Oda of Gandersheim
Saxon noblewoman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oda of Gandersheim (died 912/919) was a Saxon noblewoman who founded Gandersheim Abbey. She was an ancestor of the Ottonian dynasty.
Oda's mother's name was Aeda and her father's probably Billung.[1] She was married to Liudolf of Saxony, with whom she had 12–14 children, including three sons and a daughter who died young.[1] Her children who survived to adulthood include:[1]
- Brun, duke of Saxony
- Otto, duke of Saxony, father of King Henry the Fowler
- Hathumoda, fist abbess of Gandersheim
- Gerberga, second abbess of Gandersheim
- Christina, third abbess of Gandersheim
- Liutgard, queen of King Louis the Younger
- Enda, married
- 1–3 daughters who became nuns at Gandersheim
Oda and Liudolf "committed themselves to establishing a convent soon after their marriage."[2] For this purpose, they travelled to Rome to acquire relics of the saints in 845–846.[3] From Pope Sergius II they received not just relics of his predecessors, Innocent I and Anastasius I, but also papal protection for their foundation.[2] A community of nuns was established at Brunshausen in 852 with their daughter Hathumoda as its designated abbess.[4] Construction of a permanent home was begun at Gandersheim, but it was not consecrated until All Saints' Day 881, after Hathumoda's death in 874.[2]
Liudolf died in 866.[5] Oda spent much of her widowhood at Gandersheim.[6] Another daughter, Gerberga, succeeded Hathumoda and was succeeded by a third, Christina.[2] Oda died at Gandersheim in 912[5] or 919.[2]