Rękopisy karmelitanek bosych w XVII i XVIII wieku Ekspresja artystyczna i sztuka pisania
17th- and 18th-Century Manuscripts of Carmelite Nuns Artistic Expression and the Art of Writing

Author(s): Anna Nowicka-Struska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the art of handwriting and the personal expression of nuns visible in 17th- and 18th-century manuscripts, which allows for an anthropological inquiry into the relationship between the authoress and the manuscript. Those reflections aim at presenting the writing and illuminating practices of Carmelite nuns, exhibited in preserved cloister manuscripts. The research material consists of the collection housed in the Library of the Carmelite Nuns in Cracow. The analysis of the manuscripts was conducted according to a system of categorization which decenters the main text and instead focuses on issues such as the structure of the codex, lettering, illuminations, medieval writing traditions, formats, the intimate character of contact with a handwritten book. According to the research findings, the amateur character of the illuminations indicates a close, intimate contact of the scribe with the manuscript. A careful observation of the art of writing among nuns, i.e. people belonging to an isolated, very small group and living in difficult, strict social conditions allows to look at the manuscript expression from a different perspective and opens up a more anthropologically-oriented (instead of bibliology-oriented) avenue for further research.

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