Abstract
A manuscript made near the end of the fifteenth century for the Dutch-speaking Augustinian nuns, most likely sisters working in the hospital at Geel in Brabant (Heverlee, Park Abdij, ms 18), contains a text written in the vernacular offering detailed instructions for the young nun to prepare the bedroom inside her heart for her bridegroom. The Middle Dutch text appears in no other manuscripts, but it is closely related to other material in circulation in women’s convents in Germany and the Low Countries. The text, which seems to be directed especially to young postulants as they prepare to take their vows of marriage to Jesus, is filled with highly visual language, richly describing the trappings of the consecration ceremony. It addresses the female reader directly as she prepares for her special feast day. The text toggles between the extended metaphor of the heart-as-house, and extremely concrete instructions to prepare and furnish a physical space. In this brief essay I transcribe this hitherto-unknown text, then consider it in light of its probable users. The meditation helps its user to transform her own surroundings into an idealized chamber where she can consummate the mystical marriage with Christ.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Frauen-kloster-kunst |
| Subtitle of host publication | Neue Forschungen Zur Kulturgeschichte Des Mittelalters |
| Editors | Carola Jaeggi, Hedwig Roeckelein, Jeffrey F. Hamburger |
| Place of Publication | Turnhout |
| Publisher | Brepols Publishers |
| Pages | 369-375 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |