Gertrude of Hackeborn was a 13th-century Benedictine abbess who led the convent of Helfta, located near Eisleben in modern Germany. Born into the Thuringian Hackeborn dynasty around 1232, she entered the religious life at the convent of Roderdorf. Following the establishment of a new community at Helfta in 1258, she governed the monastery with a focus on both spiritual depth and intellectual rigor. She is remembered for her leadership of a community that blended various spiritual traditions, including Cistercian austerity and Dominican mysticism.