Tussen 'bloeticheit' en 'verdoemnisse' : een merkwaardige laatmiddeleeuwse mystieke autograaf (Gent UB, Hs. 1359, fol. 79r°91r°, 106r°-113v°)

Abstract

During the second half of the fifteenth century a new interest in mysticism manifested itself among the religious women in the convents of the Netherlands. On the whole this interest was canalised - by confessors and other clerical guides - towards those parts in the mystic writings of Eckhart, Tauler, Ruusbroec etc. which could be considered as safe for the humble and obedient nun, whose spiritual life was supposed to take place within the bounds of monastic organisation. As far as late medieval women are known to have written their own new mystic texts, they were mainly concerned with confirming or reforming the existing monastic spirituality. In this respect the two sixteenth century autographs in the Ghent manuscript University Library Ms. 1359 (which are edited here) are exceptional. Their author (probably a nun in a Brabantine convent) - daringly, but also quite hopelessly and, as it appears, often correcting or deleting her own writing - tries to put into words a synthesis of the inward and outward aspects (inkeer, uutkeeren) of a truly grand mysticism in the tradition of Ruusbroec.