Listen, Daughter The Speculum Virginum and the Formation of Religious Women in the Middle Ages

The words "Listen daughter" ( Audi filia , from Psalm 44) were frequently used in exhortations to religious women in the 12th century, a period of dramatic growth in the involvement of women in various forms of religious life. This volume looks at the "Mirror for Virgins" ( Speculum Virginum ), an illustrated dialogue between a nun and her spiritual mentor written by a monk not long before Hildegard of Bingen started to record her visions. An appendix provides the first English translation, by Barbara Newman, of significant excerpts from the Speculum .

Constant J. Mews teaches in the School of Historical Studies, at Monash University, where he is also Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology.