Stagel, E. (2019). Lives of the nuns of Töss. Ed. by M. Reutin. Moscow: Ladomir, Nauka. (In Russ.)

Abstract

The book comprises manuscripts written by female mystics in Middle High German and Latin in the 1200s–1300s. The works are created in the genres of sister-books, revelations, Gnaden-vita (‘blessed lives’), and private epistles. In the comments to the collection, its translator and compiler examines various aspects of the origin and existence of medieval mysticism, reconstructing its historical and cultural context, and explores everyday behaviour and distinctive psychological traits of Dominican nuns and the Beguines. Based on the stylistic and verbal characteristics of the works, the scholar reveals the meaning of the metaphors employed and considers the utilized text-generation models and their connection with behavioural ones. This method appears highly relevant in the light of contemporary research into the performative character of medieval culture.