Thus she stands out as an illustration of
the fact often alluded to, of the importance of feminine foundations in
the monastic scheme.
[20] The chroniclers are rather confused as to the name of this Princess.
[21] It is thought, however, by some that the figure behind is that of
the Abbess--not the Archbishop. See D?rer Soc. Portfolio for 1900.
Her picturesque story of the romantic adventures of Adelheid of
Burgundy, her marriage in 947 to King Lothaire of Italy, her widowhood
and perils, her misfortunes and eventual marriage to the Emperor Otho,
reads more like a chapter from the _Morte d'Arthur_ or the _Arabian
Nights_ than a veracious history of real people. The Empress Adelheid
was, indeed, a remarkable woman, and the nun of Gandersheim is full of
her praises. In her younger days she had been a zealous patron and
protectress of the Abbey of Cluny, which stood on her native land of
Burgundy, and her sympathies remained always with the religious houses.
In this respect, indeed, she was a worthy successor of the pious
Mathilda and her daughters. She died in her seventy-first year in her
Abbey of Selz in Elsass, leaving a memory rich in benefits to the
monastics, especially those of Cluny, and venerated as the patroness of
many an illuminated volume of poems or theology, not to mention the
liturgical books executed at her expense for use in her various
foundations.
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