Women Mystics

„Tu deinen Mund auf und iss, was ich dir geben werde.“ Der Adressat dieser Anweisung ist der alttestamentliche Prophet Ezechiel, der von Gott angehalten wird, eine Schriftrolle zu essen, ihren Inhalt sich einzuverleiben und die sich auf diese Weise angeeigneten Worte Gottes zu verkünden (vgl. Ez 2,8ff.). In jenen Texten des Mittelalters, die unter der literaturhistoriographischen Ordnungskategorie ‚mystische Literatur‘ subsumiert werden, steht das Geschriebene meistens nicht am Beginn des Offenbarungsprozesses, sondern ist sein Produkt. Bemerkenswerterweise stellt die Schriftwerdung des Offenbarten in den Texten ein Thema für sich dar. Anders gesagt: Die Texte reflektieren die Bedingungen ihrer Entstehung; sie legen Wert darauf, den Leser in die Umstände ihrer Genese einzuweihen.
Dies gilt auch für die Helftaer Offenbarungsliteratur, deren textintern präsentierte Buchentstehungsgeschichten die deutliche Signatur von Schwester N, einer namentlich nicht bekannten Konventualin, tragen, von deren schriftstellerisch-kompilierender Hand auch die vor Kurzem entdeckte Sonderedition des Legatus divinae pietatis in der Leipziger Handschrift Ms 827 zeugt. Für gewöhnlich werden die im Helftaer Schrifttum gemachten Aussagen über die Entstehungsumstände der einzelnen Werke als kulturgeschichtlich verwertbare Fakten referiert, die über tatsächliche Schreibprozesse informieren. Doch zeigt der Prolog der Sonderausgabe des Legatus, wie Autorschaft modelliert und Schreibszenarien kreiert werden können, was die Frage nach dem Referenzwert vieler faktisch anmutender Details rund um die Buchgenesen, aber auch in Bezug auf die Figurationen von Autorschaft aufwirft.
Ohne diese Implikationen des Themas aus den Augen zu verlieren, widme ich mich in meinem Vortrag den Produkten der um 1300 tätigen Literaturwerkstatt von Helfta. Einleitend werde ich Spuren literarischer Interessenbildung bei jenen Grafenhäusern nachgehen, aus deren Reihen sich die Gründer des Vorgängerkonvents von Helfta rekrutieren. Der Blick auf die Anfänge von Helfta ist insofern aufschlussreich, als die Akteure, mit deren Namen der Literaturbetrieb um 1300 verbunden ist, Nachfahren der Förderer von Helfta bzw. der Stifter des Vorgängerkonvents waren. Diese Akteure haben in verschiedenen Funktionen zur Entstehung eines Textcorpus beigetragen, das nach einhelliger Meinung der Forschung nicht nur Werke mit Offenbarungscharakter, sondern auch solche umfasst, die aus seelsorgerischem Anliegen heraus verfasst wurden. Welche Werke mit Helfta tatsächlich in Verbindung stehen und welche wohl nicht, möchte ich im Einzelnen erläutern. Dabei gilt es, sowohl den Inhalt der neu aufgefundenen Leipziger Handschrift Ms 827 zu berücksichtigen, als auch die Argumente auf den Prüfstand zu stellen, die die Forschung veranlasst haben, das Fließende Licht und die Exercitia spiritualia dem Helftaer Literaturbetrieb um 1300 zuzuschlagen.

This article presents a manuscript that significantly enriches the textual corpus of ›Helfta Mysticism‹ with a series of hitherto unknown writings. Aside from this, it contains what is by some distance the oldest copy of the ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹, in the form of a ›special edition‹ that consists of excerpts from the known text as well as new material. This is preceded by a prologue and a florilegium which is marked in an epilogue as Gertrude’s own work. We argue that the epilogue of the florilegium, the prologue and the ›special edition‹ itself were probably composed by ›Sister N‹ of Helfta herself. The article provides a full description of the manuscript (Ms 827), a breakdown of the new ›special edition‹ of the ›Legatus‹-text, and an edition, translation, and close reading of the prologue.

