__NOTOC__ The ''Hortus deliciarum'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''Garden of Delights'') was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

compiled by

Herrad of Landsberg Herrad of Landsberg ( la, Herrada Landsbergensis; 1130 – July 25, 1195) was a 12th-century Alsatian nun and abbess of Hohenburg Abbey in the Vosges mountains. She was known as the author of the pictorial encyclopedia '' Hortus deliciarum'' (' ...

at the Hohenburg Abbey in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, better known today as Mont Sainte-Odile.

Description

The ''Hortus deliciarum'' is one of the first sources of

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

originating from a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

. The manuscript contained at least 20 song texts, all of which were originally notated with music. Those that can be recognized now are from the

conductus The ''conductus'' (plural: ''conducti'') was a sacred Latin song in the Middle Ages, one whose poetry and music were newly composed. It is non-liturgical since its Latin lyric borrows little from previous chants. The conductus was northern Frenc ...

repertory, and are mainly note against note in texture. The notation was in semi-quadratic

neume A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the general shape but not nec ...

s with pairs of four-line staves. Two songs survive with music intact: ''Primus parens hominum'', a monophonic song, and a two-part work, ''Sol oritur occasus''.

History and content

It was an

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...

encyclopedia, begun in 1167 as a

pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

tool for young

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

s at the convent. It is the first encyclopedia that was evidently written by a woman. It was finished in 1185, and was one of the most celebrated illuminated manuscripts of the period. The majority of the work is in

, with

glosses A gloss is a brief notation, especially a marginal one or an interlinear one, of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text or in the reader's language if that is different. A collection of glosses is a ''g ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. Most of the manuscript was not original, but a

compendium A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a sp ...

of 12th-century knowledge. The manuscript contained poems, illustrations, and music, and drew from texts by classical and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

writers. Interspersed with writings from other sources were

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s by Herrad, addressed to the

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s, almost all of which were set to music. The most famous portion of the manuscript are its 336 illustrations, which symbolised various themes, including theological, philosophical, and literary. These works are well regarded. In 1870, the manuscript was burnt and destroyed when the library housing it in Strasbourg was bombed during the German

Siege of Strasbourg The siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870. After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General Aug ...

. It is possible to reconstruct parts of the manuscript because portions of it had been copied in various sources; Christian Maurice Engelhardt copied the miniatures in 1818, and the text was copied and published by Straub and Keller between 1879 and 1899.

References

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

Folio selections
in online catalog ''Oberlin college'' (folios 322v, 323r, Seven Liberal Arts - 32r, Genealogy of Christ - 80v, Leviathan- 84r, Psycomachia Vices - 200v, Psycomachia Virtues - 201r, Avarice - 203v, Mercy/Charity - 204r, Ladder of Virtues - 216r)

formerly online at Museum of Alsace (Web Archive copy retrieved 10-28-2012) {{Authority control 1185 books 12th-century illuminated manuscripts German encyclopedias Latin encyclopedias Lost documents Medieval European encyclopedias Scientific illuminated manuscripts

Description

History and content

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links