The Life of Nuns: Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents

doi:10.11647/obp.0397

Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents

In the Middle Ages half of those who chose the religious life were women, yet historians have overlooked entire generations of educated, feisty, capable and enterprising nuns, condemning them to the dusty silence of the archives. What, though, were their motives for entering a convent and what was their daily routine behind its walls like? How did they think, live and worship, both as individuals and as a community? How did they maintain contact with the families and communities they had left behind?

Henrike Lähnemann and Eva Schlotheuber offer readers a vivid insight into the largely unknown lives and work of religious women in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Using previously inaccessible personal diaries and letters, as well as tapestries, painting, architecture and music, the authors show that the nuns were, in fact, an active, even influential part of medieval society. They functioned as role models and engaged in spirited dialogue with other convents, with the citizens of their home towns and with the local nobility. Full of self-confidence, they organised their demanding daily lives; ran their complex convent economies as successful businesses; offered girls a comprehensive theological, musical and practical education; produced magnificent manuscripts; ministered to the convent sick and dying with homemade medicines and to family and friends with advice. Initially—and fiercely—they resisted the Reformation, only for some of the convents to survive as Protestant women’s foundations to this day.

Now, for the first time in centuries, this account by Henrike Lähnemann and Eva Schlotheuber allows the voices of these remarkable women to be heard outside the cloister and to invite us into their world.

Endorsements

The Life of Nuns tells about the lives of religious women poised between the reforming currents of the fifteenth-century, which placed new attention on the education of nuns, and the Reformation, which altered the politics that shaped their lives. The exceptional survival in Germany of rich and personal materials like diaries and letters, and artifacts presented here in vivid illustrations, allows Laehnemann and Schlotheuber to recount an intimate and engaging tale of their loves, rivalries, and fears, and how they passed their time day-to-day, and to present a richly detailed account of the relations of these convents and their nuns with the towns whose elites were their families, and with the secular and religious princes on whose fortunes they depended. The story the authors tell is of relevance for elsewhere in Europe where sources like this fail to survive. Scholars, students, and anyone interested in the lives of medieval nuns will profit from this wonderful book.

Lucy Pick

University of Chicago

Reviews

The closeness of these sources to actual practice means they allow us a unique insight into convent life, its spiritual horizons and the material conditions which framed it, into its daily routine and into its relations with the outside world [...] This richly illustrated book has one particular merit: exceptional works such as the Ebstorf World Map, the tapestries from the convents of Heiningen and Wienhausen or the frescoes from the nuns’ choir in Wienhausen are interpreted in conjunction with the iconographic programmes of the manuscripts, material objects and written sources presented in the volume. This creates a comprehensive picture of a way of life which combines spiritual and theoretical learning with an abundance of practical knowledge [...] Thus the authors succeed in opening one new perspective after another onto the most important dimensions of spiritual life in late-medieval convents. Based on the sources which have come down to us, this account demonstrates the significance of religious women in medieval Europe and makes clear the complexity of their lives and their interaction with the social structures outside the convents. More than that: the authors also shake up another stubborn cliché. The picture of the comprehensive “crisis” experienced by the late Middle Ages, a crisis characterized by religious “decline”, is rightly countered in this history of “unheard and unherdable women” by a picture of new departures and renewal long before the start of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. This new approach allows us to conceive history beyond the classical period boundaries.

Christina Lutter

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 2023.

Additional Resources

[blog]Coming Soon - The Life of Nuns

[blog]Voices from the past: The surprising stories told by medieval German nuns

[audio]In Theory: The JHI Blog Podcast - The Life of Nuns: Luke Wilkinson interviews Henrike Lähnemann

Luke Wilkinson interviews Henrike Lähnemann, Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics at the University of Oxford, to discuss her and Eva Schlotheuber's new book 'The Life of Nuns: Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents' (Open Book Publishers, 2024). They discuss the ideas that circulated through the sounds and spaces of medieval German convents.