Im Folgenden soll eine Handschrift vorgestellt werden, die die Textbasis der Helftaer Mystik mit einer Reihe von bislang unbekannten Schriften bereichert. Außerdem enthält sie die mit Abstand älteste Abschrift des ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹ in Form einer ›Sonderausgabe‹, die aus Exzerpten aus dem bekannten Textcorpus und aus weiterem bislang nicht bekanntem Material besteht. Dieser geht eine Vorrede und ein im Epilog als Gertruds Werk ausgewiesenes Florilegium voraus, Texte, die wie die ›Sonderausgabe‹ selbst von Schwester N von Helfta stammen dürften. Die vorliegende Studie bietet eine Beschreibung von Ms 827, die Aufschlüsselung der ›Sonderausgabe‹ des ›Legatus‹ sowie Abdruck, Übersetzung und inhaltliche Analyse der Vorrede.

Mysticism refers to a religious philosophical approach emphasizing a deep, direct connection between the divine and a believer, achieved by faith and manifested through inspiration and illumination. The word finds its origin in ancient Greek, referring to the term for "to conceal." Similarly, individuals participating in mystery religions are referred to as mystae. Medieval mysticism and inspired forms of Christian faith influenced subsequent religious movements across Europe, such as the Protestant Reformation (especially its radical branch) and the so-called Counter-Reformation. During the Renaissance and the Reformation, mystical thought played a major role in the many attempts to reform the Church. Women, in particular, were instrumental in the diffusion of mystical ideas and practices in both the Middle Ages and in early modernity.

An article written for the Mysics of the Church Website about the extraordinary life and prophecies of the "Breton Stigmatist", Marie-Julie Jahenny.  Includes her warnings for our times and new information on the promised Great Monarch of Catholic prophecy ~ Henry V, Count of Chambord.

The main focus of this essay is the study of the image of the mirror in the works of religious women from the 13th and 14th centuries (Mechthild von Magdeburg, Hadewijch van Brabant and Marguerite Porete), especially regarding the Platonic tradition which links this image with the soul. I will examine fragments of their literary work in order to discuss some physiological, anthropological and theological preconceptions implied in the use of the mirror-image, especially those developments concerning self-knowledge and deification (theosis). Additionally, I analyze the relationships between the mirror and the "mystique courtoise," particularly with the theme of the Fountain of Narcissus.

"An examination of the relation between redemption and sin in Julian of Norwich through the lens of the parable of the lord and the servant--Revelation 14, Chapter 51 of her "Showings."

Instead of resolving soteriological debates around universalism vs. orthodoxy, this paper takes its cue from Julian, who finds an answer to her struggle with the conflicting accounts of sin and redemption in Mystery, which is not the same place as the question with which she began. And it is the space within this Mystery from where she can strikingly confidently say that "All shall be well."

The paper begins with a brief introduction to the enigmatic nature of Julian's writing and move into more basic background for those unfamiliar with the 14th century English mystic and anchoress. After examining the original vision of the lord and the servant, we move to see Dame Julian's two meanings of the parable--servant as Adam and servant as Christ--and ask her those aspects that make the two meanings continually unified--including the beautiful and non-blaming gaze of God, and the unity of the servant.

The two meanings and two unifying points emphasize different aspects of Julian's thought--the "divine" and "human" perspectives--which contributes to the various positions of scholars who debate her orthodoxy regarding heaven and hell, the Fall, and her potential belief in universal salvation. This paper does not argue for either of the camps, but navigates another route per Julian's lead on finding distinction in the unified gaze and the unified servant yet moving beyond through the "three comforts" that were brought to Julian. These comforts encompass the partial perspectives, allowing Julian to navigate the human view of her sinfulness (as upheld as orthodox by the Church), the divine perspective of blamelessness and her hopeful truth that "all shall be well," and a holistic comfort implying an entirety and shrouded in Mystery only known to the Second Person.

Yet she tastes it: "Wouldst thou know thy Lord's meaning in this thing? Be well aware: love was His meaning. Who showed it thee? Love. What showed He thee? Love. Why did He show it thee? For love."

"

This concise but comprehensive handbook was composed by one of Black Africa's leading Muslim women thinkers, reformers, mystics and nation builders. It is a work on Islamic theology, the purification of the heart, metaphysics and social reform.

