Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

into the depths of hell’. 114 Most surprising, perhaps, is the deletion of most if not all
imagery from the Song of Songs, particularly as interest continued in the work into the
ninth century: Benedict’s correspondent Alcuin composed his own Compendium in
Canticum Canticorum. 115 The omission of ideas such as ‘Let the seclusion of your own
chamber ever guard you; ever let the Bridegroom sport with you within’ perhaps suggests
a narrowing of boundaries in which religious women were being encouraged to view
themselves. 116 They could no longer think of themselves as brides of Christ.
Perhaps more importantly, the use of images of Eustochium’s chamber is also
relevant to the physical environment of Benedict’s nuns. One of the most significant
omissions is that of references to Eustochium leaving the home, or to other people
visiting her there, and these were quite obviously irrelevant to women who would never
be leaving their community. It may have been important, moreover, to ensure that there
could be no suggestion of tacit acceptance of a valid dedicated life being lived at home.
For the author(s) of the Institutio sanctimonialium, life in a community would be
presented as the only valid option.
The use of such texts to support the ethos of religious life, as opposed to its
structure, is equally illustrated by the inclusion of Caesarius’ letter Vereor, under the title
Sermo ad sanctimoniales. This title may reflect the work’s transmission in both
masculine and feminine variants: de Vogüé has shown that the council of Aachen used
both, and as seen in the previous chapter, two ninth century manuscripts of the
‘masculine’ recension, Sermo ad quosdam germanos, are still extant. 117 Both male and
female versions were seen to be of value and therefore used; in contrast to the Codex and
Concordia regularum, the Institutio was specifically aimed at a female audience.
114
IS 425 line 11. The missing references are Isaiah 47:1, Psalm 44:10, Ezekiel 16:25.
115
E.A. Matter The Voice of My Beloved: The Song of Songs in Western Medieval Christianity
(Philadelphia, 1992) 204.
116
IS 427 line 27. Comparison is with F.A. Wright, Select Letters of Saint Jerome (London, 1933), at 109.
117
De Vogüé, Oeuvres pour les moniales, 282-91. The two manuscripts are now Paris BN Lat. 12238 and
Reims, Bibl. Munic., ms. 414.
242