Two Paintings from the Cistercian Convent of Flines Author(S): Andrea G

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Nuns, Images, and the Ideals of Women's Monasticism: Two Paintings from the Cistercian Convent of Flines Author(s): Andrea G. Pearson Source: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4, Part 2 (Winter, 2001), pp. 1356-1402 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1262157 . Accessed: 10/06/2013 08:52

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This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions IVuns, Images, and the Ideals f W170men'sAlonasticism: TwoPaintings 'rom the Cistercian * Convento,fFli nes

byANDREA G. PEARSON

Thisstudy explores the dynamics between visual images and expectationsforfeminine monasticism in northernEurope via tzvopaintingsfrom the Cistercian convent ofFlines. It arguesthat abbess Jeannede Boubais commissioned theimagesfor clerics who hadpromoted reform ofFlines, in order tosuggest compliance with the mandates of the program and theintegralplace of the convent withinCistercian monasticism. In the wake ofthe dissolution ofseveral convents that had resisted reform,conveying a desire to yield to the Order must have seemed crucialfor the community survivaL

venas recentstudies on religiouswomen of medieval and renaissance Europehave done much to broadenour knowledge of convent fife,' a considerableamount of work remains to be done.Such is thecase with the arts.One areathat needs further attention is therelationship between visual imagesand clericalexpectations for nuns' lives. This subject is thefocus of thepresent investigation oftwo panel paintings commissioned by Jeanne de Boubais,abbess of the Cistercian convent of Flines, located near Douai in theFrench-speaking, Burgundian controlled south Netherlandish province ofHainault. From its foundation in 1234and reaching into the seventeenth century,Flines was one ofthe best-known and mosthighly regarded com- 2 munitiesfor religious women in the Low Countries. A periodicallythriving economy,especially strong during Jeanne de Boubais'prelature from 1507

*1wish to thankthose whose thoughtful comments permitted me to improvethis essay: AnnJensen Adams, Larry Ayres, James France, Mark Meadow, Ann M. Roberts,Christine Sperling,Vera Viditz-Ward, Robert Williams, and theanonymous Renaissance Quarterly readers.I am alsograteful to MaryanW Ainsworth,Michael B. Allen,Dagmar Eichberger, LehuaC. Fisher,and Jeffrey Chipps Smith for their support and assistance, and theSamuel H. KressFoundation and the RE.O. Sisterhoodfor enablinv, research abroad. 'Whilesuch contributions are too numerous to list here, those especiaHy helpful for the presentstudy are Gilchrist, Hamburger, McNamara, Montulet-Henneau, Vandenbroeck, Wood,and Ziegler. For further bibliography, see Roberts. 'Flineswas founded by Margaret of Constantinople in 1234 as a communityfor Cis- tercianwomen and as a place of burialfor herself and her family.The longstanding prevalenceof the convent is suggestedby the communitys exceedingly large population: I 00 professednuns in 1270,57 in 1542 (impressiveby sixteenth-century standards) and up to

RenaissanceQuarterly 54 (2001): 1356-1402 [ 13561

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to 1533, allowedthe nunsto commissiona remarkablylarge body of images.3 The twopaintings discussed here, both by Jean Bellegambe, date to a periodin theconvent's history in which relationships between the nuns and theirmale superiors were undergoing vigorous redefinition through reform. The workswere not, it seems, intended for the nuns of the community, but ratherfor two clerics who had initiated and enforced the program at Flines. Despitea callfor a shiftin power away from the abbess to the clerics, the imageryof the paintings suggests compliance with the program's directives and, byextension, implies an integralposition for Flines within Cistercian mo- nasticismgenerally. Given priorresistance to reformon the partof numerousother women's houses, and thepermanent dissolution of some conventsthat had notcooperated, conveying such a messagemust have seemedvital to thevery survival of the community.

JEAN BELLEGAMBE AND FLINES The twoimages considered here, one a diptychcomprised of two painted panelsand theother a triptychconsisting of three, have been assigned on 4 stylisticgrounds to Jean Bellegambe of Douai (1470-75/1535).The trip tychis one ofthe earliest large-scale works produced by the artist: prior to takingon thecommission, Bellegambe had producedonly three other knownpanel paintings. These include an altarpieceof the Lamentation, a Reston theFlight into Egypt, and a small-scaletriptych portraying the Vir- ginand Child.The latterwas commissioned by the Benedictine monastery ofAnchin, not far from Flines, between 1500 and 1505.The nunsof Flines hadconnected with Bellegambe by 1509 at'the latest, for a documentfrom theconvent dated to thatyear records the artist as havingmade an altarpiece

