Die ›Imitatio Christi-Kompilation von Natur und Gnade‹

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes and edits a vernacular compilation on the ›discernment of spirits‹, which was written in the second half of the 15th century by an anonymous writer from Tegernsee for lay brothers and sisters in the context of the Melk reform. The text deals with the inner influence of grace and nature on man and compiles the chapter ›De diversis motibus naturae et gratiae‹ from Thomas à Kempis’ ›De imitatione Christi‹, as well as excerpts from Henry of Friemar’s treatise ›De quattuor instinctibus‹. The author aims to maintain proximity to the Latin texts and theological terminology, and achieves a hybridization of the compiled hypotexts in terms of style and content.