De handschriften uit het klooster Mariënhage in Eindhoven. Een overzicht

Abstract

As most religious institutions in the later Middle Ages, the convent of Mariënhage in Eindhoven had its library, of which only very few traces have come down to us. These remains allow us, however, to reconstruct an intense intellectual life around books. Mariënhage probably produced liturgical manuscripts for other convents in the region and the spiritual life of the convent was enhanced by religious anthologies made in the convent itself. Apart from these, Mariënhage had one of the largest libraries in the Low Countries, which not only contained theological works, but also an important collection of historical writings. The latter is due to the donation of the private library of Nicolaus Clopper the Elder of Brussels. His son, Nicolaus Clopper the Younger, compiled an impressive chronicle of the history of the world, two copies of which have survived. The Royal Library of Belgium holds two manuscripts from this former convent, a devout booklet conceived for internal use in the 1520s and a historical manuscript from the actual library, which has a rough draft that probably may be linked to the world chronicle mentioned above.