Jutta of Sponheim was the daughter of a count and grew up in a castle, but while most women in her situation would have been a desirable match in marriage, Jutta rejected all suitors and insisted on becoming a nun.37 She was extremely pious and an ascetic, practising frequent fasting and self-flagellation, praying barefoot for hours in extreme weather, wearing chains and horsehair shirts, and refusing all meat. By the time of her death, aged just 44, her body had been ravaged by these practices, which horrified the young girl she shared a cell with.
