Agnes Baillie Cunninghame Dunbar

“ In 951 Adelaide, who little more than a year ago had left Pavia a prisoner, re-entered it, amid the acclamations of the people, as the bride of the Emperor. Otho, although nearly twenty years older than Adelaide, was still in the prime of life, a man of gigantic strength and great beauty, with long fair hair and blue eyes of extraordinary brilliancy, and to these personal advantages he added barbaric splendour of dress. Moreover, he was by far the ablest king who had reigned in Germany since Charlemagne. ”

“ If I could not go to heaven myself, I should wish to open to all others the gates that I knew to be shut against me.” She then asked what business he had in a religious community. He told her that he was harboured there by one of the nuns, who did his will rather than that of her ostensible Master. Brigid ascertained from him the name of the nun, and then opened her eyes with the sign of the cross, that she might see what a hideous and cruel master she served. The nun, with tears, besought her prayers, and promised to amend her life. ”

“ Tescelin and Adelaide lived at the castle of Fontaines, near Dijon. They were kind and good to their vassals and the poor; they maintained order and propriety and religious observances in their own house. Tescelin was distinguished by his valour in war, but from religious motives he would never fight a duel. Adelaide nursed her seven children at her own breast, and tended them with her own hands, lest they should imbibe evil tempers or distempers from the milk of hirelings, or be taught anything unseemly by the attendants of their infant days. ”

“ Great and universal was the mourning for the king. Widukind of Corvei says, "he was the greatest king of his time in Europe, inferior to none in mental and bodily gifts, but he left behind him a son [Otho] greater than himself."
Matilda had for her widow's portion, all Henry's property in Quedlinburg, Pohlde, Nordhausen, Grona and Duderstadt.
The land was once more distracted by wars and the struggle between the brothers for the crown. Most of the nobles agreed with the late king's wish for the election of Otho; but many were resolved to stand by Henry, duke of Bavaria, Matilda's favourite. ”

“ Humbert died in 1048, and was succeeded by his eldest son Amadeus I., surnamed Cauda, and he, in 1069, was succeeded by his brother Odo, the husband of Adelaide. Little is knwn of him; Adelaide is the more prominent person. With masculine courage and energy, she knew right well how to rule. It was of immense importance to the family destined to become so great that Adelaide could hold the command of the Burgundian as well as the Italian possessions of the house. Far and wide the marchioness of Susa was known as a woman of no less decision than prudence. ”

“ Sviatoslav, the son of Igor and Olga, was very young, but his mother took the helm of the State in her strong hands. Her first care was to avenge her husband. In a woman of her nation and religion, it was a duty and a point of honour so to do. The Drevlians, proud of what they had done, and fearing not at all the woman and boy, who were then at the head of their enemies, conceived the project of seizing Kiew and making Olga marry their prince. ”

“ Matilda lived with her brother, the young and beautiful Emperor. No prince at his court, no neighbouring king was great enough to aspire to her hand; nevertheless. Count Ehrenfried loved her. One of Otho's favourite companions, he was of noble Saxon descent and excelled in every accomplishment of the youth of that time. Otho was passionately fond of chess, and was accounted the best player in Europe. Ehrenfried was one of the few who nearly equalled him. They had played many games together for high stakes; Ehrenfried sometimes won, but much more often the Emperor was the victor. ”

“ In 928, Bruno was born, and in the following year her eldest son married Edith (5) , daughter of Edward the Elder, king of England.
After a reign of seventeen years, Henry, now sixty years old, was seized with his last illness at the palace at Membleben. Calling the queen to him as he felt his death approaching, he spoke with her a long time in private, and then said aloud: "O, most faithful and beloved, I thank Christ that you survive me. No one ever had a better wife." ”

“ Ruotger, who wrote the life of Henry's youngest son Bruno, says the day would not be long enough to tell how Henry caused "die schönste und herrlichste Friede" to bloom in the kingdom which he found in the most deplorable state, constantly attacked on all sides by hostile neighbours and torn by the most savage internal feuds between blood relations.
Matilda lived as queen the self-denying life of the convent. Her hand was always open to the poor and her lips to plead for the oppressed and the unfortunate. ”

