Anna von Munzingen

In this medieval name, the personal name is Annaand von Münzingen is an appellation or descriptor. There is no family name.

Anna von Munzingen was a German prioress of the 14th century, who descended from a well known noble family at Freiburg. In 1318 she wrote a "chronicle" of the mystical experiences of her nuns in the work Adelhausen Schwesternbuch (Sister-book of the Adelhausen Convent). ^[1] The text was originally composed in Latin, but only a Middle High German translation survives. The chronicle comprises a collection of thirty-seven biographies of the sisters, focussing on visions, theophanies and mystical experiences. ^[1] Anna focussed entirely on the experiences of the women within the convent, emphasizing a sense of independence from the friars, whom many of the sisters resented. The work belongs to a genre known as sister-books, which was also known from other German convents of the period, including Christine Ebner and Katherina von Gebersweiler. ^[2] Because nuns were not given the same privileges as friars to participate in sermon activities, this genre became ideal for women like Anna to express themselves in writing. ^[3]

References

1. Graeme Dunphy (2010). "Anna von Munzingen". In Dunphy, Graeme (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle . Leiden: Brill. p. 45. ISBN   90-04-18464-3.
2. Hiram Kümper (2010). "Sisterbooks". In Dunphy, Graeme (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle . Leiden: Brill. pp. 1364–1367. ISBN   90-04-18464-3.
3. Wilson, Katharina M.; Margolis, Nadia (2004). Women in the Middle Ages. London: Greenwood Press. pp. 34–35.