The voluminous edition of letters from Benedictine nuns in Lüne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, during the Reformation is an eye-opener. The letters were means of communication as well as indications of friendship for cloistered women. Especially during the Reformation, these letters, transmitted in both Low and High German, were means of justification for the existence of convents. One characteristic of the letters here edited is that they were authored by the various members of the religious communities: by young women entering the convent, by young nuns, and by established members of the communities. The letters include the communities of convents among themselves, that is, the nuns and their relatives, as well as laity connected to Lüne and a network of clerics. Communication with clerics was in Latin, with relatives and other laymen in Low German, but among the nuns themselves in a blending of Latin and Low German. The dominant language in epistolary exchanges of clerics was not surprisingly in Latin. For the period around 1500 it has been possible to determine who entered the convent as well as the education of the women.The introduction to the volume (pp. 1–139) is devoted to the historical context (pp. 1–34), the social context and networks (pp. 34–83), the education and linguistic context of the nuns (pp. 83–130), and finally the edition (pp. 131–39). The critical edition is devoted to 413 letters (pp. 143–848), which are given to as mundane matters as a bill for yarn (p. 143) and a letter of gratitude for building materials (p. 220). There is information concerning the treatment of individuals who are lame, and letters of condolence. Many of the letters are written in a mixture of Latin and Low German. A prime example of such a blending of languages is the letter of condolence by the Prioress of the convent of Ebstorf to the Prioress of the convent of Lüne (pp. 175–79). The editors frequently accompany the letters with footnotes, such as a letter by the Prioress of Altkloster to the Prioress in Lüne (p. 198), with its fn. b correcting an unnecessary word. Letter 61 (p. 237) is by a nun in an unnamed convent to a nun in Lüne, where many nuns had become sick, and she inquires about the nature of the disease, and notes that in her convent the Pater noster had been prayed for the sick nuns. Throughout, the letters are accompanied by at times extended footnotes clarifying the context of a letter, such as Letter 141 (pp. 375–77), which is accompanied by an extraordinarily extended footnote concerning the dating of the feast of the Ascension and the crowning of nuns.The epistolary correspondence of the Benedictines in Lüne is extensive and fascinating, and the nine editors are to be congratulated for making this incredible aspect of conventual life during the Reformation available in their editions.
Marianne Kalinke (Wed,) studied this question.