Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 5266
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  • Title: Herrad of Hohenbourg: A Synthesis of Learning in "The Garden of Delights"
  • Source: Listen, Daughter: The "Speculum virginum" and the Formation of Religious Women in the Middle Ages.  Edited by Constant J. Mews.  The New Middle Ages Series. Palgrave, 2001.  Pages 221 - 243.
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Essay
  • Subject (See Also): Education Handbooks Herrad, Abbess of Hohenbourg- Hortus Deliciarum Latin Literature Learning and Scholarship Monasticism Speculum Virginum, Latin Handbook for Nuns Theology Women Authors Women in Religion
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  • Geographic Area: France;Germany
  • Century: 12
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  • Abstract: This chapter compares the "Speculum virginum" to the "Hortus deliciarum" of Herrad of Hohenbourg, a treatise that provides a visual synthesis of scholastic theology, drawn from both reason and scripture. The "Hortus" pays less emphasis to bridal imagery than the "Speculum," but rather is much more concerned to incorporate the arguments of some very recent authors. The "Speculum" may have provided a precedent in provoking communities of religious women to develop a distinct visual culture. The difference between the "Speculum" and the "Hortus" illustrates a profound shift in sensibility that took place within the twelfth century. The "Hortus" shows what can happen when a woman is no longer simply the disciple but herself becomes a teacher. [Reproduced by permission of Palgrave].
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  • Year of Publication: 2001.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 0312240082