 saint gertrude of nivelles (also spelled geretrude, geretrudis, gertrud) (ca. 621 â march 17, 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother itta, founded the benedictine monastery of nivelles in present-day belgium. although she was never formally canonized, in 1677 pope clement xii declared her universal feast day to be march 17. she is the patron saint of travelers, gardeners, and cats, and against rats and mental illness. ==family and childhood== the early history of gertrude's family is somewhat mysterious. the anonymous author of her vita only hints at her origins,fouracre writing "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?"vita sanctae geretrudis gertrude's father, pippin of landen (pippin the elder), a nobleman from east frankia, had been instrumental in persuading clothar ii to crown his son, dagobert i, as king of austrasia. gertrude's mother itta was from gascony, and was likely acquainted with saint amand. 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.fredegar ch 84 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 and later sanctified. mcnamara argues that arnulf retired into religion on clothar's death at 628 but kept close ties to the family by marrying his son to gertrude's sister, begga.mcnamara et al. 221 however, later scholars have disagreed, as discussed below. ===marriage proposal=== thumb|gertrude of nivelles (flemish painter) gertrude's vitapossibly written by an irish monk after begga's death in 693. the dispute is discussed in gertrude in literature, below begins with her father hosting a banquet when gertrude was ten years old. that the king accepted pippin's invitation to the dinner 
626_births 659_deaths 7th-century_Christian_saints Belgian_Roman_Catholic_saints Belgian_Roman_Catholics Benedictine_nuns Christian_female_saints_of_the_Middle_Ages Frankish_women Merovingian_saints Pippinid_dynasty