08-08-2022, 07:48 PM
It seems to have been quite a complex situation. A bit of confusion between the Beguines, as an historical organization, and the generic beguines who were in the group called 'Other'. There was a rise in women taking religious vows, and it can be found in the rise and decline of the Premonstratensian order - along with the others. There was also an apparent increase in groups who lived without religious vows, such as Devotio Moderna. They were even into book manufacture. There is no problem in the process of book production.
As to the content, depending on interpretation, there are a number of female-related references beyond the host of starry and otherwise occupied, naked, cartoon nymphs of the VMs. There are hints of the Virgin Mary in VMs Virgo and elsewhere. There is a woman in the Gemini marriage, not male twins. There is mythical Melusine and the story of Philomela. There is a nymph that is dressed in green; could it be Lady Bertilak? And a ring and a cross are the attributes of Colette of Corbie.
There are also men in the VMs, not least of all the Fieschi popes. There's Sagittarius. There's an odd fellow here and there in the Zodiac, And the boys in blue, that have yet to be identified.
Content is not a determinative factor. However, the full set of feminine connections keeps the possibility of female authorship a real possibility.
nablator mentioned Marguerite Porete just the other day. Her book, Mirror of Simple Souls, survived her execution in 1310, but apparently did so "anonymously". And this reconnection of her authorship is a modern discovery.
There is an English line of survival for this text. Is there any reference to her book in other libraries (pre-1500)?
As to the content, depending on interpretation, there are a number of female-related references beyond the host of starry and otherwise occupied, naked, cartoon nymphs of the VMs. There are hints of the Virgin Mary in VMs Virgo and elsewhere. There is a woman in the Gemini marriage, not male twins. There is mythical Melusine and the story of Philomela. There is a nymph that is dressed in green; could it be Lady Bertilak? And a ring and a cross are the attributes of Colette of Corbie.
There are also men in the VMs, not least of all the Fieschi popes. There's Sagittarius. There's an odd fellow here and there in the Zodiac, And the boys in blue, that have yet to be identified.
Content is not a determinative factor. However, the full set of feminine connections keeps the possibility of female authorship a real possibility.
nablator mentioned Marguerite Porete just the other day. Her book, Mirror of Simple Souls, survived her execution in 1310, but apparently did so "anonymously". And this reconnection of her authorship is a modern discovery.
There is an English line of survival for this text. Is there any reference to her book in other libraries (pre-1500)?