[audio]'The Life of Nuns' - Audiobook

This is the audiobook for The Life of Nun: Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents by Henrike Lähnemann and Eva Schlotheuber, read by Henrike Lähnemann (with thanks to the University Library Freiburg for the use of the recording and editing facilities and to Helen Pert for assistence with the recording). The audiobook is divided into separate files for each subchapter (I.1, I.2, I.3, and so on); the sub-chapter ‘1’ in each chapter are stories taken from the diary of a 15th century nun from Heilig Kreuz Braunschweig; sub-chapter ‘2’ explains the concepts of the main chapter; the sub-chapter ‘3’ introduces works of art and material culture from the convents.

To download the audio files for each chapter, simply click on the chapter titles below.

Prologue

LON - 000 - Prologue: A brief introduction to the concept of the book to make the material and textual culture of medieval nuns from the German-speaking lands accessible. Each of the chapters is divided into three parts, featuring extracts from the diary of a 15th-century nun from Braunschweig; the systematic explanation of a key concept of female monastic life; and one or more objects from the German convents.

I. Enclosure

LON - 110 - Exile: The opening story from the 15th-century nun’s diary about their enforced flight to Braunschweig illustrates the centrality of the concept of leading a cloistered life for medieval nuns.
LON - 120 - Enclosure: Contrasting the makeshift arrangements during their absence with the ideal layout of a prototypical female monastic community, the chapter explores the living spaces of medieval nuns which are designed to cater for their sacred and economic needs.
LON - 130 - Ebstorf: The visual example to close the chapter is the monumental 14th-century map from the convent of Ebstorf, which includes representations of world history as well as the physical geography of Northern Germany.

II. Education

The nuns gave the girls entering the convent a demanding education, which lasted several years and included scholarly Latin, theology, and music for the choir services; knowledge of economic and organizational matters pertaining to convent administration; handicrafts and the production and decoration of books.

LON - 210 - School: The chapter starts with the example from the diary of the Braunschweig nun of an educational reform gone wrong
LON - 220 - Education: The chapter then discusses the ideal curriculum.
LON - 230 - Heiningen: The chapter concludes with the Heiningen Philosophy Tapestry as idealized example of a learned community centred around the figure of Lady Philosophy.

III. Nuns, Family, and Community

The chapter explores the interconnectedness of convent and world.

LON - 310 - Family Story: The chapter starts from the example of the different ways in which Braunschweig families interacted with the Heilig Kreuz Kloster.
LON - 320 - Convent Organisation: The chapter discusses then the stages of a nun’s life from their placements as girls, to their profession, to the network which included their relatives and friends once they had become fully part of the community.
LON - 330 - Tristan-Maurice: Examples presented here for the role of representation and status are the monumental 14th-century Tristan tapestry from Kloster Wienhausen and the statuette of the black patron saint Maurice from Kloster Medingen.

IV. Love and Friendship

In the convent, love and friendship played a major role. Love linked the nuns with their bridegroom Christ, creating a community in which the women felt connected to one another and which opened the door to a close relationship with God.

LON - 410 - Pirckheimers: The letter exchange between the Pirckheimer family, particularly the nuns Klara and Caritas with their brother Willibald, forms the starting point.
LON - 420 - Friendship: The chapter then discusses the friendship concept of the 12th-century English Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx.
LON - 430 - Christ Embracing John: The sculpture of Christ embracing John the Evangelist from Kloster Heiligkreuztal acts as visual embodiment of this concept which is linked with mystical texts on bridehood by Gertrud the Great of Helfta.

V. Music and Reform

The monastic reform of the fifteenth century led to a blossoming of society and spiritual institutions and to a profounder religiosity, discussed in conjunction with musical practice and its role for the community.

LON - 510 - Songs: The opening example shows how permission to sing secular songs while breaking flax was revoked in the Heilig Kreuz Kloster.
LON - 520 - Reform: Convent reform is then discussed in terms of renewed liturgy and music instruction in Kloster Ebstorf.
LON - 530 - Music: An illuminated manuscript of the nuns playing the organ and instructing the girls provides a detailed visualisation.

