oder: Liebe und Freundschaft in den Lüner Briefen
A special lecture for the Old Frisian Summer School in Groningen 2025 on ‘Code-Switching between Latin and the vernacular’.
More features available via the panopto recording of the talk here, see below for the English handout. Also, to celebrate the publication of the paperback edition of the ‘Unerhörte Frauen’ with an added chapter on ‘Love and Friendship’, the handout for the lecture provides a group of three letters from the first Lüne letterbook which expand on the theme of ‘Love and Friendship’ from the nuns’ own perspective. These are used as a case study for talking about code-switching between Latin and the vernacular as a convent-specific ‘language of intimacy’.
Außerdem: Aufzeichnung des Vortrags am 11. Juli 2025 im Kapitelsaal des Klosters Lüne
Texts from the edition: Netzwerke der Nonnen. Kritische Edition der Briefsammlung der Lüner Benediktinerinnen (Hs. 15, ca. 1460-1555), hg. von Eva Schlotheuber und Henrike Lähnemann, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2025. Open access pdf. Diplomatic text and English summaries in the Digital Library of the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel. Cf. particularly the introduction on education and language.
Further reading: Chapter 3 (Education) and 4 (Love & Friendship) in: Henrike Lähnemann & Eva Schlotheuber: Unerhörte Frauen. Die Netzwerke der Nonnen. Berlin: Propyläen 22025 (paperback), or English: The Life of Nuns. Love, Politics, and Religion in Medieval German Convents, transl. by Anne Simon, Cambridge: Open Book Publishers 2024, Open access html, pdf, and audiobook versions https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0397. Linguistic backgroundTimo Bülters / Simone Schultz-Balluff, Codemixing in den Lüneburger Frauenklöstern, in: Historisches Codeswitching mit Deutsch: Multilinguale Praktiken in der Sprachgeschichte, ed.by Elvira Glaser, Michael Prinz u. Stefaniya Ptashnyk, Berlin / Boston: de Gruyter 2021, pp. 175–210.
Header image: Two nuns wearing crowns, the initials GLM und GF on a capital in the cloisters of Kloster Ebstorf. Photograph: Wolfgang Brandis ©Kloster Ebstorf. Discussed in the chapter IV.1 ‘The Idea of Love and Friendship in the Convent’
Letter 212
Gertrud von Eltzen in Lüne Convent to Gertrud von Eltzen in Medingen Convent, after 1489, before 1496
The subprioress of Lüne writes to her relative and namesake in Medingen and asks after her health and that of their relative, presumably Lucia von Eltzen. She thanks her for the gilded devotional images. She sends money for the gloves which the Medingen abbess recently sent to the prioress of Lüne. She apologizes for her long silence towards the Medingen abbess and asks for the message to be passed on orally. She sends pickled fish and lets the abbess decide if she wants to share them with the recipient and her young relatives.
Lüne, Kloster Lüne, Hs. 15, Quire 16, fol. 9v. Latin and Low German.
| Address and Greeting formula Gertrud von Eltzen in Medinghen Fontem inundantis pietatis Jesum Christum, qui nobis in hoc vernali tempore paschalis iocunditatis reseravit vinarium sue suavitatis, pro salutatione condigna amicabiliter vestre caritati premissum! | aligned with the liturgical season To Gertrud von Eltzen in Medingen The fountain of overflowing mercy, Jesus Christ, who has opened to us in this springtime of Easter festivity the wine-cellar of his sweetness, as an appropriate greeting amicably sent in advance to Your Grace! |
| Health Precordialissima N, ik do caritati vestre fruntliken to wetende, dat ik, permittente divina bonitate Dei, byn in bona sospitate, idipsum affectere ik van juw unde van user leven amitemLucia von Eltzen to wetende tempore longevo secundum beneplacitum divinum. | Update Most dearly beloved N, I kindly inform your Grace that, thanks to God’s grace, I am in good health and I hope to learn the same from you and our dear cousin Lucia van Eltzen, as God pleases, for a long time to come. |