150 in theseventeenth century. The onlycomprehensive modern studies of Flines are those byHautcoeur, which are highly romanticized and mustbe usedwith caution. For the early historyof the convent, see Jordan, and Morganstern, esp. Chapter 3. 'For theartistic patronage of Flines in thesixteenth century, see Pearson,1995, where ninepanel paintings, two illuminated manuscripts, a leaf from a gradual,and an antepen- diumare tied to theconvent through abbesses' coats of arms (catalog on 402-37). Fora discussionof the financial aspects of the nuns' patronage, see Pearson, forthcoming. For the convent'seconomy in thefifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, see Hanke. 'For Bellegambe'swork at Flinesand elsewhere in the environs of Douai, see Dehaisnes, Baligand,and Genaille, 1976.

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forthe chapel of Saint Michael at Flines.' While the circumstancessur- roundingthe initialcontact between Flines and Bellegambeare unknown, the relationshipconceivably came about throughmutual acquaintances at Anchin,as theabbey's distinctive four-tower silhouette is visiblein thebackground of the Flines triptych.'The frequencywith which Bellegambe's name is mentionedin the Flines'manuals of expendituresafter 1509 suggeststhat he was the primarypainter working for the conventin the early sixteenthcentury. As Bellegambewent on to completea numberof commis- sionsfor patrons other than the nuns of Flines,his earlyassociation with the community,and withAnchin, afforded him notorietyas a painter. Despite an abundance of writtenevidence forBellegambe's work at Flines,no directtextual evidence for the two paintingsbrought together for this studyhas been found.' Nonetheless,heraldic devices in both works leaveno doubt thatthe impetus for the images originated with the convent, and specificallywith the patronageof abbessJeanne de Boubais. Although neitherthe diptychnor the triptychis signedor dated,abbatial croziers af- fixedto Jeannede Boubais' coats of armstie theworks to the periodof her prelature,which ranged from 1507 to 1533. It is not knownwhether Jeanne used personalor conventfunds to financethe commissions,or paid forthe 8 paintingsin some otherway, such as througha familialliaison. The Flines triptychhas come to be knownas the Retabledu Cellieror TheLe CellierAltarpiece (New York,Metropolitan Museum of Art)after its discoveryin the chapel of the Cisterciangranary Le Celliernear the mon- asteryof Clairvauxin the middleof the nineteenthcentury.9 The painting

'For theprocurement of art by enclosed nuns, see Pearson,forthcoming, and Ham- burger,1992 and 1998, 35-109. The Bellegambealtarpiece of 1509 is listedin Douai, ArchivesMunicipales (hereafter Arch. Mun.), Archive de la Famillede Lalaing,Layette LIX, no. 322. 6M61y,105, has compared the structure as portrayedby Bellegambe with that on the crozierof Abbot Charles Goguin in the1509-13 Polyptyque dAnchin (Douai, Mus6ede la Chartreuse).To thisI add an imageof Anchin in theAlbums de Cro, illustratedby Mis- onne,245. 'The suggestionby Genaille, 1952, that the triptych is theBellegambe painting de- scribedin a documentof 1509 (Douai, Arch.Mun.), is notconvincing, as thedescription lackssufficient detail to link it with certainty to anywork. 'Fora discussionof the financing of artistic commissions atFlines generally, see Pearson, forthcoming. 9 M. d'Arboisde Jubainvillerediscovered the triptych prior to 1861,as discussedin the Ripertoirearchiologique de lAubecited by Burroughsand Wehle,6. Fora synopsisof the scholarshipon thealtarpiece, see the entry by Mary Spinson de Jesus in Ainsworth and Chris- tiansen,332-34. For the most recent study of medieval Cistercian art generally, see France, 1998.

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FIGURE 1. JeanBellegambe. The FamilyofSt. Bernardof Clairvauxin Adorationof the Virginand Child, interiorof the Retahledu Cellier.Oil on panel, circa 1509- 151 1. (Photo: New York,The MetropolitanMuseum ofArt, The FriedsamCollec- tion,Bequest of Michael Friedsam,1931 [32.100.102].) measuresan imposingy-40 inches at itshighest point and includesa totalof twelvefull-length figures. The format,size, and figural portrayal are consistent with paintings intended for display in large, formalspaces. Traditionally,paintings in triptychformat were destined for display atop altars. The majorfocus of the interior panels of the Retable du Cellieris the Virginand Child,who are seated at centeron a weightythrone surrounded bymusic-making putti (Fig. 1)." God theFather appears in thesky above theVirgin's head. In themiddle ground of the central panel, to eitherside of thethrone, angels interact playfully with each other. Eight additional figures - fivemen in Cistercianrobes, a nunin a Benedictinehabit, and a manand a womanof noble standing - kneelin prayerto eitherside. On theleft wing

"The standardwork on theiconography of Saint Bernard is Hiimpfner.

