Yolanda of Vianden
Encyclopedia
Mother Yolanda of Vianden
, O.P.
, (1231–1283) was the youngest daughter of Count
Henry I of Vianden
and Margaret, Marchioness of Namur
. She joined the Dominican
monastery
in Marienthal
, Luxembourg
, against the wishes of her parents when she was very young. She later became its devout prioress and is now a legend in the history of that nation.
Yolanda von Vianden (see more below), written by Friar Hermann of Veldenz
, O.P., which is one of only work two works we have from him, the other being a prose account of her life. This poem recounts how, as a young girl, she wanted to become a nun
against the wishes of her parents. Indeed, her mother had hoped to arrange a marriage to the noble Walram of Monschau, in order to consolidate the influence of the Counts of Vianden
, especially in their relations with the Counts of Luxembourg. In 1245, when Yolanda was 14, her mother, the Marchioness
Margaret of Courteney
, brought Yolanda along as her companion on a visit to the Dominican monastery of Marienthal, where Yolanda unexpectedly fled into the protection of its cloister
and gained admission as a novice
.
A year later, her mother returned, now with the armed support of several noblemen, threatening to destroy the monastery unless Yolanda agreed to leave. The girl was thus persuaded to return to Vianden where her parents once again attempted to change her wishes by keeping her in Vianden Castle
. But Yolanda did not waver. If anything, she was reinforced in her views through discussions with well-known Dominican friars such as Walter von Meisemburg and St. Albertus Magnus
. Finally, even her mother relented and agreed that Yolanda should return to Marienthal. Entering a life of prayer and charity, Yolanda developed in her monastic life through the years, and was eventually elected the monastery's prioress in 1258. She remained there until her death 25 years later in 1283. Interestingly, her mother also joined the monastery after the death of her husband during a crusade (1252).
There is little remaining evidence of the life of Yolanda apart from a skull
, said to be hers, which is displayed at the Church of the Trinitarians in Vianden. As the monastery was closed in the 18th century, there is no trace of her there today.
Yolanda's steadfast resolve to leave the riches and privileges of the nobility in favour of a spartan, devout life in a monastery was as sensational as it was inspiring. This no doubt explains why Friar Hermann was inspired to write her life story, and why she has become such a revered figure, above all, for Luxembourgian
women.
Vianden
Vianden is a commune with city status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,500 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on the Our river, near the border between Luxembourg and Germany., the town of Vianden,...
, O.P.
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, (1231–1283) was the youngest daughter of Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Henry I of Vianden
Counts of Vianden
The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden .-House of Sponheim:* Bertolph count of Vianden * Frederic I of Vianden...
and Margaret, Marchioness of Namur
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur was the daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders.Margaret married Raoul lord of Issoudun in 1210. She succeeded her husband as Lady of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher and Mareuil-en-Berry in 1216. Soon after the death of her first husband she married Henry I,...
. She joined the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in Marienthal
Marienthal, Luxembourg
Marienthal is a village in the commune of Tuntange, in western Luxembourg. , the village has a population of 105. It is known for the former monastery Marienthal, of which a few buildings remain....
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, against the wishes of her parents when she was very young. She later became its devout prioress and is now a legend in the history of that nation.
The story of Yolanda
Yolanda's lasting fame is due in large part to the epic poemEpic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
Yolanda von Vianden (see more below), written by Friar Hermann of Veldenz
Veldenz
Veldenz is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, O.P., which is one of only work two works we have from him, the other being a prose account of her life. This poem recounts how, as a young girl, she wanted to become a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
against the wishes of her parents. Indeed, her mother had hoped to arrange a marriage to the noble Walram of Monschau, in order to consolidate the influence of the Counts of Vianden
Counts of Vianden
The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden .-House of Sponheim:* Bertolph count of Vianden * Frederic I of Vianden...
, especially in their relations with the Counts of Luxembourg. In 1245, when Yolanda was 14, her mother, the Marchioness
Marchioness
Marchioness could refer to:*A noblewoman with the rank of Marquess, or the wife of a Marquess.*The Marchioness, a pleasure boat that was sunk on the River Thames in 1989....
Margaret of Courteney
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur was the daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders.Margaret married Raoul lord of Issoudun in 1210. She succeeded her husband as Lady of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher and Mareuil-en-Berry in 1216. Soon after the death of her first husband she married Henry I,...
, brought Yolanda along as her companion on a visit to the Dominican monastery of Marienthal, where Yolanda unexpectedly fled into the protection of its cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
and gained admission as a novice
Novice
A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...
.
A year later, her mother returned, now with the armed support of several noblemen, threatening to destroy the monastery unless Yolanda agreed to leave. The girl was thus persuaded to return to Vianden where her parents once again attempted to change her wishes by keeping her in Vianden Castle
Vianden Castle
Vianden Castle , located in Vianden in the north of Luxembourg, is one of the largest fortified castles west of the Rhine. With origins dating from the 10th century, the castle was built in the Romanesque style from the 11th to 14th centuries. Gothic transformations and trimmings were added at the...
. But Yolanda did not waver. If anything, she was reinforced in her views through discussions with well-known Dominican friars such as Walter von Meisemburg and St. Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...
. Finally, even her mother relented and agreed that Yolanda should return to Marienthal. Entering a life of prayer and charity, Yolanda developed in her monastic life through the years, and was eventually elected the monastery's prioress in 1258. She remained there until her death 25 years later in 1283. Interestingly, her mother also joined the monastery after the death of her husband during a crusade (1252).
There is little remaining evidence of the life of Yolanda apart from a skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
, said to be hers, which is displayed at the Church of the Trinitarians in Vianden. As the monastery was closed in the 18th century, there is no trace of her there today.
Yolanda's steadfast resolve to leave the riches and privileges of the nobility in favour of a spartan, devout life in a monastery was as sensational as it was inspiring. This no doubt explains why Friar Hermann was inspired to write her life story, and why she has become such a revered figure, above all, for Luxembourgian
Luxembourgers
Luxembourgers are an ethnic group native to Luxembourg sharing Luxembourgian culture and being of Luxembourgian descent.-Location:Most ethnic Luxembourgers live in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, a small country located in Europe between Germany, France and Belgium and are a mixture of Latin and...
women.
The Yolanda poems
There are two poems which relate the life of Yolanda:- Yolanda von Vianden by Friar Hermann of Veldenz who wrote the story of her life in 1290 after her death in 1283. The work consists of 5,963 lines of rhyming couplets in Moselle FranconianMoselle FranconianMoselle Franconian is a group of West Central German dialects, part of the Central Franconian language area.It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle River, from the Siegerland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and...
with close similarities to today's Luxembourgish. Brother Hermann's epic appears to have lain in the Marienthal monastery for almost four centuries after he wrote it. In 1655 the then lost original was copied on paper by the Belgian Jesuit, Alexander von Wiltheim. At the same time, Wiltheim wrote a life of Yolanda in Latin based on Brother Hermann's Middle High German. Then in November 1999, the Luxembourg linguist Guy Berg discovered the original manuscript, now known as the Codex Mariendalensis, in Amsembourg Castle, a short distance from Marienthal. This was a very important discovery as it is considered to be the oldest manuscript in Luxembourgish. - A second poem about Yolanda, by an anonymous English author, has also recently come to light. Entitled Iölanda, A Tale of the Duchy of Luxembourg, it was published in 1832.. The author, who was told about Yolanda on a visit to the castle in Vianden, was apparently aware of Friar Hermann's account as he explains in his introduction that, for romantic reasons, he has changed the story so that it concludes with Iölanda's marriage.