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Women religious virtuosae from the middle ages: a case pattern and analytic model of types

Sociology of Religion, Spring, 2002 by Barbara R. Walters

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Each of the miniatures in the Grosbois Psalter accompanies a poem and highlights a scene from Biblical narrative on the birth, childhood and death of Jesus; they parallel and perhaps even anticipate scenes from the Rosary mysteries. The Psalter was intended for cathedral use and was created for -- possibly by -- women, most likely for Beguines. The socio-economic status of the audience is unclear, but they were most likely intended for affluent daughters of the mercantile strata. The influence of the newly recognized Franciscans and Dominicans is evident; that of the Cistercians is manifest through a long set of Ave prayers at the end of the Psalter (Oliver 1988).

The contents of the Psalters are entirely in keeping with orthodoxy even while they quote from the Apocrypha. The first poem serves as an excellent exemplar. The accompanying miniature depicts Mary as mother of Jesus seated on a throne with a book in her hand. Jesse, the father of David, lies asleep below. A female figure on Mary's right holds a scroll that reads in Latin: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse," from the book of Isaiah. A male figure to Mary's left holds a scroll that reads in Latin: "And the Lord shall create a new thing on earth." The poetic text expresses the same orthodox piety and similarly emphasizes Mary's lineage through the Tree of Jesse. The latter was a medieval favorite symbolizing the succession of kings and prophets leading up to Jesus; it complements the genealogical versus from Matthew 1:2-17, which appears at the end of the Psalter (Pierpont Morgan 440). Ironically the producers of the Psalters were persecuted after the middle of the thirteenth century, not for heresy, but rather for encroaching on the territory of the guilds through book production (Oliver 1988). The following quotations from the first poem are taken from the edition by Ricketts (forthcoming).

O, virgin of righteousness, who descended from Jesse,
who gave birth to the flower in whom the Holy Spirit
finds true rest, as Isaiah said,
and bloomed in you through the gift of the seven parts;
root of Jesse, fire of love,
flower and lily of chastity, lady worthy of honour,
grant to your servant to savour the taste
of the holiest fruit of whom you bore the flower.
The heart of your servant is fired by the heat
which comes down from the seven graces and by its adour
so that the flower of chastity may not wither in me
nor the flame of benevolent love die down.
May my being and my thoughts, my existence and my words
be guided and directed by the spirit of knowledge,
and my heart be filled by the spirit of piety
so that I may remember your virtues both night and day.
May the spiritus consilii never fail me
so that I may regulate my life according to the counsel of the
 Scriptures.
Give me the strength to be present at the exegesis
so that I may hear priests and wise people speaking and reading.
In the palace of my heart, through the spirit of knowledge,
Make me feel how gentle is the knowledge of knowing you,
and everywhere keep in me the spirit of understanding
so that my soul and my body may not fall into sin.
Place in me, too, that legitimate fear,
which drives out pride and the law of sin.
Flower of all virtues, mansion of the Holy Spirit,
deign to share with me of the tree of your graces
so that, in this world of today, my life may so flourish
that your son may know me as daughter and friend.

Women religious virtuosae from the middle ages: a case pattern and analytic model of types

Sociology of Religion, Spring, 2002 by Barbara R. Walters

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