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+--- Thread: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? (/thread-3684.html)
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - bi3mw - 08-06-2023
@merrimacga: On the subject of "women and alchemy" it should be added that Barbara of Cilli (Celje) was intensively engaged in alchemy. Her experiments are recorded in the notes of the Czech alchemist Johann von Laaz, who visited her in the castle above Samobor. In the basement she had a laboratory.
The notes are published in Laaz's work "Via universalis" and in the introduction to the seventh edition of Basil Valentine's Chymical Writings (1717).
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - cvetkakocj@rogers.com - 08-06-2023
(08-06-2023, 02:46 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.@merrimacga: On the subject of "women and alchemy" it should be added that Barbara of Cilli (Celje) was intensively engaged in alchemy. Her experiments are recorded in the notes of the Czech alchemist Johann von Laaz, who visited her in the castle above Samobor, in whose basement she had a laboratory.
The notes are published in Laaz's work "Via universalis" and in the introduction to the seventh edition of Basil Valentine's Chymical Writings (1717).
Barbara was also interested in sectarian art, which was also called alchemy, since she was accused of being heretic, not believing in heaven or hell. This reflects the humanistic gnostic thinking that the heaven and hell are the states of mind. This also reflects the thinking of Carthusian monk who was prior at the monasteries supported by Barbara's brother Count Frederic.
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - bi3mw - 26-07-2026
Far more medieval manuscripts than previously thought were written by women (German-language article):
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Der Standard Wrote: Åslaug Ommundsen's team found that at least 1.1 percent of all medieval manuscripts were produced by female scribes. That would amount to more than 100,000 books.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - Koen G - 26-07-2026
While the study is limited in scope (is this only in Scandinavia?), it's good to know that ca. 1% was attested somewhere. That yields a nice number in absolute terms, but still remains a tiny percentage.
What would be more interesting is an overview of which kinds of manuscripts were written by these female scribes. Is there a difference compared to the overall output?
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - bi3mw - 26-07-2026
(26-07-2026, 01:39 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.While the study is limited in scope (is this only in Scandinavia?)
Article Wrote:We use the Benedictine Colophon Catalog. .... From 1965 to 1982, the Benedictines at the monastery in Le Bouveret, Switzerland, published a catalog titled "Colophons".
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RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - DG97EEB - 13-08-2026
(26-07-2026, 02:05 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.(26-07-2026, 01:39 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.While the study is limited in scope (is this only in Scandinavia?)
Article Wrote:We use the Benedictine Colophon Catalog. .... From 1965 to 1982, the Benedictines at the monastery in Le Bouveret, Switzerland, published a catalog titled "Colophons".
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If you've not had a chance to use Consensus yet, it's rather good... They have agreements with most of the major science publishers now and you can do very detailed literature searches. They also offer as an MCP so those of us that use GPT and others in our research can use this to avoid the dangers of fabricated citations.
Earlier I asked it for anything about female scribes.. report attached...
Sara Poor's book "The Literary Agency of Medieval Women: Kunigund Niklasin and the Library of St. Catherine’s in Nuremberg" looks particularly interesting if anyone can find a copy
"It explores the unique record of literary agency that has survived from the Dominican convent of St. Catherine in Nuremberg through the writing work of the prolific nun, Kunigund Niklasin (d. 1457), scribe and compiler of at least 31 books by the 1450s, and the librarian for her convent’s large library (close to six hundred German-language manuscripts). Appointed to the office of librarian sometime after the convent underwent “observant reform” in 1428 (which advocated a return to strict observance to the monastic rule), Niklasin created two inventories of the convent’s books, one of privately owned books, the other of the convent library. The latter was part of a manual designed to facilitate table reading, the reading (aloud) that took place during daily meals.".
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RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - bi3mw - 13-08-2026
(13-08-2026, 07:38 PM)DG97EEB Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Sara Poor's book "The Literary Agency of Medieval Women: Kunigund Niklasin and the Library of St. Catherine’s in Nuremberg" looks particularly interesting if anyone can find a copy
Sara Poor's book can be viewed here using an institutional login (and presumably also with an account):
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RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - DG97EEB - 13-08-2026
(13-08-2026, 07:58 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.(13-08-2026, 07:38 PM)DG97EEB Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Sara Poor's book "The Literary Agency of Medieval Women: Kunigund Niklasin and the Library of St. Catherine’s in Nuremberg" looks particularly interesting if anyone can find a copy
Sara Poor's book can be viewed here using an institutional login (and presumably also with an account):
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
I don't have one
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - LisaFaginDavis - 13-08-2026
The answer to the original poster's question is yes, of course it could have been written by women. We know there were plenty of literate women in the Middle Ages, especially as late as the fifteenth century. We know women could be healers. They could practice astrology. They were artists. They were scribes. There is absolutely no reason to assume the manuscript must have been written by men. And there is definitely no reason to assume it was written by someone whose name is known. Hundreds of millions of people were alive in the fifteenth century. Only a very tiny percentage have known names.
Colophon samples are useful, but they are a very selective sample and difficult to extrapolate. The vast majority of manuscripts produced during the Middle Ages do not have a recorded scribe name.
RE: Is the VMS a work of female authors ? - bi3mw - 13-08-2026
@DG97EEB Unfortunately, there isn't a download option for the book. Otherwise, I would have been happy to help you.