This blogpost consolidates my Masters Research Project on sadomasochism in The Book of Margery Kempe (1438), with comparisons to a modern work of erotic submission, Story of O (1954).
It was published on Jan. 12, 2022 on the The Margery Kempe Society website. The post was approved by Dr. Laura Varnam and Dr. Laura Kalas, and edited by Emily M. Harless. The URL is: https://themargerykempesociety.wordpress.com/2022/01/12/maybelle-leung-staging-submission-in-the-book-of-margery-kempe-and-story-of-o-a-study-in-contractual-masochism/

http://www.bebeverlag.at/analecta-cisterciensia/

The focus of my paper centers on those narratives recorded in the Prologues of the Standard as well as in the Special Edition of the “Legatus” (Leipzig, University Library, Ms 827) pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the text’s genesis, the levels of its redaction, and the respective shares of the individual contributors. My main objective is to demonstrate that it is entirely irresponsible from a literature-historical perspective to disqualify this narrative, composed by an unknown sister of Gertrude’s community, the compilatrix Sister N, as uncertain or even false solely on the grounds that not all details are empirically-factually verifiable. Rather, it is necessary to gauge them according to their own stated claim to veracity and to inquire as to their function within the context of the respective text version. Consequently, the statements contained in the Standard and in the Special Edition of the “Legatus” regarding the text’s genesis will not be viewed primarily as cultural-historical exploitable facts concerning the factual literary production at Helfta. Nevertheless, it is imperative that we not lose sight of the actual circumstances of the genesis of the mystical literature produced in Helfta, and must now reassess them in view of the newly discovered “Legatus” manuscript in Leipzig.

The present overview is based on manuscripts to which I have referred on various occasions in connection with my previous work with Gertrud and the ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹. It serves primarily as a platform to INDICATE NEW MSS, but could also pave the way for a new edition of the text. Corrective notes and additions are therefore welcome.

ERROR CORRECTION: The new discovered manuscript Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, ms. 827 doesn't contain any information about Gertrude's family name. Although the manuscript enriches the textual corpus of ›Helfta Mysticism‹ with a series of hitherto unknown writings. Aside from this, it contains what is by some distance the oldest copy of the ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹, in the form of a ›special edition‹ that consists of excerpts from the known text as well as new material (revelationes extravagantes!). This is preceded by a prologue and a florilegium which is marked in an epilogue as Gertrude’s own work. There is an article that argues that the epilogue of the florilegium, the prologue and the ›special edition‹ itself were probably composed by ›Sister N‹ of Helfta herself. The article provides a full description of the manuscript (Ms 827), a breakdown of the new ›special edition‹ of the ›Legatus‹-text, and an edition, translation, and close reading of the prologue, see Almuth Märker/Balázs J. Nemes: "hunc tercium conscripsi cum maximo labore occultandi" Schwester N von Helfta und ihre 'Sonderausgabe' des "Legatus diviniae pietatis" Gertruds von Helfta in der Leipziger Handschrift Ms 827, in: Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 137.2 (2015), S. 248-296.

The corpus of works produced by the visionary nuns at Helfta illustrates the complexity of both textual transmission and authorial identity in the high and late Middle Ages. By tracing the transmission of texts – either in their entirety or in extracts – and by documenting hitherto unknown manuscript witnesses to that transmission, this contribution demonstrates the extent of interconnected monastic networks and the impact of visionary texts from Helfta. The choice of extracts, their adaptation and their integration into new contexts are particularly crucial for understanding the processes of transmission and nature of authorship. Topics: collective and cooperative authorship, divine authorisation, the process of codifying revelations against the background of monastic "memoria".

In the following pages I provide a Philological edition of five unpublished songs linked with the production of the Franciscan abbess Juana de la Cruz (1481-1534). I study first the source from a material point of view, and then develop a metric analysis of thesongs, putting them in the context of the Franciscan lyrical poetry at a European level. On the other hand, I make a brief theological commentary of each of the songs, contextualizing them in the visionary preaching activity of the abbess.

