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ost medieval letters survive in collections,and comparatively few are known from isolated copies.1 The letter published here from Stiftsbibliothek Admont MS 446, fol. 110v was written probably in the middle of the twelfth century by the abbot of Clairvaux to the abbess of Fontevrault. The text breaks off in the middle (not the end) of a line,which suggests that the scribe copied all that he had before him and that the text was taken from an incomplete copy rather than that a page of the manuscript is missing. It was apparently written by two scribes, of whom one copied the first twenty-five lines, up to sanctuario, and the second the remaining eleven words.2 The handwriting resembles those in other manuscripts from Admont in the second half of the twelfth century, but it does not match that of any known scribe. The abbess is identified by the initial M, which may stand for Mathilda I of Anjou, abbess from about 1149 to 1155, or for Mathilda II (1189/90–94), Mathilda III (1194–1207), or Mary of Champagne (1207–8).3 The abbot is identified as P, but neither of the two possibilities whose names begin with P, Pontius of Polignac (1165–70) and Peter Monoculus (1179–86), coincided with an abbess whose name starts with M. It is possible that P is an error for R and refers to Robert of bruges, who was abbot of Clairvaux from 1153 to 1157, which would date the letter 1153/5.4 The initials may be fictitious, however, as indeed may be the entire letter. The letter shows the abbot’s respect and affection for the abbess, whom he had met before, since he said that they were already united by “a single and pure grace” and that their love for one another was subsequently (deinde) augmented. Most of the letter is a paeon of praise to “the grace of the eternal bridegroom,” that is Christ, which brought them together and is the source of their love. The A Letter to the Abbess of Fontevrault from the Abbot of Clairvaux Giles Constable M 155 abbot lists the many benefits bestowed on mankind and himself by grace, which he addresses as “you,” though in places this may refer to the abbess. It is owing to grace, he writes, that he exists, lives, knows, and adores the saints and that he deserves to see and adore grace “in the temple of your holy name [and] in the sanctuary of your glorification.” These are strong words, even making allowance for rhetorical exaggeration, and they reflect both his confidence in the efficacy of grace and the warmth of his feelings for the abbess.The comparative grade of the last word—sanctius “more holy”—after which the text breaks off, suggests that it went on in the same vein, but unless another manuscript comes to light the continuation remains unknown. The letter was probably one of those medieval letters which, to the despair of hardheaded scholars, includes more sentiments than facts. The sentiments are not without interest, however, and constitute a fact in themselves. That the head of the most important reformed monastic order of the twelfth century wrote in such terms to the abbess of the motherhouse of an influential female order is not without significance, and that he apparently already knew the abbess and planned another meeting adds a small but interesting fact to the history of the relations between male and female religious orders in the twelfth century. The letter is printed here as it is found in the manuscript, including the capitals,the repeated ex at the break of the fourth and fifth lines of the manuscript, and the spelling obsura (presumably for obscura) in line 22. both v and u are used at the beginnings of the third and fourth sentences. The capitals H and S at the beginnings of lines 13 and 20 are placed in the left-hand margin. The punctuation follows that of the manuscript, with a few additions, aside from replacing the periods with commas and in one case a semicolon. The translation poses a few problems, including the occasional ambiguity of te and tuus, which may refer to grace or the abbess, and the use of some unusual words. An effort has been made to reflect the style of the original, but much of it, such as the wordplay on aufert, confert, defert, and refert in reference to grace, is lost.5 156...

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