“ For nearly half of a long life it has been my vocation to collect and arrange legends and records of women worshipped as saints or so considered. Although the work has been to me a sanctuary from the anxieties and vexations of daily life, I have, during the whole time, been painfully conscious of my unworthiness to write on the subject of saints, and my inability to approach the degree of excellence to which such a book might attain in better hands. ”

“ She is a remarkable instance of a woman raised from the lowest to the highest station, acting invariably with conscientious discretion, sympathizing with those whose sufferings she had once known, generous and kind to all, the friend of the best and greatest men of her time.
Bathilde's great devotion to St. Eloy, goldsmith, prime minister, and bishop, was probably inspired by his kindness to Saxon slaves, as well as by his other saintly qualities. ”

“ The bishop held out to him hopes of eternal life, promising him a place higher than that of any king or prince in this perishable world, and spoke so earnestly and well that Borivoi agreed to accept Christianity for himself, his wife, and his people, and invited Methodius to come and teach in Bohemia. ”

“ As Emmeran was devoted to his own wife, and loyal to his master, he ignored the empress's preference, until her love changed to vindictive hatred, and she determined that he should pay for his coldness with his life. She accused him to her husband. Otho, in his distress, sought counsel of that wisest of women, his grandmother. She advised him to make no scandal. "Let it not be known," said she, "that any one mistook the empress for a woman who could be disloyal." Mary stood in awe of the old empress, who had sometimes gently reproached her for a certain lack of circumspection ”

“ When the magician saw that miracle, he said to Brigid, “You shall have all the butter for yourself, and the twelve cows which you have milked shall be yours also.” Brigid said, “Keep your cows, and give me my mother’s freedom.” The magician answered, “The cows and the butter and your mother are yours.” Then he believed in Christ and was baptized, and Brigid gave all his gifts to the poor, and returned to Dubtach with her mother. Her father offered to sell her to the king, saying that he wished to get rid of her because she gave to the poor everything she could lay her hands upon. ”

“ Casimir studied for two years in Paris, and then became a monk at Cluny (Wolski says at Liége) .
When the queen and the young king were gone, the Poles fell to fighting among themselves. The people rose against the nobles, the serfs against their lords, the laymen against the clergy; the towns and churches lay in ruins, the fields were untilled, bands of robbers infested the country, famine and brigandage were rife. Yaroslav, duke of Russia, attacked Poland, carrying away great spoil and many captives. Then the Poles knew that anarchy was the worst of all conditions. ”

“ Ida's fame is lost in that of her younger daughter, St. Gertrude, but it was Ida who, on her husband's death, built the great double monastery of Nivelle on her own estate, and cut off her daughter's hair with her own hands, lest anything should prevent Gertrude from consecrating her life to God there. The mother and daughter gave land and funds to the Irish monks, Foillan and Ultan, at Fosse, or Mors-les-Fossez, to be a perpetual house of hospitality for pilgrims travelling that way. Ida lived five years as a nun under her daughter's rule, assisting her with her advice and care. ”

“ For three blissful years he rested from his wars and for Matilda the cares of maternity began. Their happiness was almost perfect.
In 912 Henry succeeded his father as Duke of the Saxons, and on the death of Conrad, in 918, he was chosen King of Germany. Herbert, bishop of Mainz, demanded to be allowed to anoint and crown the new king. Henry declined: "It is enough," said he, "that I have been chosen king and bear that title; no Saxon before me has attained so much. I thank God's grace and your love. Let anointing and crowning be kept for a better man." ”

“ Charlemagne frequently moved from one residence to another, and wherever he went he liked to be accompanied by his mother, the famous Queen Bertha, by his wife and children, and by learned men, who instructed him and all his family, so that the court became the nucleus of a great school. ”

“ I Baldwin, marquis of the Flemings, Count, regent of France, guardian of King Philip...considering that by building a house of God on earth, I prepare for myself a dwelling in heaven,...and acquiescing in the good advice of my wife Adela, and my son Baldwin...have founded a college of canons to implore day and night the clemency of God for...my soul, the souls of my predecessors, my wife and children, and all faithful souls.... ”

