Printed emblems and manuscript meditations from the Norbertine nunnery
Printed emblems and manuscript meditations from the Norbertine nunnery

Summary/Abstract: The aim: The article discusses a "hybrid volume" - a book that integrates engravings (mechanically reproduced pieces) and handwritten texts. More specifically, it is an emblem book that combines engravings and a Polish translation of Paradisus Sponsi et Sponsae by Jan David. The Polish text has never been published in print. The engravings come from a series issued by the Antwerp print atelier of Theodoor Galle. Conclusions: The texts were composed in 1670' by an anonymous translator, and the volume itself was most likely created later in a convent. The book belonged to a nun and has been preserved in the library of the Norbertine nunnery in Imbramowice, Poland. The essay analyses this volume as an example of multimedia hybridity in books manufactured centuries ago. It argues that the construction of such volumes might have served a spiritual purpose, constituting an aid to immersive reading, meditation, and prayer.

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