Sancta Adwigis ... mulier fortis ... e stirpe generosa – Aspekte der Hedwigsverehrung im Mittelalter

Hedwig of Silesia († 1243) was canonized as early as 1267. Despite an abundance of relevant publications, there are still vast gaps in our knowledge, especially concerning the development and spreading of her cult. This paper wants to outline some aspects of the veneration of St. Hedwig during the Middle Ages and to point to research opportunities not yet exhausted sufficiently. In fact, in the direct environment of the canonization, there is some evidence for a vivid propagation of the new saint’s cult in Polonia and in regnum Bohemiae, particularly in connection with the convent of the Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz (Trzebnica) as the site of Hedwig’s burial place. However, in the first decades, the cult seems to be localised in particular to Cistercian monasteries, where the image of the mulier fortis as a crucial element of self-sanctification plays a decisive role. Only since the mid-14th century approximately, there begins a distinct intensification of her cult, namely both within the Church and in the political relationship, which is associated with the focus on the ancestress Hedwig originating e stirpe generosa as patron saint and mother of the reigning Piast dynasty in Silesia. In the period of crisis during the 15th century, the Silesian middle class becomes more and more the supporter of her cult; but the wide extension of the vita of St. Hedwig, many adaptations and sermons also prove the persistence of her cult at a transregional level.