Intertextuelle Textilien

Abstract

This article compares a vision from the ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹ – attributed to Gertrude the Great (c. 1256–1301/1302) – with Alain de Lille’s twelfth-century allegory ›De planctu Naturae‹ (1160/1165). It shows how imaginary textiles, such as allegorical dresses in visions, function as a means of visualizing conceptions of time, temporality, and salvation. The late fourteenth-century German text ›ein botte der götlichen miltekeit‹ (based on the earlier Latin ›Legatus‹) is particularly strong in highlighting textile craftsmanship by employing technical terms that illustrate the allegorical dress in performative ways. Recently discovered manuscript evidence further showcases profound textile knowledge in vernacular texts.