Het verborgen leven van de zusters Agnieten : Mystieke cultuur te Arnhem in de zestiende eeuw

Abstract

On the basis of earlier studies and recent research it may be argued that a mystical renaissance occurred in the Low Countries and the neighbouring Rhine region in the second and third quarters of the sixteenth century. This mystical revival was lived by women in convents and beguinages, and supported by men, in particular the Cologne carthusians. This article focuses on the Saint Agnes convent in Arnhem. In recent years it has become clear that mystical life and literature suddenly sprung up in this convent and its spiritual milieu. The hitherto hidden life of the Saint Agnes sisters is brought to light by (1) a reconstruction of the history of the convent, (2) a description of the spiritual life of the community based on the extant manuscripts, the original texts produced in the community, and the convent's spiritual network, and (3) a tentative analysis of the sisters' mystical spirituality.