Hemma von Peilenstein

Within about a fifteen minute car drive from my home in Bleiburg, there is a series of hills, not to call them mountains, of which one bears the name: „Hemmaberg“, the mountain of Hemma. It was named in memory of Saint Hemma.

Who then, was Saint Hemma ?

She was borne in the year 980 AD, or about that time.

Nobody knows for sure.

In fact not too much is known about her. Not even the exact spelling of her name:

some call her „Hemma“ some call her „Emma“., or „Imma“

No wonder; she lived about 1000 years ago, and in that time span, stories have a habit of changing.

Let me tell you what I could find out about her and then my assumption, which may or may not be accurate.

Borne as the „Countess of Zeltschach“ to obviously a noble family, called Peilenstein, baptised as „Hemma“ ( or Emma, or maybe Imma ) and brought up in Bamberg, a city now situated in Bavaria, by Empress Kunigunde.

She married Count Wilhelm of Friesach and bore him two sons, Hartwig and Wilhelm.

Hemma (let's agree on this version of her name) was a very pious lady and well connected with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.

She is said to have been a most generous lady, donating much of her personal wealth to the Catholic church.

Her wealth, however, was peanuts, compared to that of her husband, Count Wilhelm of Friesach.

The official end-story of this family goes like this:

One day, in a scuffle with revolting mine workers, Hartwig and Wilhelm were killed.

Their father, Count Wilhelm, overtaken by grief, made a pilgrimage to Rome.

On his journey back home he too was killed.

Hemma, the only surviving member of her family, inherited all of her husband's immense wealth

and, being the devout Catholic, promptly started to spend it all in works for her religion.

She built 10 ( ten ) churches, paid for their erection and subsequent staffing, built the Benedictine Abbey in Gurk and funded a Benedictine foundation in Admont.

It is easy to see that good old Hemma gave the bulk of her wealth, mostly from her inheritance, to the Catholic church.

When she died in 1045 AD, ( or thereabouts) the Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg dissolved the Admont foundation and quickly used the money to set up the Diocese of Gurk- Klagenfurt.

Hemma was „beatified“ in the year 1287 and declared a Saint in 1938.

(I always thought that, to be declared a Saint, one had to have performed at least three miracles. However, money seems to have easily taken the place of miracles.)

So far the bones of this story. How much of it is true nobody really knows.

This is what I think might have happened:

Hemma was like putty in the hands of the Catholic Church who knew that anything she owned would finally end up in its hands.

So, how do we get all of the family's wealth into Hemma's possession?

Simple: We kill the male members and then there will be only Hemma, and to get the money out of her will be child's play.

Oh, you say, religious people, like Bishops, Archbishops, Popes would not do such a dastardly thing ?

You have to be kidding!

They have probably done this, as they have done many more deeds worse than this.

Of course, they have no exclusive on murder for money. This seems to be an ear mark of mankind.

Bertstravels

is glad not to be rich, that's why he survived to a ripe old age