Companion to Mysticism and Devotion in Northern Germany in the Late Middle Ages

Elizabeth Andersen (School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University)Dr Andersen's research specialism is German medieval literature, in particular mystical and visionary writing. Other interests are the intertextuality and the articulation of voices and identity in women's writing. She has published widely on Mechthild of Magdeburg; the focus of her current research is the circulation of Latin and Low German devotional texts throughout the Hanseatic region. Henrike Lähnemann (Professor of German Studies, Newcastle University)Prof. Lähnemann's research specialism is medieval and Early Modern German literature, especially manuscript transmission and visual culture. Other interests include comparative medieval literature and visual culture. Currently, she is working on a database of the manuscripts from the convent of Medingen and preparing several text editions which include material from Medingen.Anne Simon (Institute for Germanic and Romance Studies, University of London)Dr Simon’s main research interests lie in the literature, art and culture of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period; and the impact of these periods on subsequent eras, up to and including the present. She is currently working on two projects: an edition of the letters of the sixteenth-century nun Katerina Lemmel; and a study of Nuremberg’s construction of a 'brand image' during the Middle Ages and its subsequent eras.

• Preface List of Contributors List of Maps List of Illustrations List of Textual Appendices to the Chapters 1 Introduction: Mysticism and Devotion in Northern Germany Elizabeth Andersen, Henrike Lähnemann and Anne Simon2 Liturgy and Reform: Northern German Convents in the Late Middle Ages Jürgen BärschPart OneBeginnings and Formations—Mystical Culture and the Helfta Circle3 Hadewijch of Brabant and the Beguine Movement Veerle Fraeters4 Transmission and Impact: Mechthild of Magdeburg’s Das fließende Licht der Gottheit Sara S. Poor5 Text Production and Authorship: Gertrude of Helfta’s Legatus divinae pietatis Balázs J. Nemes6 Latin and the Vernacular: Mechthild of Magdeburg— Mechthild of Hackeborn—Gertrude of Helfta Ernst HellgardtPart TwoTransmission, Transformation and Exchange—Devotional Culture and the Lüneburg Convents7 Prelude: Northern Circulation of Fourteenth-Century Mystical Texts Geert Warnar8 An Urban Housewife as a Saint for Prussia: Dorothea of Montau and Johannes Marienwerder Almut Suerbaum9 Birgitta of Sweden in Northern Germany: Translation, Transmission and Reception Elizabeth Andersen10 The Influence of the Devotio Moderna in Northern Germany Anne Bollmann11 Religious Song and Devotional Culture in Northern Germany Ulrike Hascher-Burger12 Liturgy and Performance in Northern Germany: Two Easter Plays from Wienhausen Tanja Mattern13 Bilingual Devotion in Northern Germany: Prayer Books from the Lüneburg Convents Henrike Lähnemann14 Intellectual Horizons: Letters from a Northern German Convent Eva SchlotheuberIllustrations Bibliography Glossary Index