| Thanks for Ceterum, preamantissima amita, regratior vestre innate caritati pro multis et innumeris beneficiis, sunderghen vor de groten lefmodicheyt, de gy my lest bewiseden cum illis pulcherrimis foliis deauratis, in quibus manifestius declamastis fidele et benivolum cor vestrum cum caritate plenum, dat is my noch nicht vorgheten, ik mud juw des dancken toto tempore vite mee, unde kan des ock nicht vorgheten quamdiu vixero, nam quotiens ea intueor oculis corporeis totiens mirum et inauditum gaudium experior interius, unde darvan werd myn herteken sepius recreert,wente wan ik aliqua molestia vexcert byn ex multis occupationibus, unde den illos principes gloriosos ansee, so lad ik my dunken, wo se mypondus totius meroris statim allevieren, undedarvan wert juwe leve jo meͤr unde meer aucmentert in corde meo, unde konde ik juw versa vice worane tho willen wesen, dat wolde ik ex toto corde gherne don, et nil opto aut desidero men allene, dat ik juw illam caritatem gruntliken opere mochte exiberen, de ik cum stilo cotidie exprimere , quia secundum dictum beati Gregorii „Probatio dilectionis exibitio est operis“, tam insufficientiam meam wil ik admitteren summo largitori omnium gratiarum, a quo omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum descendit,de mote hunc intime caritatis affectum vorvullenunde juw causa mei geven tot et tanta gratiarum munera, quanta celum continet gaudia et arva profert flores et gramina, quatenus in hoc ameno tempore in novitate vite cum omnibus elementis ipsius gloriose resurrexionis congratulantis renovari valeatis homine in utroque, ut post huius vite transsitarie curriculo pervenire valeatis ad amena paradise gaudia. | Previous Letters & Gifts Moreover, most beloved cousin, I thank your inborn kindness / Grace for many and countless gifts, especially for the great kindness you have recently shown me with those beautiful gilded leaves in which your faithful and dear heart expresses itself with great love; I have not forgotten this yet, rather I have to thank you all my life and I cannot forget it as long as I live, because as often as I behold them with my physical eyes, I experience a wondrous and unheard-of joy inside; and from this my little heart is often revived, for when I am tormented by various burdens and tasks, and then look at those glorious princes, it seems to me that they immediatelyrelieve the burden of my sorrow. And by this, your love is increased more and more in my heart; and if I could do something for you in return, I would do it with all my heart, and I do not wish or desire anything, except to show you my love in many deeds, which I try to express in everyday style, just as blessed Gregory says: “The proof of love is the deed”. Because of my imperfection, I will seek the help of the greatest giver of all grace, from whom come all good deeds and all perfect gifts. He may fulfil this intimate feeling of love and give you on my behalf as many and as great gifts of gratitude as the heavens contain joys and the fields bring forth flowers and grasses, so that in this time of renewal of life you may rejoice in the renewal of mankind in body and soul with all the elements of the glorious resurrection, so that after passing through this life you may attain the joys of Paradise. |
| Business My karissima, ik sende juw ad presens dat gelt vor dat paar hanschen, dar reverenda dompna vestra venerande dompne nostre lest wede tho hulpe quam, unde we synt humiliterbegherende, dat gy us leffliken excuserenjeghen ere werdecheyt, dat we dar so langhe wede tartert hebben, hoc evenit ex multis innumeris occupationibus, dat we des nene mathe hebben konden juw aliqua to schrivende, vor so dorske we us des nicht presumeren, dat we in se sulven hedden schreven, darumme dat id so langhe tydvorghan iß, idcirco hebbe ik maximam fiduciam do juw unde lave certliken, dat gy dat causa nostri wol willen to gude maken unde er vivo stilo bed declareren intentionem nostram, wen we er konnen schreven hebben. | Dealing My dearest, I send you here the money for the pair of gloves with which your reverend Domina recently helped out our reverend Domina; we humbly request that you, Reverend, would kindly apologize to us for delaying this for so long; that came out of an almost innumerable series of affairs, so that we had no rest in writing to you even briefly; therefore we have not dared to suppose that we could write to her ourselves, since it has been so long now; therefore, we place the utmost trust in you and believe that you can arrange our matter well for us and that you can explain our concerns better in a personal presentation than we could have written to you. |