Resumen: En las siguientes páginas edito y comento un corpus inédito de cinco canciones vinculadas a la abadesa franciscana Juana de la Cruz (1481-1534). Además de un texto que se transcribe siguiendo criterios filológicamente fiables, proporciono una descripción material de la fuente y realizo un estudio métrico de las composiciones. Por otro lado, desde la ladera de su interpretación histórica, hago un breve comentario teológico de cada una de las piezas, que las propone como parte de la producción lírica franciscana europea, a la vez que las contextualizo en la predicación visionaria de la abadesa en su contexto cisneriano. Palabras clave Juana de la Cruz; reforma observante; franciscanismo femenino; predicación femenina; Libro del conhorte; lírica religiosa; laude.

The unabridged version of my poetic hagiography of  9th century girl- goddess -poet Andal as told by Tamil mystic Periyalwar, saint and 'father'  of Andal. This fictionalized personal narrative was published in Andal The Autobiography of a Goddess with collaborator Ravi Shankar by the feminist press Zubaan in 2015. Conventional hagiographies are predicated on a given and absolute truth while first person narratives propose fragility of knowledge and intimacy of belief. Thus, history, fiction and faith merge to remain true to the form's intent: to reveal the life of  the saint. In this case, both of Andal's transformation into a girl- mystic and Periyalwar, her saint 'father'.

https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/184968?rskey=iVoKIs&result=1
http://portal.uni-freiburg.de/germanistische-mediaevistik/nachrichten/buchvorstellung

Reviews: Literaturkritik https://literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=26377 (29.01.2020, Jörg Füllgrabe) --- Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 100 (2020), 683f. (Jörg Voigt) --- Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 143/2 (2021), 299-307 (Antje Willing) --- Journal of English and Germanic Philology 120/2 (2021), 265-267 (Marianne Kalinke).

The English mystic-theologian Julian of Norwich offers us in her Revelations of Divine Love the testimony of an experience that moves between the gracious irruption of God and her inner freedom as subject of faith. Her work is not the simple account of something she saw / felt, but the empathic narration of an encounter that revealing God-Love reveals to her the deepest of herself and of Humanity. In Julian of Norwich mysticism and theology attain an exceptional synthesis, the fruit of an authentic «intelligence of the heart». Thanks to her deep experience of God, her courageous internalization and her systematic development that breaks with the God’s image of her time’s theology, Juliana is a paradigm of a theology born of the encounter with God and that’s why it’s prophetic.

La mística-teóloga inglesa Juliana de Norwich nos ofrece en su obra Revelaciones del Amor Divino el testimonio de una experiencia que se mueve entre la irrupción gratuita de Dios y su propia libertad como sujeto de fe. Su obra no es el simple relato de algo que ella ha visto/sentido, sino la narración empática de un encuentro que revelándole el Dios-Amor le revela lo más profundo de sí misma y de la Humanidad. En Juliana mística y teología llegan a una síntesis excepcional, fruto de una auténtica inteligencia del corazón. Gracias a su profunda experiencia de Dios, su valiente interiorización y su elaboración sistemática que rompe con la imagen de Dios de la teología de su tiempo, Juliana es paradigma de una teología que por nacer del encuentro con Dios es profética.

In this article we compare the language of light used by Dante Alighieri with the one used by his “heretical” contemporary Marguerite dicta Porete (†1310) to express the final contact-vision of  God. We will analyze both authors’ use of the images of light, of the gradual ascent and of the knot, placing their books in the context of the theological doctrines concerning the visio Dei in the 14th century. This will allow us to posit the authors’ shared eschatological background based on the conception of God as a visible being who radiates his love and knowledge through the created universe. In conclusion, we will discuss the visual and narrative strategies these authors employed in order to express a relationship with the divine, focusing on the historical heterodox implications of the Commedia and the Mirouer.

Resumen: En este artículo comparamos el lenguaje de la luz utlizado por Dante Alighieri con aquel de su contemporánea Marguerite dicta Porete (†1310) para expresar la visión final de Dios. Para ello, analizaremos el uso que ambos hacen del imaginario lumínico, del ascenso graduado y del nudo, poniendo sus obras en el contexto de las discusiones teológicas sobre la visio Dei en el siglo XIV. Esto nos permitiráreivindicar un transfondo escatológico compartido, basado en la percepción de Dios como ser visible cuyo amor-conocimiento se irradia por todo el universo. Como conclusión, reflexionaremos sobre las estrategias visuales y narrativas que ambos autores utilizan para abordar su visión directa de lo divino y discutiremos las implicaciones que las mismas representan en relación a la posible consideración de sus textos como heterodoxos.

