Agnes, Countess of Aix-en-Berry (fl. 1080–1120) was a medieval healer and the first prioress of the Orsan Priory.
Agnes was the first wife of Alard de Guillebaud, lord of Châteaumeillant; when the marriage was dissolved by reason of consanguinity, Agnes retired to Fontevraud Abbey. In 1107, Alard donated lands for the foundation of a Fontevrist monastery near Orsan (modern Maisonnais) to Robert of Arbrissel at the urging of Leger, Archbishop of Bourges; Agnes became the first prioress of the resulting monastery. She was reputed to be a healer of considerable skill, and attended Robert on his death bed.
References
edit- Dalarun, Jacques (2006). Robert of Arbrissel: Sex, Sin, and Salvation in the Middle Ages. Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-0813214399.
- Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy, eds. (1999). Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415920407.
- Venarde, Bruce (2003). Robert of Arbrissel: A Medieval Religious Life. Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-0813213545.
- Venarde, Bruce (1999). Women's Monasticism and Medieval Society: Nunneries in France and England, 890-1215. Cornell University Press.