Gertrudis Magna: Pagkakaiba sa mga binago

 

Kakaunti lamang ang kaalaman sa buhay ni Gertrude. Si Gertrude ay ipinanganak sa Pista ng Epiphany, Enero 6, 1256, sa Eisleben, Thuringia (sa loob ng [[Banal na Imperyong Romano|Holy Roman Empire]] ). Apat na taong gulang<ref>Her biographer states "in her fifth year", leading some to misinterpret this as being when she was five years old. See Alexandra Barrett, 'Introduction', in Gertrud the Great of Helfta, ''The Herald of God's Loving-Kindness: Books One and Two'', (Kalamazoo, 1991), p10</ref> siya nang pumasok sa monasteryong paaralan ng Santa Maria sa Helfta (na hindi mapagkasunduan ng mga eksperto kung ito nga ay Benedictine o Cistercian), <ref>This has been a point of some contention in twentieth-century studies of Gertrude. The best answer is that, technically, Helfta was a Benedictine monastery, but one which was strongly influenced by the Cistercian reform - this reflect the lack of clear-cut distinctions between the Orders at this time.