"Along with Hadewijch and Marguerite Porete Mechthild (of Magdeburg) is considered one of prime representatives of those Beguine Mystics who have also been literarily productive. While her exceptional position in literary history is not at issue, her perception as a beguine is more questionable, for it is primarily based on a particular reading of the "Flowing Light of the Godhead". This reading seems to be problematic from the perspective of current literary studies. Outlining the history of scholarship on the question of Mechthild’s religious status, the paper shows in a first step why some of the assumptions are questionable. Using an alternative approach the paper will then discuss Mechthild’s status by analyzing the reception of the "Flowing Light of the Godhead" and its translation in Latin ("Lux divinitatis").

Zusammen mit Hadewijch und Marguerite Porete gilt Mechthild (von Magdeburg) als eine der wichtigsten Vertreterinnen der auch literarisch produktiv gewordenen Beginenmystik. Auch wenn ihre exzeptionelle Stellung in der Literaturgeschichte nicht zur Debatte steht, darf nicht übersehen werden, dass Mechthilds Wahrnehmung als Begine an einem bestimmten Punkt der wissenschaftlichen Beschäftigung mit dem "Fließenden Licht" erfolgte und sich einer aus germanistischer Sicht nicht unproblematischen Lektüre des Textes verdankt. Dies soll in einem ersten Schritt aufgrund einer forschungsgeschichtlichen tour d’horizon aufgezeigt werden, um anschließend die Frage nach Mechthilds religiösem Status unter Einbeziehung der Überlieferung des "Fließenden Lichts" und seiner lateinischen Übersetzung ("Lux divinitatis") rezeptionsgeschichtlich zu perspektivieren."

Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-c.1416) was an anchoress, enclosed at St Julian’s church in Norwich in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. At the age of 30, still living at home, she became gravely ill (probably with the Black Death, which recurred several times after the initial outbreak from 1347-1351, in which approximately one third of the population of Europe died). On 8 May 1373 she received the last rites. The curate in attendance showed her a crucifix and she had sixteen visions of Jesus in the subsequent hours. She was pronounced recovered on 13 May, and shortly after wrote the Short Text of her visions. She became an anchoress; it has been speculated that her family died in the plague, that she was a spinster in the parental home, or may have been a nun before withdrawal to St Julian’s. While enclosed, she meditated on the meaning of her visions and produced over decades the Long Text (approximately 63,000 words compared to the Short Text at 11,000 words). It may not have reached its complete form before 1410.

Many silences envelop Julian. Manuscripts survived in England and the Continent, but the audience was restricted till the English edition of Grace Warrack (1855-1932) which appeared in 1901. Julian’s visions focused on ideas of sin, salvation and punishment, and gained popularity due to the optimistic words attributed to Christ: “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Since 1900 Julian was well-received by Anglican and Catholic Christians, due in part to her radical theology of the maternity of God. But two other silences are of importance; one inner and one outer. The revelations Julian witnessed silenced her inner fears of sin and damnation and enabled her to live a life of singular devotion to Christ. But the other problematic silence concerns the assumptions that twenty-first century people have about anchoresses. Margery Kempe’s Life states that she visited Julian to ask for spiritual advice around 1414; the information she gives indicates that Julian, her inner questions quelled, was nevertheless not a silent recluse, a medieval Trappist, but an engaged member of the Catholic community of Norwich, and giver of spiritual counsel to pilgrims from farther afield. This lecture explores these paradoxical silences in the life and work of Julian of Norwich.

