- Richardis
Infobox Saint
name=Saint Richardis
birth_date=c. 840
death_date=18 September , c. 895
feast_day=18 September
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church
imagesize=
caption=
birth_place=
death_place=Andlau ,Alsace
titles=Holy Roman Empress
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=dressed in Imperial robes with crown and palm, and surrounded by flames; dressed as a nun, with crown laid aside, and burning pieces of wood, as well as a bear and a ploughshare
patronage=Andlau ; protection against fire
major_shrine=Andlau Abbey
suppressed_date=
issues=Saint Richardis, also known as Richardis of Swabia (c. 840 –
18 September , between 894 and 896), was theHoly Roman Empress ofCharles the Fat . She was renowned for her piety.Life
She was born in
Alsace , the daughter of Erchanger, count of the Nordgau, of the family of theAhalolfinger . She married Charles in 862 and was crowned with him inRome byPope John VIII in 881. The marriage was childless [both Richardis and Charles stated in 887 under oath at the time of the charge of adultery that their marriage was unconsummated] .In the crisis of 887, in an effort to bring down the over-powerful and hated
Liutward , Charles' arch-chancellor, he and Richardis were accused by Charles and his courtiers of adultery. She was put to theordeal by fire , which she passed successfully.She then withdrew to Andlau Abbey, which she had founded on her ancestral lands in 880, and where her niece Rotrod was abbess. (Richardis herself was previously lay abbess of religious houses at
Säckingen andZurich ). She died at Andlau on18 September and was buried there.Cultus
Richardis was later canonised by the
Roman Catholic Church and her remains were translated in November 1049 byPope Leo IX to a more impressive tomb in the newly re-built abbey church. The present tomb dates from 1350.Richardis is patron of Andlau, and of protection against fires. Her iconography refers to her status as an empress and nun and to her ordeal by fire. The bear and ploughshare refer to the foundation legend of Andlau Abbey.
Notes
ources
* [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/r/richardis.shtml Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon: Richardis] de icon
* Wiegand, W.: "Richardis", in "Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie " (ADB), vol. 28, Leipzig 1889, pp. 420–421 de icon
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