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FIGURE 2. Detail Figure1.

Saint Bernard (1090-1153), who holds an abbatial crozier signifyinghis role as abbot of Clairvaux, presents two of the clerics to the Virgin and Child. Two other monks are presented by a bishop saint in the opposite wing. Ad- ditional referencesto Bernard are the arms of Clairvaux that appear in the 11 upper reaches of the leftwing, and the fountain in the center panel, to the rightof the Virgin'sthrone, which may be a referenceto Fontaines-ls-Dijon 12 in Burgundy, Bernard's place of birth and family home. Three aspects of the work associate it directlyto Flines. The structuresnext to Bernard (Fig. 2) representthe convent, as is clear fromcomparisons with other known im- 13 ages that record its appearance; the heraldic device of abbess Jeanne de Boubais appears at the top of the right-hand wing, above the head of the

'IM61y,ioo. "My thanksto ConradRudolph for pointing out this possible association. 13 See, forinstance, the illustration of the convent by A. Sanderus,Flandria illustrata seventeenthcentury, Brussels, Bibliothque Royale Albert Ier, reproduced by Hautcoeur, 1909,frontispiece. Also, M61y, 105, has shown that the skyline O'f Douai, with its renowned befftower, appears in thebackground of the left wing.

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FIGURE 3. JeanBellegambe. Miracle ofthe Lactation, exterior wings of the Retable du Cellier.Oil on panel, circa 1509-1510. (Photo: New York,The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The FriedsamCollection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam,1931 [32.100.1021.)

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1362 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY bishopsaint, identifying her as thepatron of the altarpiece;" and the facial featuresof the nun in the Benedictine habit are those ofjeanne de Boubais.'5 Wewill see that the theme of the inner panels of the altarpiece is theFamily ofSaint Bernard, with Jeanne in theguise of Bernard's sister, Humbeline. The exteriorpanels of the Retable du Cellieralso carry figural representations.Two figures, one on eachwing, together portray the Miracle of the Lactation(Fig. 3), in whicha streamof milk is propelledfrom the Virgin Mary'sbared breast to thelips of Saint Bernard. This story, the most famous ofthe legendary tales that grew up aroundBernard, had a strongcurrency withinCistercian visual culture in thefifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as attestedby the numerous paintings and printsof the subject made during 16 theperiod. The diptych(Pittsburgh, Frick Art Museum) is decidedlydifferent in formatfrom the Retable du Cellier.Its size - thework measures just under 16 incheshigh - as wellas thelimited number of half-length figures set close to thepicture plane, suggest a morepersonal character than the triptych. Al- thoughthe diptycEs provenance can be tracedback in writtensources only 17 to 1926 whenit emergedfrom a privatecollection for sale in Paris, the paintingcan be assignedto Jeanne de Boubais'patronage through the coat of armsthat appears in thework. The deviceis positionedimmediately abovea portraitofjeanne in adoration of the Host, at the center of the right- handexterior panel (Fig. 4). BehindJeanne and to the right, an interiorwin- dowprovides a view into an adjacentroom, furnished with a bed,fireplace, clock,and two benches located next to an openwindow." A nun(the abbess herselP.)oversees one ofher spiritual sisters, who is seatedand readsfrom a book (Fig.5). The presenceof the bed, fireplace, and benchestogether in onescene seems to suggestthat the space was devoted to severaluses or that theportrayal is a conflationof several rooms in theconvent.

"Identifiedpreviously by Burroughs and Wehle, 6, as theheraldry of the Nove or No& family,Genaille, 1952, 100, has shown the device to be thatof Jeanne de Boubais.A restora- tionhas altered the appearance of the heraldry, but not to thepoint of illegibility. My thanks to MaryanW Ainsworthfor discussing this matter with me. 15 A comparisonof the features of Jeanne in theFlines diptych with those of the nun in theRetable du Cellierstrongly suggests a portrait likeness. 16For theMiracle of theLactation, see Schmitt,Dewez and van Iterson,Berlioz, Dupeux,Stiennon, and Marti and Mondini. 17 As recordedin thefile for the painting in theFrick Art Museum. "On viewsthrough windows in paintingsfrom fifteenth- through seventeenth-century northernEurope, see Stoichita, 34-43.