VI. Reformation

The Lutheran Reformation of the 16th century in many ways follows on from previous monastic reform movements.

LON - 610 - Peraudi: A pertinent example is the discussion of indulgences which features also in the late 15th-century convent diary. The nun describes at length the events surrounding the visit by the papal legate Raimund Peraudi in Braunschweig.
LON - 620 - Reformation: The main part of the chapter details the ways in which the nuns during the Lutheran Reformation dealt with pressure to conform to the new regime and the ways in which the convents survived as Protestant institutions.
LON - 630 - Vision: This is visualized by the 17th-century panel painting (used also for the title image) which shows the vision of the nuns in Kloster Lüne of the crucified Christ advising them to become Protestant.

VII. Illness and Dying

Caring for the poor and accompanying the sick and dying were an integral part of monastic life. The nuns’ networks enabled an exchange about methods of treatment as well as participation in the commemoration of the dead through prayer fraternities. While scholarly medicine was practised by doctors, healing methods and health advice was handed down within the convents.

LON - 710 - Death of a Diarist: The chapter discusses a couple of cases of illness in the Heilig Kreuz Kloster, ending with the plague in which the diarist died.
LON - 720 - Dying: The chapter then details medicinal knowledge from sources in Kloster Wienhausen.
LON - 730 - Wienhausen: The final illustrations of blood-letting and of the heavenly Jerusalem are also taken from Kloster Wienhausen.

I. Enclosure

(pp. 9–36)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

II. Education

(pp. 37–58)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

III. Nuns, Family and Community

(pp. 59–80)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

IV. Love and Friendship

(pp. 81–102)

Eva Schlotheuber
Henrike Lähnemann

V. Music and Reform

(pp. 103–126)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

VI. Reformation

(pp. 127–154)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

VII. Illness and Dying

(pp. 155–176)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

VIII. Appendix

(pp. 177–192)

Henrike Lähnemann
Eva Schlotheuber

Contributors

Henrike Lähnemann

(author)

Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics at University of Oxford

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1994-5157

Henrike Lähnemann is the first woman to be appointed to a chair in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, where she teaches German literature of the Middle Ages and works on textual and visual evidence from the women’s convents of northern Germany.

Eva Schlotheuber

(author)

Professor of Medieval History at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3762-2818

Eva Schlotheuber is professor of Medieval History at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where she researches and teaches on the education and lifeworld of religious women. She was the first woman to chair the Association of Historians of Germany from 2016 to 2021.

Anne Simon

(translator)

Associate Fellow at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies at School of Advanced Study

Retired Senior Lecturer in Mediaeval German at University of Bristol

Anne Simon is Associate Fellow at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of London and retired Senior Lecturer in Mediaeval German at the University of Bristol. Her publications include The Cult of Saint Katherine of Alexandria in Late-Medieval Nuremberg: Saint and the City (Farnham 2012); Pepper for Prayer: The Correspondence of the Birgittine Nun Katerina Lemmel, ed. by Volker Schier, Corine Schleif & Anne Simon (Stockholm 2019); ‘Da ward Carolus lachen. Kaiser Karl IV., die Nürnberger Geschichtsschreibung und der Hauptmarkt Nürnbergs’, in Geschichte erzählen. Strategien der Narrativierung von Vergangenheit im Mittelalter. XXV Anglo-German Colloquium Manchester 2017, ed. by Sarah Bowden, Manfred Eikelmann, Stephen Mossman & Michael Stolz (Tübingen 2020); and ‘Aue Maria und Rosenkranz als Gebetunterweisung im spӓtmittelalterlichen Nürnberg’, in Lehren, Lernen und Bilden in der deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters. XXIII. Anglo-German Colloquium (Nottingham 2013), ed. by Henrike Lähnemann, Nicola McLelland & Nine Miedema (Tübingen 2017).

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The Life of Nuns