“ Throughout Germany the new empress was hailed as an angel of peace, and the events of after-years justified the good impression she had made on the people.
Adelaide and Otho sent missionaries to convert the Sclavonians, and induced the Pope to appoint bishops in the countries now called Prussia and Poland. St. Adalbert, archbishop of Magdeburg, was sent, in 961, to the Rugi, or Rani, a people living in Pomerania, between the rivers Oder and Wipper; but when the bishop and his companions arrived, the people massacred some and sent the others out of the country. ”

“ No food was found to suit her until the magician set apart a beautiful white cow for her use, and got a Christian woman to milk it. According to agreement, the bard sent the child Brigid to her father. Once she went to help her mother, who was making butter and taking care of the cows some distance from her master’s house. As fast as the butter was made, Brigid. who said, “Every guest is Christ,” gave it all away to beggars and travellers. After a time the magician and his wife came to the farm to fetch the butter. ”

“ Aldegundis, like a careful housewife, ordered all the scraps of wax to be gathered together and melted into one mass in a pot. It was allowed to get too hot, ran over the edge into the fire, and blazed up. Adeltrude rushed to the fire, and took off the pot, which she placed safely on the ground without burning her hands or arms in the least—a miracle which was attributed to her great devotion to the Virgin Mary. In 660 she succeeded St. Aldegundis as abbess of the convent of Maubeuge. ”

“ Her talents, her wealth, her piety, her beauty, her superior education, her discretion, and the universal confidence and admiration inspired by her character, combined with her exalted station to render her a conspicuous figure in Europe for half a century. She is a rare example of a woman having immense power and influence and invariably using it for good ”

“ After some years she went further up the mountain to a more secluded place in the thick woods. Here she found a cave, where she led a solitary life of penance and prayer, and there she lived to a great age. ”

“ In 908, while making the round of the land to visit the religious houses she had built, the Queen was seized, at Nordhausen, with fever. The devoted nuns begged her to stay with them that her relics might be their possession; but she preferred to die at Quedlinburg and rest by her husband. As death was approaching, she sent for the Abbess Richburg of Nordhausen, her former chamber-woman and confidante, and spoke long with her. Otho's illegitimate son William, archbishop of Maintz, attended the dying saint and heard her last confession. ”

“ The chaplain, in the mean time, went to Jerusalem, and died there; and some time afterwards he appeared in a dream to the king, warning him of his approaching death, and exhorting him, as he wished to save his soul, to repent of his injurious suspicions against St. Hadeloga and himself. The king accordingly visited his daughter, and begged her forgiveness and her prayers, endowing the convent richly. From that time it increased greatly in power and in fame of sanctity. ”

“ She was daughter of Olaf Skoetkonung, king of Sweden, who gave her for dowry the town of Aldeigaburg, or Old Ladoga. She took the name of Irene at her baptism, and that of Anna with the monastic habit, shortly before her death. She was the wife of Yaroslav the Great, son of the first St. Vladimir and father of the second, who, in 1015, succeeded his father as Grand-prince of all the Russias, and reigned from the Baltic to Asia, and to Hungary and Dacia. He was far more enlightened than his predecessors, and than many of his successors for some generations. ”

“ Arnulf of Metz, a great patron saint of the French. She was a woman of noble birth, and great wealth and piety. She was married in 609 to Arnulf, who held positions of the highest importance and trust under Theodebert II. and Clothaire. Amulf and Doda had two sons, Clodulfus (one of the many SS. Cloud) , bishop of Metz, and Ansigisilus, who married St. Begga, daughter of Pepin of Landen. Soon after the birth of her second son, Doda became a nun at Trèves. Arnulf wished to join St. Romaric and became a monk, but the king and the people could not dispense with his services. ”

“ Brigid rebuked them, and on their repentance the serpents again became bread.
She had power over wild beasts. Once when a wolf had killed a sheep-dog, she made him take the place of his victim, and drive the sheep without frightening them.
Cows, calves, milk, and butter figure largely in the legends of this saint. A number of strangers arrived at her home, and as she had nothing to give them but what she could get from one cow, she milked it three times, and it gave as much as three cows. ”