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FIGURE4. JeanBellegambe. Jeanne de Boubaisin Adorationof the Host, exterior wingof a diptych.Oil on panel,before 1534. (Photo:Pittsburgh, The FrickArt Museum.)

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FIGURE 5. Detail Figure4.

The scene portrayed on the diptycM inner panels (Fig. 6) takes place out of doors, or at least overlooking a landscape. An unidentified Cistercian monk is portrayed on the right-hand panel. The cleric is accompanied by Saint Bernard, who holds a crozier as a sign of his status as abbot of Clair- vaux. Bernard presents the monk to the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child on the leftwing. The arrangementof the painting with the Virgin and Child on one side, and the worshipper on the other, is a standard diptych type for the period that has come to be termed a devotional portrait diptych. Evi- dence provided in the painting suggeststhat the Virgin and Child panel may have been a prior workshop production: a large area on the far left, just above the Virgin's shoulder, has been covered with black paint, suggesting that a portion of the original imagery was deemed inappropriate to the - work." If this were the case, the landscape on the rightside the commis- - sioned portrait panel was made to appear continuous with that representedin the previouslypainted wing. While threeof the diptycM panels are endowed with pictorial representations, the back of the left-hand panel is void of an image or inscription of any kind."

"My thanksto RonSpronk for discussing this issue with me. "Conservationreport by William Suhr, April 2, 1969, in thefiles of theFrick Art Museum.

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FIGURE 6. Jean Bellegambe.A CistercianCleric, St. Bernard,and the Virginand Child, interiorof a diptych.Oil on panel, before1534. (Photo: Pittsburgh,The FrickArt Museum.)

CISTERCIAN NUNS AND REFORM

In assessing the relationship between clerical expectations for Cistercian nuns and the imageryof the Flines paintings,we begin with a reformmove- ment initiated by Marie le Bervy of the convent of Robermont by 1406." Marie's aim in reformingCistercian convents was to reinstate two key ele- ments of monasticism that she found lacking in certain houses, namely hermetic enclosure and personal poverty.The formercalled for the separa- tion of the nuns from others, primarily from men and from the outside world but also from lay sisters.The latter obliged the surrenderof an individual sister'sproperty to the community at large. While certain nuns were content and even eager to comply with the directivesof reform,others were oAt slow to consent. Nuns at Robermont, Soli'eres,and Val-Ben 1 foughtvigor- ously against the program, while three nuns of Val Notre-Dame took their

"For the reformof Cistercianconvents, see Hautcoeur, 1909, 143-53; Montulet-Hen- neau, 1990b, 192-208; Lekai, 109-25; and L&vre. The lattercontains factual inaccuracies and mustbe used withcaution.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1366 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY proteststo suchextremes that they were excommunicated." Although the reasonsfor resistance certainly varied, the major point of contention was the requirementofstrict enclosure. Nuns at Marquettein Hainaultrefused re- formfor this very reason." While some nuns hesitated to acceptcloistering becausethey simply did notwish to severtheir connections to theoutside world,others may have been against it purelyfor practical reasons. It was notalways easy to turnaway those individuals who sought shelter or other accommodationsfrom convents, especially when the needy held elevated social,political, or militarypositions. When Charles the Bold needed a place to spendthe night after sacking the city of Lige in 1468,for instance, nuns at theconvent of Vivegnis, which had not been reformed atthe insistence of 24 thenuns, obliged. Religiouswomen must have known that under certain circumstances,strict enclosure simply might be impossibleto maintain. It wasperhaps because of the inability - or refusal- ofsome Cistercian nunsto enforcecloistering adequately that clerics found it necessaryto in- tervenein theprocess of reform. This effort began with monks at individual houses,but by 1413 the clerics' concerns had begun to alarmthe Cistercian Chaptergeneral. On theadvice of the abbots of Aulne, Villers, and Cam- bron,the Chapter threatened to disbandconvents that had resistedreform, andeven went as faras to orderthe dissolution of selected houses. Monks re- placednuns at Moulinsin 1414 and at jardinetin 1430. These actions, whichwere met with harsh criticism on thepart of some sisters, nonetheless oftenhad the effect the Chapter desired: nuns at Argenton, Soleilmont, and 21 Boneffeaccepted reform rather than see their communities dissolved. In a secondwave of clerical intervention later in thefifteenth century, jean Eus- tache,abbot of the Cistercian house of Le Jardinet,reformed a number of additionalconvents, including l'Olive, Beaupre', and Wauthier-Braine. After Eustache'sdeath, Le Jardinetand itsaffiliates continued to pushthe pro- gramat Argenton,Refuge Notre-Dame, Aywi'eres, and Soulchoir.The reformof Flines was part of, this latter endeavor. Reform was announced at theconvent late in 1506,during the prelature of abbess Marie Waye, by jean Foucault,abbot of Clairvaux and immediatesuperior to Flines.On 15 De- cember,Nicole Spaens,abbot of Nizelle,together with Guillaume de 26 Bruxelles,confessor of Flines, promulgated the reform decree. Foucaultof

