The Genealogy of the Visionary Sermon has two main objectives: first, the undertaking of a complete re-examination from a material perspective of the traditionally known as Libro del conorte, the sermon collection by the abbess Juana de la Cruz (1481-1534). Second, the development of new textual hermeneutics examining its process of writing, composition, and collective editing from a genre perspective.
The Libro del conorte is a visionary sermon collection, which contains more than seventy pieces preached in ecstasy by the Franciscan abbess Juana de la Cruz (1481-1534). Despite its evident significance, the two surviving codices have never been studied from a Philological perspective which include their complete codicological examination. As a result of this new material analysis, a critical edition of the sermons will be made available online. On the other side, this compilation is a product of the memorization, transcription, and collective editorial work of some of the nuns of the community. From this point of view, it has evident European precedents that not only help to understand the current form of the texts, but also allow to undertake a fresh interpretation of the sermons. The results of this new context for the abbess’ visionary preaching will be disseminated in the forthcoming monograph The Genealogy of the Visionary Sermon (Leiden: Brill), which will be published under a Gold Open Access license.
