Rasso

Rasso

Saint Rasso of Andechs (also Rasso of Grafrath, Graf Ratt, Ratho, Grafrath, Rasso von Andechs) (c. 900–953) was a Bavarian count and military leader, pilgrim, and saint. He was the count (Graf) of Dießen-Andechs, leading the Bavarians against invading Magyars in the tenth century. No contemporary Vita of Rasso has survived and various legends arose around his cult in the late Middle Ages. However, there is no reason to doubt that there existed a count named Rasso who fought against the Magyars in the 950s. As a middle-aged man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome, where he collected relics, returning to found a Benedictine abbey at Wörth, later named Grafrath after him. He was a large man. When his relics were exhumed in 1468, it was determined that he was some 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) tall, although it was previously thought that he was even taller, since the size of his actual grave was 2 and a half meters.

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