The garden of delights

by Fiona J. Griffiths

"In The Garden of Delights, Fiona J. Griffiths offers the first major study of the Hortus deliciarum, a magnificently illuminated manuscript of theology, biblical history, and canon law written both by and explicitly for women at the end of the twelfth century. In so doing she provides a persuasive new reading of female monastic culture. Through careful analysis of the contents, structure, and organization of the Hortus, Griffiths argues for women's profound engagement with the spiritual and intellectual vitality of the period on a level previously thought unimaginable, overturning the assumption that women were largely excluded from the "renaissance" and "reform" of this period."--Jacket. Griffiths (history, New York University) presents an important study of the Hortus deliciarum, a magnificently illustrated manuscript compiled under the direction of Abbess Herrad of Hohenbourg. Destroyed during the Prussian siege of Strasbourg in 1870, the Hortus was a selection of authoritative the