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Gertrude the Great (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta) ((イタリア語:Santa Gertrude)) (January 6, 1256 – ca. 1302) was a German Benedictine, mystic, and theologian. She is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, and is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar, for celebration throughout the Latin Rite on November 16. ==Life== Little is known of the early life of Gertrude. Gertrude was born on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia (within the Holy Roman Empire). At the age of four,〔Her biographer states "in her fifth year", leading some to misinterpret this as being when she was five years old. See Alexandra Barrett, 'Introduction', in Gertrud the Great of Helfta, ''The Herald of God's Loving-Kindness: Books One and Two'', (Kalamazoo, 1991), p10〕 she entered the monastery school at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta (with much debate having occurred as to whether this monastery is best described as Benedictine or Cistercian),〔This has been a point of some contention in twentieth-century studies of Gertrude. The best answer is that, technically, Helfta was a Benedictine monastery, but one which was strongly influenced by the Cistercian reform - this reflect the lack of clear-cut distinctions between the Orders at this time. Helfta, like many other monasteries of nuns following the Rule of St Benedict, was very much influenced by the Cistercian customs (and was in fact founded in 1258 by a group of nuns from Halberstadt who had adopted Cistercian customs. However, it was not - and could not - however, have been officially Cistercian, because in 1228 the General Chapter of Citeaux had forbidden the acceptance of any more monasteries of nuns into their Order, because the monks were already overburdened by the number of nuns under their care. Helfta, therefore, could not have been ''officially ''Cistercian. It is clear, though, that Helfta's customs seem to have been those of Citeaux, and certainly the works of Bernard of Clairvaux were extremely influential at Helfta. It is unclear whether the nuns wore a black 'Benedictine' or white 'Cistercian' habit, but interesting to note that both Gertrude and Mechthild are almost universally represented in black. The spiritual directors of the monastery were neither Benedictines nor Cistercians, but Dominicans. See Sr Maximilian Marnau, 'Introduction', in Gertrude of Helfta, ''The Herald of Divine Love'', (New York: Paulist Press, 1993), p10; Caroline Bynum Walker, ''Jesus as Mother,'' (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1982), pp174-5. 〕 under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn. It is speculated that she was offered as a child oblate to the Church by devout parents. Given that Gertrude implies in the ''Herald'' that her parents were long dead at the time of writing,〔''Herald'', Book 2, chapter 16〕 however, it is also possible that she entered the monastery school as an orphan. Gertrude was confided to the care of St. Mechtilde, younger sister of the Abbess Gertrude, and joined the monastic community in 1266.〔(Casanova, Gertrude. "St. Gertrude the Great." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 8 May 2013 )〕 It is clear from her own writings that she received a thorough education in a range of subjects. She, and the nun who authored Books 1 and 3-5 of the ''Herald'', are thoroughly familiar with scripture, the Fathers of the Church such as Augustine and Gregory the Great, and also in more contemporary spiritual writers such as Richard and Hugh of St Victor, William of St Thierry, and Bernard of Clairvaux. Moreover, Gertrude's writing demonstrates that she was well-versed in rhetoric, and her Latin is very fluent.〔Sr Maximilian Marnau, 'Introduction', in Gertrude of Helfta, ''The Herald of Divine Love, ''(New York: Paulist Press, 1993), p6〕 In 1281, at the age of twenty-five, she experienced the first of a series of visions〔This is described in ''Herald ''1.1 and 2.1〕 that continued throughout her life, and which changed the course of her life. Her priorities shifted away from secular knowledge and toward the study of Scripture and theology. Gertrude devoted herself strongly to personal prayer and meditation, and began writing spiritual treatises for the benefit of her monastic sisters.〔 Gertrude became one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher St. Mechtild, she practiced a spirituality called "nuptial mysticism," that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ.〔(Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media, ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7 )〕 Gertrude died at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony, around 1302. Her feastday is celebrated on November 16, but the exact date of her death is unknown; the November date stems from a confusion with Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gertrude the Great」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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