22 Montulet-Henneau,1990b, 196. 23 Hautcoeur,1872, 21 0-1 1. 21 Montulet-Henneau,1990b, 197. 25 Ibid., 201. 26 Hautcoeur,1909, 146.

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ficiallyconfirmed the program on 10 January1507, and on 22 May itwas 21 approvedby the Chapter general. Lessthan one year later, at thedeath of Marie Waye, Jeanne de Boubais filledthe vacated abbatial seat, with, it seems, the goal of continuing the reform.Although it is alwayspossible that Jeanne thought less of reform than sheexpressed in herwriting, in theone extantletter from her hand she de- claresher resolute loyalty to itand to Guillaumede Bruxelles,who had been 21 chargedwith its implementation within the community by Jean Foucault. Numerousletters written to Jeanne suggest that she conveyed her dedication to hercorrespondents and solicited their advice in promotingthe program withinher community. Indeed, Jeanne seems to havesought advice from thosewho had the greatest understanding ofthe Order's expectations for reform.Her correspondentsincluded Jean Foucault; Jean de Vepria,former priorof Clairvaux; Anne s'Grave, abbess of the reformed Cistercian convent ofWauthier-Braine and assignedexemplar for Jeanne during the reform of Flines;and Marguerite de Lummen,or de Marcq,abbess of the Benedictine houseof Ghislenghein.2' Jeanne's correspondents emphasized that reform wasessential to thespiritual well-being of the abbess and her nuns, and for theglory of the convent, the Order, and even God. Giventhe prior replace- mentof nunsby monksin houseswhere women had not cooperated, expressingher desire to remainan integralpart of theOrder must have seemedcrucial to Jeanne. Conversely, given the limited success or total fail- urein reformingsome Cistercian convents in therecent past, her superiors musthave afforded such attention to Flinesto ensuresuccess there. Flinesstands apart from other Cistercian convents of the period in that it is theonly reformed community for which written articles specifying the expectationsfor the reform program survive." The mandatesof reform re- veala multifacetedand complex approach to theprogram that stretched far beyondMarie le Bervy'soriginal desire to reinstateenclosure and poverty. The documentopens by stressing the emphasis on thespirituality ofcon- ventlife, and bycalling for a restorationof regularityin the Divine Office. Subsequentarticles prohibit simony, regulate the distribution of food, call forproper divisions of labor among the professed, specify acceptable ward- robesfor the nuns and lay sisters, establish ways to providefor unexpected guests,offer guidance for dealing with the sick and thehungry, encourage

27Ibid.,151. "Douai, Arch.Mun., 322/3, letter of 4 March1511 to Charlesde Lalaing. 29Archivesd6partementales du Nord (hereafter A.D.N), publishedby Hautcoeur, 1873, 433-47. 3'Douai,Arch. Mun., armoire 2, laisse1, publishedby Hautcoeur, 1872, 213-20.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1368 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY individualsto pointout faults,describe proper punishments, and regulate theassistance of outsiders with the heavy labor of the convent. Virtually all aspectsof conventual life fell under the scrutiny of reform. The predominantchange that emerges from the articles, however, is a shiftin the distribution ofpower at the highest levels within the community. Essentially,the authority of the abbess in relationto hermale superiors was severelycurtailed with the implementation ofthe mandates. The abridge- mentof the abbess' power,and indeedof the autonomyof the nuns generally,can been seen most strikingly in the directive of strict enclosure. 31 The reformmandates proclaimed cloistering as "la premierfondement et la choseplus ne'cessaire 'asaincte re'formation" (the most fundamental and nec- essarycomponent of holy reform) (214). The documentcharged Guillaume de Bruxelleswith the implementation and maintenanceof cloistering and, infact, with the execution of the reform mandates generally. The seriousness ofthe mandate of enclosure is indicatedby the punishment for violations. No nunwas to leavethe complex under penalty of excommunication. Any- oneentering the convent must do so onlywith urgent need and after having securedthe express permission of the confessor, the only person permitted to escortvisitors to theirdesired destinations within the convent. To accom- modateenclosure, the community was to initiatea number of modifications to itsphysical spaces. Windows, hinges, and grills were to be,added "en 1'e'g- liseet en tousaultres lieux o'u it sera besoing" (in the church and in allother placeswhere it will be necessary)(214). An inventoryof accomplishments towardreform written at theconvent in 1509 indicatesthat these measures 32 werecarried out. The listincludes an entrydescribing a metal "closure," perhapsmade with a screenplaced between the choir of the nuns and the priests(fol. 15r); the segregation ofthe professed nuns from their numerous laysisters by a subdivisionof the nuns' choir (fol. 15v); the creation, for the nuns,of a "closureou choirSaint John Evangelist," a partitioned area possi- blylocated in one of the transepts or chapels (one of the radiating chapels at Flineswas dedicated to SaintJohn) (fol. 15r); and the building of new walls aroundthe nuns' quarters and the cloisters to containthe residents and pre- ventvisitors from entering (fol. 19).33 The reform,then, led to thecreation ofthe physical boundaries that made hermetic cloistering a reality, or at least

