EBNER, CHRISTINA

EBNER, Christina. - Dominican mystic, b. at Nuremberg on 26 March 1277, d. at Engeltal on 27 Dec. 1356. Daughter of pious patricians, at seven she devoted herself to the poor; at twelve she joined a sister in the monastery of Engeltal. Of generous and ardent spirit, she inscribed the name of Jesus upon her breast and generously surrendered her self-love. From 1314 onwards she experienced visions and ecstasies, which she began to record in writing at the behest of her confessor, the Dominican Conrad of Füssen, from 1317 to 1324; her fellow nuns continued the record from 1344 to 1352. She was known to the Friends of God, addressed flagellants in 1349, and in 1350 blessed Emperor Charles IV with his retinue who knelt before her. Her tomb fell into oblivion in the 16th century.