From the Material to the Mystical in Late Medieval Piety: The Vernacular Transmission of Gertrude of Helfta's Visions

Description

The German mystic Gertrude the Great of Helfta (c.1256–1301) is a globally venerated saint who is still central to the Sacred Heart Devotion. Her visions were first recorded in Latin, and they inspired generations of readers in processes of creative rewriting. The vernacular copies of these redactions challenge the long-standing idea that translations do not bear the same literary or historical weight as the originals upon which they are based. In this study, Racha Kirakosian argues that manuscript transmission reveals how redactors serve as cultural agents. Examining the late medieval vernacular copies of Gertrude's visions, she demonstrates how redactors recast textual materials, reflected changes in piety, and generated new forms of devotional practices. She also shows how these texts served as a bridge between material culture, in the form of textiles and book illumination, and mysticism. Kirakosian's multi-faceted study is an important contribution to current debates on medieval manuscript culture, authorship, and translation as objects of study in their own right. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Note on the Maps Introduction Gertrude's Voice in the Latin Legatus Vernacular Rewritings Structure of the Study One The Helfta Scriptorium The Convent's Writing Culture Revisited Writing Scenarios Women Writing Collectively Two Redactions within a Dynamic Textuality Existing Research Revisited New Insights Carthusian Influence A Culture of Redacting Dynamic Textuality Three Manuscript Transmission History Comprehensive Text Witnesses The Buxheim Text Witnesses A Set of Carnival Prayers Devotional Miscellanies A South-German Network Saints' Lives St Katharina in Nuremberg Four The Book's Self-Reflectivity Writing Imagery Corporeal Images and Imagination God, the Author, and His Scribes Voicing the Word Ontological Effects Five The Scriptorial Heart The Heart of the Passion The Heart As Gateway to Salvation The Heart As a Musical Organ Writing from the Heart Excursus: John the Evangelist As Mystical Scribe Six Imaginary Textiles Textile Culture Time and Temporality Participatory Visibility Transformative Embodiment Visionary Craftmanship Imperfect Textiles and the Forgiveness of Sins Final Remarks Appendix I Manuscript Transmission with Catalogues Ein botte der götlichen miltekeit Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek, Chart. B 269, fol. 25r-v Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Hs M 243, fols. 2r-193r, 222v-224r, 236r-252r, 252v-262r Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 5292, fols. 2r-104v, 132r-150r, 154r-211r Vienna, Schottenstift, Cod. 308, fols. 44r-71v, 72v-74r Freiburg im Breisgau, Universitätsbibliothek, Hs. 202, fols. 1r-125r, 157r-177v Freiburg im Breisgau, Erzbischöfliches Archiv, Hs. 31, fols. 1r-163v, 210r-237v Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, cod. 8507-09, fols. 1r-132v Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek, Cent. VII, 62, fols. 98r-100r London, University College, MS Germ. 24, fol. 12v Überlingen, Leopold-Sophien-Bibliothek, Ms. 26, fols. 84vb-85vb St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 973, pp. 476-480 Augsburg, Benediktinerabtei St Stephan, Hs 38, fols. 2r-65r, 84v-97r, 100r-144r Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. III. 1. 4 30, fols. 104v-106r Wroclaw, Biblioteka Kapitulna (no shelf mark), fols. 1r-154v/155r [lost] Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 843, fols. 86v-90r Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 861, fols. 72r-76v Solothurn, Zentralbibliothek, Cod. S 458, fols. 63v-64v, 70v-71v, 96v-98v, 101r-105r Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek, Heid. Hs. 33, fols. 221r-266v Sarnen, Benediktinerkollegium, Cod. chart. 215, fols. 59v-66r St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 506, fols. 2r-27v, 42r-54r Rastatt, Historische Bibliothek der Stadt im Ludwig-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Cod. K 152, Hs 3, fols. 1r-55r Eichstätt, Abtei St Walburg, Ms germ. 23, fols. 58r-60r Freiburg im Breisgau, Universitätsbibliothek, Hs. 186, pp. 1-101, 134-154, 161-258 Other German Redaction of the Legatus Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, Cod. Lichtenthal 89, fols. 4r-758v Trutta-Legend Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 3042, fols. 405ra-419vb Graz, Universitätsbibliothek, Ms. 64, fols. 389rb-404ra Graz, Universitätsbibliothek, Ms. 75, fols. 237rb-246rb Klosterneuburg, Stiftsbibliothek, cod. 711, fols. 460va-477rb Pécs, Klimo Könyvtàr Bibliothek, AA. II. 21, fols. 450rb-466vb Leipzig Legatus Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, Ms 827, fols. 25v-148r Legatus divinæ pietatis, also 'Standard' Legatus Bonn, Universitätsbibliothek, S 726, fols. 361ra-364vb Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 15332 Trier, Stadtbibliothek, Cod. 77/1061, fols. 1r-135r Cambridge, MA, Houghton Library, Ms. Riant 90, fols. 71r-182v Moscow, Rossijskaja Gosudarstvennaya Biblioteka, Fonds 183/281, fols. 181r-183v Würzburg, Universitätsbibliothek, M. ch. f. 241, fols. 113v-129v Mainz, Stadtbibliothek, Hs I 13, fols. 136ra-225va Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Hs 84, fols. 27v-176v Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ms. theol. lat. oct. 89, fol. 201r Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 4224, fols. 83r-282v Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Q 49, fols. 163r-208v Uppsala, Universitetsbibliotek, Cod. C 517m, fols. 30v-173v Augsburg, Staats- und Stadtbibliothek, 8 Cod. 203, fols. 55r-57v Prayers from Legatus II, 4 Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Hs 2772, fols. 61r, 90r Munich, Universitätsbibliothek, 8 Cod. ms. 193, fol. 75v St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 519, pp. 77-78 Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Oct 52, fol. 224v Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Oct 62, fol. 54v Frankfurt, Universitätsbibliothek, ms. Praed. 169, fol. 315r Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, Cod. 21600 (1639), fol. 146v Appendix II Transcriptions and Translations Note on the Transcriptions and Translations Carnival Prayers Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 861 Benefits of Contemplating the Passion London, University College, MS Germ. 24 Translations Carnival Prayers Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 861 Benefits of Contemplating the Passion London, University College, MS Germ. 24 Notes Introduction 1 The Helfta Scriptorium 2 Redactions within a Dynamic Textuality 3 Manuscript Transmission History 4 The Book's Self-Reflectivity 5 The Scriptorial Heart 6 Imaginary Textiles Final Remarks Manuscript Transmission with Catalogues Transcriptions and Translations Bibliography Primary Sources Manuscripts Archival Materials Printed Sources Secondary Sources Index