Sister Maria Josefa formula of profession, 1776

Name:

Maria Josefa, Sister, 18th century

Timespan:

18th century

Date:

1776

Description:

Illuminated formula of profession of a Cistercian nun at a convent in Seville, recording her vows of stability, conversion of morals, and obedience, dated 29 January 1776. The illumination, in the upper half of the large parchment leaf, shows the sister in her white habit, with the Virgin and Child above her, Saint Benedict (in a black habit) and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (in a white habit) on either side of her, and ten other male and female saints arranged around them. The words of the vows, the witnesses, and the place and date are recorded in 13 lines of humanistic script with red square capitals, with the first line, Ego Soror Maria Josepha de St. Benito, in gold square capitals on red ground. The letters a and m are written in a different ink above approximately ten words scattered through the text. Three signatures, too faded to be read, are at the bottom and are probably of the witnesses, identified in the text as Josephus Maestre, Joannes Josephus Salcedo (visitor for a canonical visitation), and Getrude Maria de Castilla (abbess). The painting has minor cracks and the text is abraded.

Language:

Latin

Provenance:

Sold by Inkqnabula (Ebay), 2020.

Relation:

The Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366271; The Henry Charles Lea Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366238

Subject:

Cistercians -- Spain -- Seville -- History -- 18th century -- Sources; Cistercian nuns -- Spain -- Seville -- History -- 18th century -- Sources; Monastic and religious life of women -- Early works to 1800; Profession (in religious orders, congregations, etc.) -- Early works to 1800

Form/Genre:

Manuscripts, Spanish -- 18th century; Manuscripts, European

Physical Description:

1 item (1 leaf) : parchment; 610 x 420 mm.

Geographic Subject:

Seville (Spain) -- Church history -- 18th century -- Sources

Rights:

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Notes:

In Latin.; Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Henry Charles Lea Fund.; Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

Physical Location:

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Ms. Oversize 49

Collection:

Henry Charles Lea Fund; Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund