The Unterlinden Sisterbook: A Study and Edition of Elisabeth Kempf’s Final Revision, circa 1470

Three related texts about the spiritual lives of early Dominican sisters at Colmar’s Unterlinden convent – the Vitae sororum, composed in the 14th century by prioress Katharina von Gueberschwihr, and two 15th-century revisions by her successor Elisabeth Kempf – have collectively and confusingly been known as the Unterlinden Sisterbook. The current study clarifies the relationship among, and the transmission history of, these three versions of Katharina’s text, including the role played in the 17th century by a Freiburg Carthusian in transporting Kempf’s text to Austria, where it was published 100 years later by a Melk Benedictine. The study also posits collaboration between Kempf and fellow Dominican Johannes Meyer as she edited and later translated the text into German. A critical edition of (1) Kempf’s edited translation, based on two 15th-century manuscripts, and (2) a brief supplement to her translation, composed by Meyer at the behest of Kempf, are also included. The first two versions of the Unterlinden Sisterbook have been available in print since 1930 (Vitae sororum) and 1725 (Kempf’s first revision), respectively; the current publication presents Kempf’s final revision and translation into German for the first time.