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JERZYSTRZELCZYK
MiddleAgeswascommonlyheldasthegreatestsageofalltimes.Infact,
asitisnowcommonlyacknowledged,theLatintextgiventoHiltgartby
brotherRudolphandusedasthebasisforhertranslationwasoneofthe
Latinversionsofthispseudo-AristoteliancompendiumcompiledinArabic
inthe10thcenturyintheEast,withintheSyrianculturewithsomePersian
influences.TheauthoroftheArabicversion,whichevolvedlaterintotwo
differenteditions(alongerandashorterone),isnotknowntous.Begin-
ningwiththe12thcentury,theArabiccompilationgainedwidepopularity
intheWest,andoverafewcenturieswastranslatedandparaphrasedmany
times,whichisconfirmedbynumerousmanuscripts(someofwhichcan
befoundinPoland,too).ThetextonwhichHiltgartvonHürnheimworked
wasprobablycompiledintheearly13thcenturybyanobscureclergyman
fromSouthernFranceknownasPhilipofTripoli;thisversionwaswidely
appreciatedbythewholeWesternEuropeofthe13thcentury.
ItseemsthatHiltgart’stranslationdidnotgainwidepopularity;theau-
tographdidnotsurvive(whichisnotsurprising),andweonlyknowabout
twolatemedievalmanuscriptcopies(fromthe15thcentury),ofwhichonly
onehassurvived(andiscurrentlyinMunich).
Whowastheauthorofthetranslation?Formally,thetextisanonymous.
Thetranslatordidnotmentionhernameanywhere,butwemaydeducethat
shewasnotdrivenbymodesty,acommontraitamongmedievalwomen
writers,becausetheextendedverseprologuecontainsenoughinformation
forthescholarstopinpointheridentityalmostunmistakably.
WelearnthatshewasaCisterciannunintheHolyCrossConventin
Zimmern.Foundedin1252andsubjecttotheAbbotfromthenearbyKai-
sheim,theconventremainedactiveuntiltheReformation.Tracesofitsex-
istencesurviveinthenameofthevillageofKlosterzimmernnearNördlin-
genintheBavarianSwabia.Theprologueinformsusthatthetranslator
hadalreadybeenintheconventforsometime,butshestartedworkingon
thetranslationstillasayoungwoman.Herworkshowsthatshewashighly
competentinLatin.Inthe13thcenturysucheducationwasavailablein
better-rankedconventsandmainlytonoblemen’sdaughters.
Thegirlswereusuallysenttoconventattheageofseven.Giventhe
factthatHiltgartfinishedhertranslationin1282(assheherselfdeclares),
andtheworkmostprobablytookhertentotwentyyears,itmaybeas-
sumedthatsheenteredtheconventsometimebetween1260and1270.
Herfamilyrootsshouldbetracedbacktonoblefamilieslivinginthevi-
cinityofZimmern,especiallythoseconnectedtotheconvent.Research
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