Irmina of Oeren

Irmina of Oeren (also called Ermina and Hirmina; died 720) was a saint, founder and abbess of a convent in Oeren, near Trier (Trèves), and co-founder of a convent in Echternach (now eastern Luxembourg).^[1][2] Hagiographer Basil Watkins states that Irmina's 12th century biography is "unreliable"^[3] and it is likely that "legends about her family tree spiralled out of control",^[4] but she came from one of the most powerful families in the Merovingian kingdom.^[2] She might have been Saint Primina, the daughter of Dagobert I and sister of Saint Modesta. She might have been the daughter of Dagobert II and sister of Saint Adela of Pfalze.^[3][5][6] Historian Ian Wood stated that Irmina is "traditionally, and probably correctly, identified as Plectrude's mother".^[7]

According to many versions of Irmina's biography, when she was fifteen years old,^[3] she was engaged to marry a man named Count Hermann, but just before they were to marry, he was killed in a murder-suicide by one of his servants, who "admired Irmina and could not bear that his master should have her".^[5]

Irmina then married Hugobert, a magnate from the middle Moselle region, who served as seneschal and was a count of the palace at the Merovingian court during the reigns of Theuderic III and Childebert III. They had several daughters, including:

• Pippin of Herstal and founder of the Abbey St. Maria im Kapitol in Cologne^[8]
• Adela (655-732), abbess of Pfalzel, married to Eudes I, Duke of Aquitaine (questionable Odo the Great and son of Saint Oda) ^{[citation needed]}
• Theudebert of Bavaria ^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Irmina (d. ca 704), married to Chariveus, brother of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye.^{[citation needed]}
• Caribert of Laon, who was father of Bertrada of Laon, who in turn was mother of Charlemagne.^{[8][citation needed}
  ]

After the death of Hugobert, around 697, she built her a monastery at Oeren in Trier, which was eventually named after her, and where she succeeded as abbess her sister, Saint Modesta. Irmina donated lands to help co-found, with Saint Willibrord of Northumberland, the convent in Echternacht in 697 or 698.^[3][4][5][7] Historian Jamie Kreiner called the founding of the Echternacht convent "a cooperative venture"^[2] between Willibrord and Irmina's family, who later promised to protect the convent and its holdings after Willibrord promised fidelity to them in 706.^[2] Watkins reported that Irmina was "generous to both Celtic and Saxon missionary monks".^[3] Irmina died in 720 at the monastery at Weissenburg, which was also founded by her father.^[5][3]

Irmina's feast day is December 24.^[3] She is the patroness saint of Trevos and is represented with a church in her hand, signifying her status as a church founder, and with two angels above her head, carrying her soul to heaven.^[5]

See also

• Adela and Irmina

References

Works cited

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• Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). A Dictionary of Saintly Women. 1. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 413–414.