not named in it.

Letters to Rodelinda, sister of Peter Damian

A letter from Peter Damian (c.1062)
A letter from Peter Damian (c.1062)