Image 1: The Congregation of the Nuns of Hohenbourg,  drawn by Herrad, who is seen standing to the right, holding a manuscript.


Image 2: ‘Philosophie mit den sieben freien Künsten’ from the collections at University Library Johann Christian Senckenberg / The Johannes Gutenberg University. Philosophy with the seven liberal Arts from the Hortus Deliciarum.

Herrad von Landsberg (c. 1130 – July 25, 1195), also known as Herrad von Hohenbourg, was an Alsatian nun and abbess, best known for an unusual illustrated manuscript, multidisciplinary compendium and encyclopedia Hortus Deliciarum, or Garden of Delights. It was written for the women of Hohenbourg and meant to replace the teachings of the male priests, allowing nuns to claim a body of knowledge withheld from them (they were not allowed to attend university at the time). Importantly, the encyclopedia was also co-authored, and was meant to be a teaching tool. Famously, they imagined, drew, and illustrated ‘Philosophy and the Seven Liberal Arts’, a title page in the encyclipedia.