Gerberga, abbess of Gandersheim

Overview

Date of Birth

940

Date of Death

1002

Biography

(See also Genealogical Table(s): 2.)
Gerberga, abbess of Gandersheim from the late 950's to 1001, patron of the poet and playwright, Hrotsvit, was the daughter of Henry, duke of Bavaria, and Judith, daughter of duke Arnulf of Bavaria. Henry was a brother of Otto I, making Gerberga niece and first cousin of the emperors Otto I and Otto II. Her father had been involved in various rebellions against Otto, and her brother, Henry the Wrangler continued to make trouble for his cousins. But Gerberga apparently remained on good terms with them: they petitioned the pope for her monastery, and she commissioned a history of Otto I from Hrotsvit.

Letters to Gerberga, abbess of Gandersheim

A letter from Hrotsvit, nun ()
A letter from Hrotsvit, nun ()
A letter from John XIII, pope (968, January)