MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS WOMEN IN THE LOW COUNTRIES: THE 'MODERN DEVOTION', THE CANONESSES OF WINDESHEIM AND THEIR WRITINGS

"In the last decades of the fourteenth century a new religious movement arose in the northern Low Countries, the so-called 'Modern Devotion', which had a major influence upon religious life in Europe in the later middle ages. It was particularly popular with women, thousands of whom were attracted to it; but until now there has been no study of the women who played a part in the movement. This book seeks to fill that gap, through a case study of the Chapter of Windesheim and the mystical and religious texts its sisters produced, which may be regarded as typical of the female spiritual experience of the Modern Devotion. The author analyses texts by such important canonesses as Salome Sticken, Alijt Bake and Jacomijne Costers, placing them in the context of daily life in the convent; of especial importance also is the anonymous sisterbook of the largest convent at Diepenveen, which provides a rich source of historical information on the movement. He shows that although the women were all concerned with improving religious life in their convents, their opinions and attitudes as to how best to do so varied dramatically, leading to conflict with both other members of the convent, and the male leaders of the Chapter; he pays particular attention to Bake's vision of a mystical spirituality, which ultimately led to her ejection from the convent and exile."--BOOK JACKET.