| Gift Ock sende ik juw pisciculos conditos undenimium obnixe, dat gy de willen don reverende dompne vestre ex parte nostra, dar schal se sick medeconfortert, Deo ad laudem, unde wel venerabilis caritas sua juw unde user lutken amiten Lucia von Eltzen wad van gheven, dat wil ik eius benivolentie ghansliken atmitteren, wente ik hebbe dat sepissime uth juwen schriften vorstan, dat se juw materne et pie vor is in omnibus, darumme so dubitere ik dar nicht ane, quin vobis optime administrat quitquit acquirere potest. Taking Leave Nil plus. Cum hoc valeatis in Jesu Christo sponso nostro, qui vos inebriet lacte suavitatis et dulcedinis in hac labili vita, ut post hoc satiari mereamini melle sue divinitatis in presentia sancte Trinitatis. Amen. | Exchange We are also sending you candied fish and we kindly ask that you present them to your reverend domina as a gift from us for her to enjoy, praise God, and if your esteemed friend wants to give some of it to you and our young cousin Lucia von Eltzen, I would like to leave that entirely to her willingness, because I have often gleaned from your letters that she is motherly and faithfully in charge of everything; therefore I have no doubt that she will best distribute among you all that she can obtain. and Sign-Off Enough of it! With this I bid you fare-well in the name of our Bridegroom Jesus Christ, who will make you drunk with the milk of sweetness and meekness in this mortal life, that afterward you may deserve to feast on the sweetness of His divinity in the presence of the Holy Trinity, Amen. |
Letter 189
Nun from Kloster Lüne to a nun in a neighbouring convent. Friday after Jubilate, unknown year. Thank for letter of condolence
The sender expresses joy upon hearing that the recipient is in good health; she too is well. She offers heartfelt thanks for the many kindnesses received, especially for the consoling letter and the small devotional image, which brought comfort to her grieving soul. As a token of their bond, she sends a small basket of delicacies and preserved fish. Like Jonathan for David, she would gladly give her cloak, but since that is not possible, she sends one of her veils instead. She asks that it be received in the same love with which it was sent. May Christ add to it a bridal garment adorned with pearls and precious stones.
Lüne, Kloster Lüne, Hs. 15, Lage 15, fol. 6r. Latin and Low German.
| Greeting formula In paschalibus festis ex intimis precordiorum[1]affectibus exultare et iubilare ac resurgentem regem glorie cum omni creatura collaudare, reverenda ac religiosa domina, michi utique in prenominato rege glorie visceretina[2] dilectione preamanda![3] | aligned with the liturgical season During these Eastertide with the deepest feelings of my inmost organs to exult, rejoice, and to praise the rising King of Glory together with all creation, honourable and devout Lady, beloved by me above all others in the aforementioned King of Glory with deepest affection. |
| Health Quoniam ex scriptis vestris favorabilibus sum certificata de statu vestre valitudinis, in hoc venerabilitati vestre[4] congaudeo ex fundo cordis, et utinam, Deo largiente, talia per multorum annorum curricula audire possum; hoc foret michi non modica letitia, et idem notifico reverentie vestre de successu meo, quod annuente divino auxilio consisto in sospitate, reverenda et my preamanda domina. | Enquiry Having been informed by your encouraging letters of your good health, I rejoice with all my heart and pray that, God willing, I may continue to receive such news from you for many years to come; this would bring me no small joy. Likewise, I share with Your Reverence that, by divine grace, I too am in good health, most honourable and deeply venerated lady. |
| Reference Quantas innumeras ymmo eximias grates teneor vestre venerabilitati exsolvere pro multis caritativis beneficiis michi totiens exhibitis penitus ignoro; non sufficio calamo exprimere nec verbis ullo modo declarare, maxime nunc pro littera vestra valde consolatoria michi una cum pulcherrimo folio destinata, unde anima mea turbata dulciter est recreata; et hanc vestram missivam quam pro magno clenodio suscepi et cum lacrimatibus oculis preletitia legi atque relegi illam de verbo ad verbum, de sillaba ad sillabam et prenimia suavitate saturari non valeo, nam videtur michi, quasi oretenus cum mea precordialissima matre ac amita VGken[5] sim locuta,[6] unde dat is my up myn herten kamen, wente reverentia vestra heft so meer de aldererste wesen, de my in his tribulationibus meis consolert heft, unde dat mut ikvenerabilitati vestre bekennen unde regracierenquamdiu vixero. Quia secundum illud dictum vulgare: „Semper in tribulationibus et necessitatibus probandi sunt amici.