Date Thesis Awarded
5-2022
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Advisor
Philip Daileader
Committee Members
Jennifer Lorden
Jessica Stephens
Abstract
The mystical, religious writing of Gertrud the Great of Helfta expressed an erotic love of the Christ, presented in her Herald of God's Loving-Kindness through a series of visions centered around the interaction of the monastery's community and the liturgy. This Honors Thesis attempts to study this religiosity, discovering how Gertrud's visions communicated a sensual understanding of the Divine centered around the Eucharist. Contextualizing the fourth book of the Herald in monastic history, this paper examines the presence of the Liturgy, the Eucharist, wealth and materiality, and female spirituality in this High Medieval text, discovering a communal religiosity based upon love and personal relationships to the Divine.
Recommended Citation
Considine, Jana, "The Written Word Bound by Devotion Unseen: Female Monasticism and Religiosity in the Visions of Gertrud the Great of Helfta" (2022). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1790.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1790