"For the ideologyof enclosure,see Makowski;Hamburger, 1998, 3 5-109; and, in rela- tion to conventarchitecture, Weddle (copy not available). 32 Douai, Arch. Mun., Arch. de la Famille de Lalaing, LayetteLIX, no. 322/1. Subse- quent referencesto thisunpublished document are indicatedin the textby folio number. 33 For a discussionof the relationshipof enclosureto the groundplan of thechurch, and foradditional examples of the ways in whichthe physical spaces of theconvent were modified in orderto enforcecloistering, see Pearson,1995, 179-200.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE IDEALS OF WOMEN'S MONASTICISM 1369 possibleto achieve. The nunswere sequestered from the outside world, from theirlay sisters, and from the male members of the Order, upon whom they dependedfor their spiritual well-being. The barriersof enclosure not only separated the nuns from all other groupsphysically, but also establishedconceptual boundaries between the nunsand male personnel. The mandatesfrom Flines suggest that Cistercian officialswere well awarethat the addition or modificationof physical boundariesto separatethe sexes within convents, and to sequesterreligious womenfrom the outside world, worked to enforcethe authority of the con- fessorwithin the community: Andalso, so thatthis holy reform and the obedience to ourHoly Father, to the Lordof Clairvaux,and to theOrder should suffer no harm,we ordainand commandthat priests or servants should be retainedand no oneelse taken in, exceptin counciland withpermission of thefather confessor, who is more knowledgeableabout their deeds and conversationsthan those who are clois- tered,and whom we trustto bringin onlythose who are good and honest for servicein thecloister (2 19).34 In the minds of Cistercianleaders, the physicalbarriers that kept nuns withinthe conventwalls also kept themfrom acquiring a level of understanding that was essential formaking sound judgments,especially in mattersrequiring knowledge of the outsideworld. Physical confinement to the conventdiminished the nuns' abilitiesto reachinformed conclusions, therebybolstering the authorityof theirsuperior, who had regularand sus- tainedaccess to the externalrealm. The enforcementof enclosure was butone aspectof reformthat affected authorityat Flinesat thistime. The mandatesare repletewith additional referencesto the shiftof poweraway fromthe abbess and to her confessorin manyconsequential aspects of conventlife, such as the determinationof punishmentsand the controlof finances(the responsiblemanagement of thelatter was consideredtobe essentialfor successful reform). Indeed, ten of theeighteen tenets of reformrefer to Guillaumede Bruxelles'predominance withinthe community, and thefinal entry hands to himall responsibilityfor reform:

""Et aussi, afin que cettesaincte r6formationet l'obe'issancede nostreSaint Pre, de monsieurde Cl'erevaulxet de l'ordre,ne porte nulluypr6judice, ordonnons et commandons que l'on ne donne point congi6 aux chappelains,serviteurs ou serviteresses,et que on n'en prennepoint des autres,sinon par le conseil et consentementexprez du p&e confesseur,qui peut congnoistreleur meurset conversationsmieux que celles qui ne bougentdu cloistre,et duquel avons fermeconfiance qu'il ne vouldroitconseiller recevoirpersonne au servicede c6ans,qu'il ne cogneustbons et honestesserviteurs et serviteresses."

