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Zusatztext Woodford's study is an invaluable guide to German convent writing. Thanks to her efforts, scholars can now compare the works of these Catholic writers with similar histories in Protestant religious communities and with the religious writing of other early modern women. Klappentext This is the first study to highlight the significance of nuns' writings in early modern Germany. Combining scholarly analysis with illuminating case studies--such as an abbess's account of the Reformation, a prioress's diary from the Thirty Years' War, and a biography of a fifteenth-century visionary--Charlotte Woodford introduces the much neglected female historians of the era, and sets their writings in an historical and literary context. Zusammenfassung The literary history of early modern German convents is a much neglected field. Nuns' writings were rarely printed and generally only read within their institution. In this study - the first to highlight the significance of this large body of writing - Charlotte Woodford provides an overview of nuns' literary activities in this period, an examination of how the tradition of monastic history became established in convents, and the variety of ways in which it permitted women to express their creativity.Bringing together for the first time a significant collection of primary source material, Nuns as Historians in Early Modern Germany also includes a number of illuminating case studies, such as a biography of a fifteenth-century visionary, a prioress's diary, and an abbess's chronicle from the Thirty Years' War. It also offers a valuable reassessment of Caritas Pirckheimer's memoirs, written during the Reformation. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of abbrievations 1: Reading and writing in early modern German convents 2: The function of early modern historiography written by nuns 3: Caritas Pirckheimer's Denkwürdigkeiten in the context of convent historiography 4: From history to autobiography: two accounts of the Thirty Years' War 5: Historiography during the Thirty Years' War: The writings of Juliana Ernst and Elisabeth Herold Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Index ...
