Aldetrude, St.
ALDETRUDE, ST.
Also called Adeltrudis; abbess; b. between 628 and 639; d. Feb. 25, c. 696. She was the daughter of vincent madelgarius and waldetrud. At an early age she was placed in the convent of Maubeuge, where aldegundis, her aunt, was abbess. The Vita Aldetrudis (Acta Sanctorum Feb. 3:514–516), written by a tenth-century monk, contains so many legendary elements that it is practically impossible to gain an accurate account of the spiritual formation of the saint. It is generally agreed, however, that she succeeded her aunt in the office of abbess at Maubeuge and creditably fulfilled the duties of this position for more than a decade. If the early hagiographers are worthy of belief, Aldetrude came from an exceptional family in which father, mother, and four children are venerated as saints.
Feast: Feb. 25.
Bibliography: l. van der essen, Études critique et littéraire sur les Vitae des saints mérovingiens (Louvain 1907) 237–240. h. dubrulle, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 2:52. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienhereux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 2:526–527. r. aigrain, Catholicisme (Paris 1948) 1:286. g. allemang, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:299. a. d'haenens, Bibliotheca sanctorum 1:750–751.
[h. dressler]