Revisiting the Enclosed Gardens of the Low Countries (Fifteenth Century Onwards). Gender, Textile, and the Intimate Space as Horticulture

The early sixteenth-century Enclosed Gardens or Horti Conclusi of the Augustinian Hospital Sisters of Mechelen in Belgium, form an exceptional world heritage collection from the late medieval period. Most Enclosed Gardens have been lost to the ravages of time, with this loss exacerbated by lack of both understanding and interest. No fewer than seven Enclosed Gardens, however, were preserved until the late twentieth century in their original context: the small community of Augustinian nuns in Mechelen. Like sleeping beauties, they remained secluded in the sisters’ rooms as aids to devotion. Their centuries-long slumber has recently given way to a new phase of lively debate and active scholarship, as these popular retables are now considered unique testimonies of female spirituality in the sixteenth century. Their remarkable pictorial vernacular provides new insights into life, thought and devotion in female convent communities. They testify to a cultural identity connected with strong mystical trad...