Hortus deliciarum

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Philosophia et septem artes liberales (Philosophy and the Seven Liberal Arts), as illustrated in the Hortus deliciarum. (Description of the illumination)
Hell, as illustrated in the Hortus deliciarum.

The Hortus deliciarum (

Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace, better known today as Mont Sainte-Odile
.

Description

The Hortus deliciarum is one of the first sources of polyphony originating from a convent. 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 repertory, and are mainly note against note in texture. The notation was in semi-quadratic neumes with pairs of four-line staves.[1] Two songs survive with music intact: Primus parens hominum, a monophonic song, and a two-part work, Sol oritur occasus.[2]

History and content

It was an

Latin, with glosses in German
.

Most of the manuscript was not original, but a

poems by Herrad, addressed to the nuns, almost all of which were set to music.[2] The most famous portion of the manuscript is its 336 illustrations, which depicted theological, philosophical, and literary themes amongst others. These works are well regarded.[1]

In 1870, the manuscript was burnt and destroyed when the library at Temple Neuf in Strasbourg was bombarded during the German Siege of Strasbourg. 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.[1][3]

References

Citations

Sources

  • Losseff, Nicky (2001), "Herrad of Landsberg",
  • Turner, William (1910). "Herrad of Landsberg" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Yardley, Anne Bagnall (1986). "'Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne': The Cloistered Musician in the Middle Ages". In Bowers, J.; Tick, J. (eds.). Women Making Music: the Western Musical Tradition, 1150-1950. Urbana, IL.: University of Illinois Press. .

Further reading

  • Rosalie Green, Michael Evans, Christine Bischoff, and Michael Curschmann(ed.) (1979) The Hortus Deliciarum of Herrad of Hohenbourg (Landsberg, 1176-96): A Reconstruction. Warburg Institute/E.J. Brill
  • Fiona J. Griffiths (2007) The Garden of Delights: Reform and Renaissance for Women in the Twelfth Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

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)
  • (in French) 12 plates taken from the 1818 Engelhardt facsimile formerly online at Museum of Alsace (Web Archive copy retrieved 10-28-2012)