Second edition of the Dijon mystic Jane of Chantal's discussion of the rules, regulations, and charism of the Visitation nuns, the order she founded as a response to the despair and grief she suffered following the death of her husband. Partly devotional, partly philosophical, Saint Jane's exposition and arguments for her order were almost all originally oral; they had survived because her followers committed her words to paper. The Responses was first printed by a private press in 1632; our expanded 1665 second edition contains editorial shoulder notes and an extensive table of matters. The Visitandines were known for their devotion to the poor, infirm, and aged, and for accepting women into their cloisters who had rejected by other orders. Hundreds of Jane of Chantal's letters survive, and her work is being re-examined as important devotional philosophy, particularly among philosophers who contemplated the nature of love.                                                                        

12mo, 165 x 95 mm. [4], 624, 108 pp. Contemporary vellum, soiled, upper joint starting, catchplates lacking. Several gatherings pulling loose and standing proud; a few marginal tears (not near text).  

For further reading on Jane of Chantal as a philosopher, please see: Bouchard, Françoise, Sainte Jeanne de Chantal ou la puissance d’aimer, Paris: Salvator, 2004, and Kroug, Jean-Marie, Le désir de l’amant; le vocabulaire amoureux de quelques femmes mystiques au dix-septième siècle (Ph.D. thesis), University of Fribourg, 2010.

Item #367