Gertrude of Nivelles

St. Gertrude of Nivelles, O.S.B.
Stained glass window in the in Tongeren, Belgium
Abbess
Born	c. 626 Landen, Kingdom of Austrasia
Died	March 17, 659 Nivelles, Kingdom of Austrasia
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church (Nivelles & Benedictine Order)
Canonized	1677 by Pope Clement XII
Major shrine	Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude, Nivelles, Walloon Brabant, Belgium
Feast	March 17
Attributes	A nun with a crosier and mice
Patronage	Nivelles, Belgium; Geertruidenberg, Breda, and Bergen-op-Zoom, North Brabant, Netherlands; travelers, gardeners; against mice, mental illness; cats

Gertrude of Nivelles, O.S.B. (also spelled Geretrude, Geretrudis, Gertrud; c. 626 – March 17, 659) was a 7th-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles located in present-day Belgium.

The early history of Gertrude's family is not well documented. The anonymous author of her Vita only hints at her origins: "it would be tedious to insert in this account in what line of earthly origin she was descended. For who living in Europe does not know the loftiness, the names, and the localities of her lineage?" Gertrude's father, Pepin of Landen (Pippin the Elder), a nobleman from east Francia, had been instrumental in persuading King Clothar II to crown his son, Dagobert I, as the King of Austrasia. Due to her position at the palace, Gertrude's mother, Itta of Metz, was likely acquainted with St. Amandus, the Bishop of Maastricht.

When Dagobert succeeded his father and the court moved to Neustria, Pippin became mayor of the palace, and his family (including young Gertrude) moved with the king's court. Thus, Gertrude became introduced to politics during her childhood in the royal court. Arnulf of Metz, Pippin's close ally, was one of several royal counselors who received ecclesiastical posts after a secular career. McNamara argues that Arnulf retired into religion at the time of Clothar's death in 628, but he kept close ties to the family by marrying his son to Gertrude's sister, Begga. However, later scholars have disagreed.

Gertrude's biography begins with her father hosting a banquet when Gertrude was ten years old. That the king accepted Pippin's invitation to the dinner at all shows Pippin's power and standing as well as that of his family. At this feast, the King asked Gertrude if she would like to marry the "son of a duke of the Austrasians.... for the sake of his worldly ambition and mutual alliance." Gertrude declined and "lost her temper and flatly rejected him with an oath, saying that she would have neither him nor any earthly spouse but Christ the Lord."