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We commandthat these ordinances and their dependencies be followedstrictly byeveryone they concern, under the penalties described above, that each one and all relatedthings be accomplished,and praythat brother Guillaume, the father,should hold the responsibility foraccomplishing the articles above, and to himis chargedthe entire ability and power of execution, and of placing and havingplaced into effect said reform,according to theordinances presented above,by virtue of the commission of said reverend father in God,the abbot of Clairvaux(220)." The mandates,then, in specific as wellas inoverarching ways, worked to re- definethe confessor'srelationship with the abbessand to confirmhis dominionover the convent's spiritual and temporalconcerns. Letters to Jeannefrom Jean Foucault, Jean de Vepria, Anne s'Grave, and Marguerite de Lummenurged the abbess to relinquishcontrol of the spiritual and tempo- raloperations of the convent to Guillaume."Indeed, a confessor'srapid and totalintegration into the reform of a convent,and hisenthusiasm for his rolein guiding the nuns toward it, were seen as keyelements in itssuccess. A letterwritten by one Dom Mathurinto Jeanne de Boubaisat thebeginning ofher term of office states, "if Dom Gilbin[the confessor of the convent of Marquette]had thezeal and spiritof God as YourPater [confessor Guil- laumede Bruxelles]does, [thenuns of Marquette]also would now be successfililyreformed, as you are."37 Whileenclosure, and theresulting loss of the abbess' and nuns'power, mightbe an affrontto today'ssensibilities, the women of Flines seem to have beenamenable to cloisteringand to theshift in authorityit brought. Their responsivenessto their superiors is evidentin theactions they took at the deathof abbess Marie Waye in Novemberof 1507.The deathof the abbess, whichcame only ten months after the initiation of reform, must have been a seriousblow to thecommunity, and theprocess of replacement was un- dertakenwith forethought. The nunsfaced two options in fillingthe vacant

15 "Lesquellesordonnances et leurs d6pendences commandons estroictement, soubz les peinesdessusescryptes, estre accomplies de unechascune ainsy que leurtouchera, en priant leditefr&e Guillaume, le pater, de tenirla main I'accomplissementdes artides dessusdites, etlui donnant charge, plaine puissance et pouvoir de ex6cuter,etde mettre,et de fairemettre en effectladicte r6formation, selon les ordonnances dessusdites, par la vertude commission duditr6v6rend pre en Dieu monsieurde Clervaux." "Correspondencebetween these parties has been published by Hautcoeur, 1872, 236- 61. 31 "Et si damGilbin eust le zel et esperitde Dieu commevostre pater, elles feussent de pr6sentaussi bien r6form6es que vousestes." Douai, Arch. Mun., 25 December1507, cited byHautcoeur, 1909, 161, n. 2.

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seat:they could choose a replacementtogether, either outright or bysecret ballot,or delegate a singleperson or group of people to electa newabbess. 38 In theend, they relinquished their right to electin favorof an appointment byan individual,namely Guillaume de Bruxelles.In choosingthis option, thenuns relinquished their authority over the convent's most important po- sitionto theirconfessor. Their decision to handsuch a significantcharge to Guillaumesuezests that they were, at thevery least, willing to acknowledge hisauthority.'L"L' Guillaumede Bruxelles,in turn,must have given careful thought to his choicefor abbess. As itwould be Guillaumewho would receive credit for re- formif it weresuccessful - and blameif it werenot - makinga sound decisionabout the appointment was critical. He musthave chosen Jeanne becausehe thoughtthat she desired compliance, had thecapacity to mo- tivateher community toward change, and could serve as an exemplarfor the nunsin thecommunity. Indeed, in a reformperiod, the abbess' traditional obligationto providea modelof behavior and attitude for her nuns took on evengreater weight. Jeanne's correspondents continually pressed her to en- couragehigh standards via her own example. jean de Vepria,former prior of Clairvaux,wrote to Jeanne,"now it is timethat you show your daughters whatyou have learned previously, as much with good example of religious conversationas by going to churchfor the Divine Office, and the dormitol-Y and refectorywith the others. 13' AbbessAnne s'Grave of Wauthier-Braine statedthat she and Jeanne, "must be themirrors into which others look to knowwhat they should do"40 and "generally,[those in theabbess' care] adoptthe habits and way of life of their- prelate, and everytime we showa bad exampleto them,we offendgreatly. ,41 Anneparticularly stressed a mainstayof monasticism emphasized especially for nuns, namely humility. Of this,Anne wrote, "Those who [servein theiroffices] with true humility, theydeserve great honor from God, and the one who feels undeserving ofall honorfrom this world of suffering,her humility will deserve to havethe

