The Deeds of Wiprecht
Components
Judith
and adorned with garments woven with gold and with various jewelled ornamentsand, with the king nodding approval, commended all those ornaments to his chamberlains to be saved, thus providing himself future advantages. But Wiprecht refused to accept the part of that province [i.e., Bohemia] which the king had assigned to his daughter for her dowry; instead, he demanded and procured in exchange two districts outside it, namely Nisen and Bautzen. Having accepted these, he built a castle by the name of Schwerzau, which would be a safe fortress for his wife.
On the same day, the lady Countess Judith, daughter of the Czech king Vratislav, came forth crowned and royally adorned in clothes woven with gold. That very day, upon the altar, she dedicated to God and Saint James these two remarkable items: a crown inlaid with gold and gems, and a robe woven with gold, resembling a dalmatic and of the most precious workmanship, which she was wearing under a cloak also woven with gold.
In the year of the Lord 1109. In this year, Henry, the fourth [fifth] king of this name, arranged to celebrate Christmas at Mainz. The German princes solemnly came together there from all directions, supported by a great deal of pomp. Wiprecht too was present with his sons, Wiprecht and Henry. But for them—oh the pain!—that same feast was turned into mourning. For the lady countess Judith, worthy of everyone's veneration and remembrance, died—with God piously arranging it (as we hope and wish) on account of her most generous good will towards our monastery. Ready to sing on the nativity of her Saviour, she joined with the saints in the angelic song, 'Glory in the highest to the lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.' And ready to delight in the bosom of Abraham in the resting place for the earthly amongst the heavenly, she went the way of all flesh on her patrimony called Bautzen on the sixteenth Kalends of January [17 December]. Messengers were therefore sent quickly in both directions to report her death: not only to the lord Wiprecht and their sons, but also to the princes of Bohemia, the lady Judith's brothers. Meanwhile, everyone came together in groups for her funeral. Indeed, having received such sad news through the messengers, the lord Wiprecht, with a tearful plaint about the passing of his wife, obtained permission from the emperor to return home immediately. He sent a legate ahead as soon as possible to have the body brought in the meantime to the monastery at Pegau, where Abbot Windolf received it with honour and his brothers received it solemnly with grief and chanting. The lord Wiprecht himself very swiftly followed with his men. Finally, on Wiprecht’s arrival there and with the princes of Bohemia meeting up with him simultaneously, great lamentations were made. There was a gathering of a crowd of people, who had flocked together from all directions within four days. On account of this, the body brought to Pegau remained continuously placed on top of a bier and unburied. Besides the bishop of Meissen, who had come with everything needed for the funeral rites, the lord Wiprecht invited [Bishops] Albuin of Merseburg and Walram of Zeitz, who came surrounded by ranks of clerics. They devoutly performed the funeral office with due veneration. In the end, how do such great and festive funeral rites deserve to be distinguished or delimited? What description might satisfy the reader? A short one, to be sure. For what could be said more briefly or heard more truly from us than that dirt is consigned to dirt, ashes to ashes? But without doubt they are settled in the sole hope of resurrection and rebirth; falling blessedly asleep in the Lord, they rest in peace. May God, the redeemer of our souls, who lives and reigns with the Father and Holy Spirit (etc.), grant this peace and the grace of rebirth to our lady Judith.
But let it be known that the body does not lie in the place where the memorial made for her is visible; instead it is at the foot of the altar of the holy Cross, a spot which still remains marked by some indication. At that time, this altar was positioned in a higher place.
Besides these things, while she was still living, the lady Judith had given to this church a green chasuble with gold embroidery.
But also, she endowed the basilica of St. Nicholas with the material for the preparation of both the altar and the priest and with two royal mansi in the village of Borkovice for the use, that is, of the priest who should perpetually celebrate the solemnities of the Mass there.