“[7] Unde dat hebbe ik vullenkomen by juw bevunden. | to Earlier Exchange I cannot begin to express, neither with pen nor speech, the countless and overflowing words of thanks I owe Your Honour for the many loving favours you have so often shown me, especially now for your most comforting letter and the beautiful leaf you sent, which sweetly refreshed my troubled soul. I received this writing as a precious treasure and read it again and again with tear-filled eyes, overwhelmed with joy, word by word, syllable by syllable, and I cannot tire of it, so sweet is it to me. It felt as though I had spoken in person with my most beloved mother and aunt, the dear V.G., and this deeply moved my heart. For Your Reverence was the first to comfort me in my sorrow, and I must acknowledge and thank you for this for as long as I live. As the vernacular proverb says: “In times of distress, true friends are revealed.” And I have experienced this fully in you. |
| Exchange Quit igitur nunc proinde reverentie vestre rependere queam, quod possit esse equivalens apud me, prochdolor non invenio, uti libenter, karissime mee atque precordialissime unigeniken, (fol. 6v) darem pro xenio precioso, alze reverentia vestra eget. Attamen pro inditio caritatis immense, qua anima mea conglutinata est anime vestre, veluti anima Jonathe conglutinata est anime Davidis et dilexit eum Jonathas quam animam suam, ita ego diligo vestram reverentiam in visceribus Jesu Christi, in cuius testimonium transmitto venerabilitati vestre unam fiscellam cum apothecalibus et aliquos pisciculos conditos dar scal sickreverentia vestra mede conforteren, Deo ad laudem, michi ac aliis multis ad salubrem atque diutinam consolationem. Et si foret michi possibile, quod ego tantilla possem me expoliare tunica nostra[8] et reverentie vestre eam prestare, quemadmodum Jonathas fecit Davidis, hoc ex fundo cordis libenter facerem. Itaque, si non possum dare vestimentum, idipsum tamen, quod michi est possibile, non negligam reddere. Sicque ad presens dirigo reverentie vestre unum velum, den hebbe ik ob vestri dilectionem namen de nostro capite, unde sende juw den in maxima caritate et peto obnixe, dat gy den in der sulven leve willen recipieren, dar ik juw den anesende; konde ik reverentie vestre darmede sendenqueque salutaria anime et corporis ac meum viventem cor, wat ik dat gherne dede, idcirco flagito, ne illud spretui habeatis. | of Gifts What I could offer in return to Your Reverence that would be worthy and within my means, alas, I cannot find. Yet I would gladly give you, my dearest and most dearly beloved one-and-only, a precious gift befitting Your Honour. But as a token of the immeasurable love with which my soul is bound to yours, just as Jonathan’s soul was bound to David’s, whom he loved as his own soul, so do I love Your Reverence in the innermost depths of Jesus Christ. As a witness to this, I send Your Honour a small basket of remedies and some preserved fish, that Your Reverence may be strengthened thereby, to the praise of God, for my benefit and that of many others, and for lasting consolation. And if it were possible for me, lowly as I am, to take off my garment and give it to Your Reverence, as Jonathan did for David, I would do so most willingly from the bottom of my heart. And since I cannot give you a garment, I will not fail to give what I can. Therefore, I send Your Honour at this time a veil, which I have taken from my head out of love for you, and I send it with the greatest affection, earnestly asking that you receive it in the same love with which I send it. If I could also send Your Reverence a remedy for soul and body and my living heart, how gladly would I do so. I therefore beg you not to despise it. |
| Heavenly Et ille imperialis belliger inclitus et gloriosus, qui in stola glorificati corporis sui preclarus atque formosus resurrexit de tumulo,[9] de motereverentie vestre ex parte mea darto gevenvestem nuptialem gemine caritatis[10] margaritis ac lapidibus preciosis intextam, dar gy eme froliken inne moghen enjeghen ghan, dum nos ad celeste convivium invitaverit in hoc exilio, scilicet in perceptione venerandi sacramenti, ac demum digne mereamini introire ad nuptias illas paschales,[11] ubi delicie affluunt, ubi premia non deficiunt, ubi spirat odor cynamomi et balsami ac totius suavitatis, ubi electi (fol. 7r) ab uberibus consolationis sponsi immortalis saturabuntur et torrente voluptatis potabuntur, ibique contemplari mereamini facie ad faciem Dominum dominorum, in Syon celebrando cum omnibus electis paschalem sollempnitatem in secula seculorum. | Reward And may that renowned and glorious imperial