logo
livingroom

decorative bar

biographies


corner Last update of this page: September 12th 2002 corner
Hildegonde of Shönau
(? - April 20, 1188) Germany

Hildegonde

Saint - Feast day April 20

separator

(Also spelt Hildegund) She was born at Neuss, near Cologne. After the death of her mother, at age 12, she went with her father, a knight, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. For her safety, during the trip, she was dressed as a boy and called "Joseph" for her protection.

While returning from the Holy Land Hildegund's father died, but she was able to make her own way home and maintained her disguise first as a boy and then as a man. Later, she made a pilgrimage to Rome, during which she had several adventures.

On one of them, she was condemned to be hanged as a robber and escaped only when a friend of the real robber cut her down from the gallows.

After that, she returned to Germany and was accepted into the Cistercian monastery at Shönau, near Heidelberg, concealing her gender, and to her death she was believed to be a man. Her true sex went undiscovered until her death in 1188.

A few years later, abbot Engelhartof Langheim wrote her biography. She is considered saint, even though her cult is not approved by the Roman Catholic Church.

Hildegonde should not be confused with Saint Hildegund (c. 1130-1178), whose feast day is 6 February.

separator

Click on the image to see it bigger

Click on the letter H to go back to the list of names

corner © Matt & Andrej Koymasky, 1997 - 2008 corner