Praying with St. Juliana: Female Monastic Devotion, the Salzinnes Antiphonal, and the Cantus Database

Abstract

Julienne de Glymes commissioned the Salzinnes Antiphonal (Halifax, Saint Mary’s University, Patrick Power Library, M2149.L4 1554) in the mid sixteenth century for use at the abbey of Salzinnes during the winter season of Advent to Easter. The manuscript is unusual in its depiction of thirty-four named nuns within twelve different illuminations. The antiphonal also includes depictions of multiple Julianas: Julienne de Glymes, St. Juliana of Nicomedia, and, arguably, St. Juliana of Cornillon. Examining the significance of these depictions sheds light on the importance of female saints to personal and corporate monastic identities at Salzinnes during a period of Cistercian reform, including renewed emphasis on enclosure. Examination of Juliana of Cornillon’s residency at Salzinnes in the thirteenth century and her early office for Corpus Christi suggests the role of the Salzinnes nuns in preserving Juliana of Cornillon’s legacy. Exploring the presence of all three Julianas in the Cantus Database demonstrates the potential of Cantus to support scholarship on female monasticism.