warrior, who rose gloriously and beautifully from the grave in the stole of his glorified body, grant Your Reverence in my stead the bridal garment of double love, embroidered with pearls and precious stones, in which you may joyfully go forth to meet him when he invites us to the heavenly banquet, here in exile, through the reception of the venerable sacrament, and finally grant you worthy entrance to those Easter wedding feasts where joy overflows, where rewards never fail, where the fragrance of cinnamon, balm, and all sweetness wafts, where the elect are nourished from the breasts of the immortal Bridegroom’s consolation and are refreshed by the stream of delight, and where you will be granted to behold the face of the Lord of Lords face to face, when you celebrate the Easter feast in Zion with all the elect, for ever and ever. |
| Farewell Nil plus etc.[12]Cum his valeat vestra reverentia sana et incolumis in eo, qui pro nobis mortuus est et resurrexit, qui vos in hominis utriusque prosperitate ac salute corroboret ac confirmet temporibus longevis. Raptim ex Lune sexta feria post Iubilate.[13] | Greetings Nothing further for now, etc.With this, I wish Your Reverence health and well-being in him who died and rose again for us, who may strengthen and sustain you in well-being and salvation of both body and soul for a long time to come.Hastily written in Lüne, on the Friday after Jubilate Sunday. |
[1] The Latin term praecordia refers anatomically to the inner organs surrounding the heart, and more specifically to the diaphragm as the seat of breath. In medieval usage, it acquires a metonymic sense, denoting courage or deep emotional resolve. The spelling “precordia” reflects a common medieval orthographic simplification, where classical diphthongs such as ae are rendered as e. The prefix prae- serves as an intensifier, as in praeamandus (“exceedingly lovable”), a gerundive form derived from amare (“to love”).
[2] Adjektive derived from viscera (“entrails”).
[3] Following the ars dictandi, each complete letter begins with a formal salutation. In the conventual context, this greeting is liturgically anchored, referencing the church calendar to provide both temporal and spiritual orientation.
[4] In accordance with monastic protocol, the nuns employ the formal second-person plural in address and refer to one another using honorifics appropriate to their office, here, that of the prioress. The sender also refers to herself in the plural, a convention that underscores communal identity.
[5] The abbreviation “VG” refers to a nun from the convent of Walsrode who spent time at Lüne (cf. Letter 148), indicating a network of spiritual and epistolary exchange among North German women’s convents. The suffix -ken, appended to initials or names, functions as a Low German diminutive equivalent to the High German -chen. It marks familiarity and personal connection, often used for individuals known within the conventual network.
[6] The phrase used to confirm the authenticity of a personal letter appears in other examples (e.g., Letters 215 and 223), serving as a standard epistolary device.
[7] The proverb “Friends are tested in adversity” is cited in other letters (e.g., 13 and 44) and also appears in Latin in devotional texts, including multiple instances in Thomas à Kempis’ Opera (ed. Pohl, vol. 4, 1918, p. 80).
[8] The phrase “our tunic” refers to the monastic use of “we”, see above, and also references the sender’s and recipient’s shared religious habit.
[9] The image of Christ rising with the victory banner is the most frequent motif in the visual culture of the Lüneburg convents. Examples include the Lüne Easter Tapestry (1504–1508), the sculptural and painted decorations in the Wienhausen nuns’ choir, and marginal illustrations in the Medingen Easter prayer books (cf. Kohwagner-Nikolai, Per manus sororum, 2006, pp. 367–375).
[10] Die gemina caritas („Zwillings-Liebe“) findet sich schon bei S. Augustinus Hipponensis in ep. 109, §1, in: Augustinus von Hippo, Epistulae, hg. von Goldbacher, Bd. 2 (1898), S. 635.
[11] The letter concludes with a hymn-like passage that transitions into rhymed prose, a stylistic hallmark of devotional writing in the Lüneburg convents. See Henrike Lähnemann, Reimprosa und Mischsprache, in Wolfram-Studien (forthcoming).
[12] The phrase indicating the end of the letter due to time or space constraints is a standard epistolary closure.
[13] ‚Iubilate Deo omnis terra‘ is the Introit for the third Sunday after Easter.