Visioenen als literaire mystagogie : Stand van zaken en nieuwe inzichten over intentie en functie van Hadewijchs Visioenen

Abstract

In their reviews of the Willaert edition (1996), Jo Reynaert en Geert Warnar questioned, each from a different perspective, Willaerts thesis that Hadewijchs Visions were intended, and functioned, as didactic texts. Simultaneously, the German philologist Hofmann presented his own view on the function of the Visions in his recent edition of these texts (1998). This article offers a state of the arts of the current hypotheses and incorporates them in a new synthesis: the personal lyrical language and the striking claims of authority, both thought to be incongruent with a primary didactic function, are shown to be essential components of the mystagogic intention and function of Hadewijchs Visions.