Summary

The Involved Reader. Immersive Reading Practices in Late Medieval Reception of Mysticism


The article approaches the immersive potential of Mechthild von Magdeburg’s "Fließendes Licht", dispensing the reader from his role as a spectator and turning him into a participant, something which has frequently been claimed by the new German medieval studies. This particular kind of recipient is certainly an ideal-typical reader, a literary construct with the function of displaying the strategies of persuasion in "Fließendes Licht" and the special literacy or the functional inclusion of the text. It should be all the more interesting to have a look at a specific historical recipient as this allows making the text’s calculated aesthetic impacts plausible as well as outlining them with regard to the history of receptions. The instructions by Heinrich von Nördlingen from the first half of the 14th century, which told Margareta Ebner and the Dominican nuns of Maria Medingen near Dillingen how to incorporate and read "Das Fließende Licht", as an particular example and the recourse to circulating thoughts about the phenomenology of immersion shall show which requirements have to be fulfilled in a special religious context of reception to obtain the effect of immersion. Heinrich's directives are perfectly suitable for this line of questioning as they create the model of an involved reader, amounting to the requirement to get into the diegesis of the text and to identify with the literary figure.

un articulo en judeoespaniol qye se acerca a la compleja personalidad de Reyna Cohen, una de las primeras escritoras sefardies en judeoespaniol,  autora de 3 livros y de una autobiografia inedita en la cual explica los prigenes de su vocacion mistica

Starting from an episode of gender violence suffered by the community of Franciscan tertiaries of Santa Maria de la Cruz de Cubas and caused by its prelates, we analyze here the denounce discourse formulated by these women in the biography of the visionary Juana de la Cruz and in her sermons. Possible change proposals in these texts are also evaluated. In order to do this, we review their concept of what the Church is and the relationship model between the sexes. The prophetic nature of this feminine discourse confers to its views an undoubted political weight.
Partiendo de un episodio de violencia de género sufrido por la comunidad de terciarias franciscanas de Santa María de la Cruz de Cubas a manos de sus prelados, se analiza aquí el discurso de denuncia que estas mujeres formularon en la biografía de la visionaria Juana de la Cruz y en sus sermones. También se valoran posibles propuestas de cambio en estos textos. Para ello, se pasa revista al concepto de Iglesia y al modelo de relación entre los sexos. El carácter profético de este discurso femenino confiere a sus planteamientos una indudable carga política.

https://www.esv.info/978-3-503-18723-2
http://portal.uni-freiburg.de/germanistische-mediaevistik/nachrichten/interview_nemes_emmelius

Reviews: Analecta Cisterciensia 69 (2019), 452–454 (M. Hildegard Brem O.Cist.) --- Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum Nova Series 5 (2020), 241–245 (Ruth Meyer) --- Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 143 (2021), 488–497 (Jacqueline Züst) URL: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/bgsl-2021-0038/html --- Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 151 (2022), 247-257 (Hans Unterreitmeier) --- .Deutsches Archiv 79.1 (2023), S. 317–319 (Jonas Hermann) URL: https://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/da/da791.pdf.

Dan l-artiklu jittratta l-mistiċiżmu, u b'mod partikolari l-mistiċiżmu femminili. Jagħti ħarsa fil-qosor lejn l-aspetti diversi li fuqhom tisħaq it-teoloġija mistika, kif ukoll jemfasizza l-importanza tad-dixxerniment fl-analiżi tal-kitbiet u l-esperjenzi tal-mistiċi.

This article looks at the ‘Lives’ of Marie d’Oignies and Douceline of Digne, two of the many laywomen mystics who emerged in Europe in the thirteenth century. It aims to show how a perception of difference based on sex shaped the ways in which the authors of the ‘Lives’ emphasised the women’s somatic spirituality in order to construct them as ‘different’ in a way that would allow the women to be accommodated within, rather than perceived as a threat to, established power structures.

This work is intended to examine the "Giardino spirituale", a short treatise
of devout spiritual exercises and instructions addressed to nuns, composed in the first quarter of the sixteenth century by Sister Arcangela Panigarola, a mystic and prophetess who lived in the Milanese Augustinian monastery of Santa Marta. After briefly outlining the figure and work of Sister Arcangela, the essay investigates the spiritual allegories relating to the celebration of the cult of the Child Jesus, linked to the idea that every daily gesture must be accompanied by meditation. Panigarola in fact invites her nuns to build, through prayer, the cradle of Jesus, as well as the «lenzoletto», the «fodretta», the «patolino», all devotional practices which, appear indebted to the tradition of monastic orthopraxis. Subsequently,
it is demonstrated how the work fits beautifully into a precise pietistic
circuitry – that of exquisitely feminine monastic ceremonials – and how everything seems to be linked to characteristic objects of devotion to the Divine Infant, particularly to portable cradles.