Old Saxon by Women’s Hands

The Saxon Stifte (Endowments) for Secular Canonesses and the Old Saxon Language

Abstract

Stifte (endowments) for secular canonesses and in particular the Stifte in Saxony during the Ottonian era have increasingly come into the spotlight of research since the 1990s. Historians, art historians, and paleographers have been able to demonstrate the huge importance of these imperial endowments for the Ottonian and the early Salian empire. Their formerly outstanding position is still perceivable today in preserved church treasures, buildings and manuscripts. But these Stifte also played an important role in education: They often had their own scriptoria, libraries and schools, and the canonesses studied theological and classical literature and even produced their own texts (Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim). Based on the paleographic insights of H. Hoffmann and K. Bodarwé on the manuscripts from these Stifte, a major part of the Old Saxon texts can ultimately be placed in the context of female canonical writing. Not only do these canonical vernacular written records correspond to the entire spectrum of Old Saxon texts – from glosses to the Heliand – they also reflect important areas of the canonessesʼ lives. There are practical religious texts (Old Saxon Confession), theological commentaries (Psalms Commentary from Gernrode), sermons (All Saints Homily and glosses on Gregory the Great), glosses on the Bible and on biblical poetry (Juvencus and Prudentius) as well as sometimes detailed economic texts (Heberegister from Freckenhorst). In addition, the preserved texts cover a time span from the 10th century to the end of the Old Saxon period around 1200. As a consequence of these insights, Old Saxon for the most part can be seen as the language of the secular canonesses of these Saxon communities.