While everyone was wearing green for St. Patrick's Day this week, I reminded folks it was also the Saint Day for St. Gertrude of Nivelles...patron saint of cats.
But where is Nivelles, I wondered.
Wikipedia says this about Nivelles...
"is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant."
Starting in 4,000 BC, the Nivelles region was gradually turned into agricultural land by the Danubian settlers. Most of their ancestral Rubanean civilization was destroyed by the Roman invaders during the first century AD. In turn, most of the Roman constructions, including villas, were destroyed during the Germanic invasions of the 3rd century.
In the 7th century, the territory was part of the Austrasian Frankish kingdom, and the Mayor of the Palace, Pippin of Landen, rebuilt a villa there that covered more than 78 km². After Pippin's death in 640, the bishop of Maastricht, the future Saint Amand, urged Pippin's widow, Itta, to found an abbey in their villa. Itta's daughter, Gertrude, became the monastery's first abbess and was venerated as a saint upon her death.
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And St. Gertrude's story?
Of course there had to be miracles...
The first miracle attributed to Gertrude in the Vita takes place at the altar of Pope Sixtus II the Martyr as Gertrude was standing in prayer. "She saw descending above her a flaming pellucid sphere such that the whole basilica was illuminated by its brightness." The vision persisted for about half an hour and later was revealed to some of the sisters at the monastery. The anonymous author of the Vita believes that this vision represents a "visitation of the True Light."
Salvation of the sailors
The second miracle attributed to Gertrude in the Vita took place as the anonymous author and his friend were peacefully sailing over the sea on the monastery's business. This account is felt by some to indicate that the author was an Irish monk] In the account, an incredible storm appears as well as a sea monster, causing great despair as "the sailors... turned to their idols," evidence of the persistence of paganism at the time. In desperation, the author's friend cries out to Gertrude to save himself and his companions from the storm and monster. Immediately the storm subsides and the monster dives back into the deep.
I read through many paragraphs of St. Gertrude's life, looking for her cat connection. She was designated a patron of travelers and gardeners early on.
The legend of Gertrude's vision of the ocean voyage led her to be as well the patron saint of travelers. In memory of this event, medieval travelers drank a so-called "Sinte Geerts Minne" or "Gertrudenminne" before setting out on their journey. Her attention to the care of her garden led her assistance to be invoked by gardeners, and also against rats and mental illness.
Patron Saint of Cats?
The assignment of Gertrude as patron of cats and the designation of the cat as one of her attributes seems to date from the 1980s. It is not mentioned at all in Madou's extensive historical survey from 1975. A more superficial association of Gertrude with the cat as a mouse hunter goes further back. Her veneration as protector against rats and mice dates from the early 15th century during the Black Death and spread from southwestern Germany to the Netherlands and Catalonia. Some 20th-century folklore studies research conflated her with the Germanic goddess Frigg, who may have been depicted riding a cat. The authoritative Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (published in multiple volumes, 1927–1942) does not verify the connection to cats. The first major English-language publication presenting her as patron of cats is a 1981 catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Source: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Gertrude of Nivelles". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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My friend Martha told me that the connection to cats was that she brought them into the area to combat the rats (probably during the plague.)
But being a cat lover, as well as of gardens and travel, (though without Catholic roots) I certainly like the idea of a saint who looks after those aspects of life. I may well raise a glass and say "Sinte Geerts Minne" or "Gertrudenminne" when setting out on my next journey!
Sharing with Saturday's Critters
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