Era / Region: High Middle Ages, Western Europe and the Levant
Lifespan: Unknown
Primary Role(s): Nun; religious founder
Alternate Names / Titles: Americas of Althejas
The Life
Americas was a nun from Altejas whose life is known only through brief ecclesiastical references. She lived during the period of the First Crusade, when calls for religious action and pilgrimage were issued by the papacy.
Following the direction of Pope Urban II, Americas sought to take part in the Christian effort in the Holy Land. She went to her bishop to request his blessing and approval to establish a hospice for the poor in Jerusalem. The purpose of the hospice was to provide shelter and care for pilgrims and the needy in the region.
No further details of her life, the outcome of her request, or the later history of the hospice are recorded in surviving sources. Her appearance in the historical record reflects the participation of religious women in charitable and devotional projects connected to the early crusading movement.