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Source Description
This manuscript, written at the Cistercian abbey of Himmerode in Germany in the early thirteenth century, is one of twenty-two surviving Latin copies of the Speculum virginum, or Mirror for virgins. Attributed to Conrad of Hirsau, the text was written in the first half of the twelfth century as a guide for nuns, offering them theological lessons in the form of a hypothetical conversation between a teacher, Peregrinus, and his student, Theodora. The twelve illustrations in the manuscript portray the protagonists as well as the mystical visions and diagrams they discuss in the text. The large, expressive pen drawings bring the text to life and are an excellent example of German art of this period.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
19908
label
Speculum Virginum
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
19908
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Speculum Virginum
description
This manuscript, written at the Cistercian abbey of Himmerode in Germany in the early thirteenth century, is one of twenty-two surviving Latin copies of the Speculum virginum, or Mirror for virgins. Attributed to Conrad of Hirsau, the text was written in the first half of the twelfth century as a guide for nuns, offering them theological lessons in the form of a hypothetical conversation between a teacher, Peregrinus, and his student, Theodora. The twelve illustrations in the manuscript portray the protagonists as well as the mystical visions and diagrams they discuss in the text. The large, expressive pen drawings bring the text to life and are an excellent example of German art of this period.
provenance
Cistercian abbey of Himmerode, Wittlich, Germany, by 15th century [erased ownership note, ""Liber monachorum sancte Marie in hymmenrode ordinis Cisterciensis Treverensis dyocesis,"" fol. 1r, Shelfmark C.I.]; Josef von Görres collection, Germany, 19th century [mode of acquisition unknown]; Görres Collection Sale, Munich, 1902 [Catal.libr.mss no. 76 (no. 71 in unpublished, pre-1844 catalog of manuscripts when kept in Koblenz by Ernst Dronke)]; Julien Chappée, Le Mans and Paris, 1902, by purchase [Lot 76, p. 14]; Gruel and Engelmann Collection, Paris, 1903 [no. 88, bookplate on front pastedown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 9, 1903 [mode of acquisition unknown] [bookplate on front pastedown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1st quarter 13th century (Gothic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
illuminated manuscripts
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
33.4
height
24.4
depth
6.6
dimensionsRaw
Closed Book: H: 13 1/8 × W: 9 5/8 × D: 2 5/8 in. (33.4 × 24.4 × 6.6 cm)
Source extras
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med
ink and pigments on cream-colored parchment of medium thickness with a velvety finish covered with 16th or 17th century boards covered in red velvet and embellished with a thirteenth-century Limoges champlevé enamel crucifix
creator_ids
104
6211
8479
collection_ids
MED
MSS
exhibition_ids
2289
2059
96
3231
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
449d67162db2b8a2