An abbess notable for founding the Monastary of Nivelles with her mother, Itta, and for being the Patron Saint of cats

• Gender – Female
• Race – Human
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• Religion – Hellenic Pantheon 
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She was born to an aristocratic family. Her father was associated with the French king and was appointed the Mayor of the Palace. Gertrude grew up among the palace intrigues. When she was about ten years old, the King suggested marrying her to the son of a powerful duke. She indignantly refused and declared that she would marry no earthly man.

When her father died she took the veil and became a nun. Her mother took control of her carreer and had a double monastary — one for monks and one for nuns — built in the city of Nivelles. The seventeen-year-old Gertrude was established as abbess, although her mother stayed with her in an advisory position. Despite her youth, Gertrude seems to have been very well-educated for her time and under her and her mother’s joint administration she brought learned monks from Rome and from Ireland to enrich the monastary with books and sacred relics.

After her mother’s death, Gertrude assumed control of the monastary by herself. She used the property left by her mother to establish churches, monastaries and hospices.

Gertrude drove herself to exhaustion through fasting and abstaining from sleep.

She once sent some of her subjects to a distant land, promising that they would suffer no harm on their journey. On the voyage, the travelers’s ship was attacked by a sea monster which threatened to sink it; but when the travelers called upon Gertrude for protection, the monster vanished.

Gertrude is regarded as the patron saint of travelers, gardeners and cats, and is invoked for protection against rodents. She is often depicted with a cat, and sometimes with mice scurrying about her.