| Notes |
- Feastday: April 13
Ida of Lorraine (also referred to as Blessed Ida of Boulogne) (c. 1040 13 April 1113) was a saint and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine and his wife Doda.
Marriage to Eustace II Boulogne Count of Boulogne in 1057 at Age 17 in Boulogne, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
From his second marriage with Ida of Lorraine (daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine), Eustace had three sons, Eustace III, the next count of Boulogne, and Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin, both later monarchs of Jerusalem.
Ida shunned the use of a wet-nurse in raising her sons. Instead, she breast-fed them to ensure that they were not contaminated by the wet-nurse's morals. When her sons went on the First Crusade, Ida contributed heavily to their expenses.
Ida was always religiously and charitably active, but the death of her husband provided her wealth and the freedom to use it for her projects. She founded several monasteries:
Saint-Wulmer in Boulogne-sur-Mer
Our Lady of the Chapel, Calais
Saint-Bertin
Abbey of Cappelle
Abbey of Le Wast
She maintained a correspondence with Anselm of Canterbury. Some of Anselm's letters to Ida have survived.
She became increasingly involved in church life. However, current scholarship feels that she did not actually become a Benedictine Nun, but that she was a "Secular Oblate of the Benedictine Order".
Ida died on 13 April 1113, which is the date she is honoured. Traditionally, her burial place has been ascribed to the Monastery of Saint Vaast. Her remains were moved in 1669 and again in 1808 to her final resting place at the Cathedral of Bayeux
She is venerated in Bayeux.
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1040 - 1113 (~ 73 years)
