In the tenth century, ahead of an imminent Hungarian invasion, a devout, prescient recluse named Wiborada advised the monks to move the library to an even safer place: the island of Reichenau on Lake Constance. When the invaders came, the monks sought refuge in a nearby fortress, but Wiborada remained in her recluse’s cell at the church of St. Magnus. Killed by the intruders at the beginning of May 926, she became in 1047 the first woman in the history of the church to be canonized. Today, she is honored as the patron saint of libraries and bibliophiles.
