Music, Ritual and Death in a Windesheim Community in the Early Modern Low Countries

Abstract The manuscript B 78741 held in the Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience in Antwerp contains the liturgy for the last rites, death and burial of a religious sister. Copied in the late fifteenth century, this small paper book hides its origins well. However, its Dutch rubrics and Latin texts make clear that the book is for the use of a community of sisters, led by a prioress, with the assistance of a priest. The rituals have aspects in common with those from other communities – the Dominicans, in particular – but they also have some striking differences. In the following article, I compare the music, texts and rituals held in the manuscript with those from known traditions. I argue that the manuscript was made for a community of Augustinian canonesses from the Windesheim congregation, most likely Beata Maria de Galilea in Ghent.