The allegorical Middle Dutch text, Een gheestelijc casteel [A Spiritual Castle], encourages readers to mentally construct a precious castle in which they will be able to receive Christ. The... Show moreThe allegorical Middle Dutch text, Een gheestelijc casteel [A Spiritual Castle], encourages readers to mentally construct a precious castle in which they will be able to receive Christ. The description of the castle provides a mnemonic image that readers could use during prayer and meditation. Although the author makes no direct reference to Luke 10:38, the allegory is authorized by the exegesis of this Biblical passage: Mary is the castle in which Jesus has entered and she keeps the active and spiritual life, symbolized by Martha and Mary Magdalene, in perfect balance. The Middle Dutch text likely originated around 1460 in the Brussels convent of Jericho (Regular Canonesses). In the last decade of the fifteenth century, the text, now adapted for a lay audience, was printed in Antwerp by Govaert Bac. He was an important member of the Antwerp guild of St Luke, the professional association of painters and printers that also included Antwerp’s principal chamber of rhetoric. The attractive architectural allegory and exercise presented in Bac’s booklet finds parallels in contemporary paintings of Mary and the Christ Child, who are often either portrayed in a landscape with a castle-like architectural structure clearly visible in the background or within a castle-like building. In the former compositions the castle can be viewed as a reflection or ‘echo’ of Mary as a castle (the painting thus portrays two castles) while at the same time functioning as a reminder to those familiar with the meditative image of the spiritual castle to pursue their spiritual skopos. The latter images could be seen as portraying a castle (Mary) within a castle (building), similar to Mary (or the womb) within a room, or even Jan van Eyck’s Madonna in the Church. Show less
De Madoc-redactie bedient zich graag van haar eigen netwerk om aan kopij te komen. Zo zet ze in feite een traditie voort die terug reikt tot de Middeleeuwen. Vijftiende-eeuwse drukkers zetten hun... Show moreDe Madoc-redactie bedient zich graag van haar eigen netwerk om aan kopij te komen. Zo zet ze in feite een traditie voort die terug reikt tot de Middeleeuwen. Vijftiende-eeuwse drukkers zetten hun connecties ook al in om aan teksten te komen die interessant waren om te drukken en het liefst ook nog geld in het laatje brachten. Het is vaak evenwel lastig om het netwerk van vroege drukkers te reconstrueren. De connectie tussen Gerard Leeu en de Leidse schoolmeester Engelbert Schut biedt in dit verband een interessante casus. Show less
This contribution discusses the hitherto overlooked ownership of the earliest printed books (incunabula) by Netherlandish female religious communities of tertiaries and canonesses regular connected... Show moreThis contribution discusses the hitherto overlooked ownership of the earliest printed books (incunabula) by Netherlandish female religious communities of tertiaries and canonesses regular connected to the religious reform movement of the Devotio moderna. Studies of book ownership and book collections in these communities have tended to focus on manuscripts. From the last decades of the fifteenth century onwards, however, these religious women increasingly came in contact with printed books, even though the involvement of the Devotio moderna with the printing press was limited. The discussion focuses on the channels via which tertiaries and canonesses acquired books produced by commercially operating printers, the ways in which incunabula affected what these (semi-)religious women read, as well as the ratio between printed books in Latin and the vernacular, and their function(s) within these communities. Thus the essay intends to sketch a preliminary image of the role of incunabula in female convents, and advocates a more inclusive approach of female religious book ownership. Show less
Anrooij, W. van; Dlabacova, A.; Geleijns, E.; Schaeps, J.; Warnar; G.; Zanen, S. van 2020
Rond het midden van de vijftiende eeuw schreef de minderbroeder Hendrik Herp een mystiek meesterwerk: de Spieghel der volcomenheit. Het was het enige werk dat deze bestuurlijke en spirituele leider... Show moreRond het midden van de vijftiende eeuw schreef de minderbroeder Hendrik Herp een mystiek meesterwerk: de Spieghel der volcomenheit. Het was het enige werk dat deze bestuurlijke en spirituele leider van de franciscaanse observantiebeweging in de volkstaal zou schrijven. De taal stond een snelle verspreiding van de tekst niet in de weg. Herps Spieghel werd een ongekend internationaal succes. In Literatuur en observantie beschrijft Anna Dlabacová dit succes, dat zich afspeelt tegen de achtergrond van een brede religieuze vernieuwing in middeleeuws Europa. De lezer maakt kennis met een wereld waarin het strenge observantie-ideaal hand in hand ging met de verspreiding van nieuwe teksten onder religieuzen en leken. Persoonlijke contacten en netwerken van kloosters, drukkers en leken zorgden ervoor dat de verspreiding van literatuur een nieuwe impuls kreeg. Het verhaal van Herps Spieghel weerspiegelt deze nieuwe dynamiek. Show less
Margriet Boelen, who hailed from Amsterdam, is known to have commissioned a painting from Jacob Cornelisz in 1512 with the Nativity and devotional portraits of her and her family members. This... Show moreMargriet Boelen, who hailed from Amsterdam, is known to have commissioned a painting from Jacob Cornelisz in 1512 with the Nativity and devotional portraits of her and her family members. This contribution attempts at portraying Margriet as an owner and reader of books. Her (family’s) books provide additional information about the Boelens as well as about Margriet’s devotional interests and religious practice. Margriet’s book(s) – and more in general the increasing information about ownership of early printed books – also trigger questions regarding the role of the early printed book within a wider array of media, and the relationship between text and image in late medieval lay devotional culture in particular. When applied to viewing as well as reading, the concept of ‘ethical reading’ introduced by John Dagenais can be helpful in providing an indication of the way(s) in which lay readers and viewers connected both texts and images to their every day lives and used both media to advance their devotion. Show less
