Kloster Lüne, Hs. 15, Lage 13, fol. 8v

Lateinisch

Vgl. Briefe 158; 159.

Die Absenderin dankt für die vielen Wohltaten, besonders für das Marienbild, das sie mit großer Freude aus den Händen ihrer Klostervorsteherin erhalten hat. Ein solches Bild der Gottesmutter hatte sie sich schon lange gewünscht; die Inspiration für diese Geschenk sei der Empfängerin sicher durch Christus eingegeben worden. Die angemessene Vergeltung überlässt sie Maria, die sie allegorisch als himmlischer ‚Garten der Köstlichkeiten‘ beschreibt. Stark abgekürzter Brief.

The letter begins with a salutation asking that the recipient may be led with joy to the wedding feast of the Lamb of God, an image probably inspired by the hymn Ad cenam Agni providi sung at Vespers between Easter Day and Ascension Day. In contrast to the ingratitude of certain people – although it is not clear who this comment refers to because the copyist appears to have abbreviated this part of the letter – the writer thanks the recipient for the many kindnesses that she has shown her. She expresses particular thanks for the image of Mary as Queen of Heaven, which she reports that she was overjoyed to receive from her superior. However, the sender refers to her as ‘Empress of Heaven’, possibly with the Imperatrix gloriosa sequence in mind which was used in the Votive Mass for the Virgin Mary on Saturdays in North German dioceses until liturgical reforms in the late sixteenth century. The sender states that she had been wanting one for a long time and that she now finally has this particular channel at her disposal to help her reach the Mother of God. She promises that the recipient will receive God’s grace through the Virgin Mary, who, drawing heavily on the language of Song of Songs 4, is likened to the garden of paradise filled with flowers and many other delights, and commends the recipient to her protection.