3'Hautcoeur, 1872, 227-33, has publishedthe procs verbalof the election. ""Or maintenantil esttemps que vous monstr6s voz fillesce que par avantav6s aprins, tantpar bonne exemplede religieuseconversation, ainsi comme vous le faictesen fr6quentant 1'6gliseau servicedivin, et le dortoiret r6fectoiravec les aultres."Douai, Arch.Mun., armoire 2, laisse 1, 27 December 1507, cited in Hautcoeur,1872, 240. ""Nous debvonsestre le miroero'u les aultresse doibventmirer pour sqavoirche qu'ilz doibventfaire." Douai, Arch. Mun., armoire2, laisse 1, 5 July1508, cited in ibid., 252. ""Les subjectesensieute les meurset le vie de leur pr6lact,et ottantde fois que nous monstronsmauvais exemple nos subjectes,ottant de fois offensonsgrandement." Douai, Arch.Mun., armoire2, laisse 1, 21 July1508, cited in ibid., 255.

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honorof heaven. ,4' A secondtraditional expectation, obedience, is men- tionedrepeatedly within the documents associated with reform and in relatedletters. jean de Vepriaurged Jeanne to "guardwell that there should be no ingratebehavior towards God in thehonor he hasgiven you, nor to- wardsyour devout convent, which also agreeably is submittedto you, in the ,41 hopethat you procure [the nuns'] salvation with your own. Perhapsobe- diencewas emphasized so stronglyduring the reform of Flines because of pastresistance to reformon thepart of other women's houses. Whatever the case,Jeanne's correspondents emphasizes the potential consequences of Jeanne'sbehavior as abbess,implying that her actions, as examplesof behav- iorfor her spiritual daughters, were a meansby which her superiors - and ultimatelyGod - wouldjudge her capabilities and weigh her success. Despite theefforts of bothGuillaume de Bruxellesand Jeannede Boubaistoward the reform of Flines, only two years after the initiation of theprogram the community was accusedof violations. Several unnamed laymenwho had been dismissed from Flines reported to thecourt of Marg- aretof Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, that Flines had transgressed from thereform mandates. Margaret of Austria informed the convent of the accu- sationsin a letterof 16 November1509: Ithas come to our attention that, since the time that the convent of Flines re- ceivedthe order of reform, some of the nuns or others who were, and are still, governorsand administrators ofthis church and the property belonging toit, havetaken and carried away most of the gems, jewels, vessels, gold, and silver, andother valuable furnishings ofsaid church, of great value and estimation, andhave taken, sold, and dispersed ofthem, without applying ordistributing theprofits to thechurch. Itis suggested also that said governors and adminis- tratorshave received rents, revenues, and other goods belonging tothe church anddistributed them at will, using them neither tosustain the nuns nor to sup- portthe Divine Office in thischurch. By means of this government, [the convent]has fallen into total ruin and desolation. At the very least, the goods ordainedfor the foundation ofthe church were increasingly dissipated and convertedinto other uses than the support of the Divine Office and other op- erationsaccording tothe ordinance and intention ofthe founders, tothe great

""Cellesqui le fonten vraye humilit6 t6es sont dignes de grandehonneur envers Dieu, et celui se de toutteshonneurs de cestmis6rable monde, sa humilit6le qui r6putteindigne " feradigne d'avoir les honneurs du ciel. Douai,Arch. Mun., armoire 2, laisse1, 27 December 1507,cited in ibid.,255. ""Gard6sbien que ne soy6singrate envers Dieu de I'honneurqu'il vous a fait,ne aussi enversvostre d6vot convent, ainsiconcordamment s'est voussubmis, en qui " esp6ranceque vousprocurrez leur salut avec le vostre.Douai, Arch. Mun., armoire 2, laisse1, cited in Hau- tcoeur,1872, 240. Fora discussionof the importance of the vow of obedience in Cistercian convents,see Montulet-Henneau, 1990b, 523-26. For the daily life of nuns, see Hasenohr.

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scornand diminutionof theorder of religionand to our greatregret and displeasure.44 The accusationsagainst Flines were serious enough that Margaret of Austria orderedan investigation,assigning the inquest to JeanCuvillon of Lille. Cu- villon announced an on-siteinspection of Flines. The convent'sdecisive reactionto thisoccurrence suggests that it saw theinvestigation as a momen- tous and potentially catastrophic circumstance. Acting swiftly,the 45 communitydrew up a listof itsaccomplishments toward reform. This text lays out the actionstaken by the convent'sadministrators to bringthe re- formto fruition,listing actions they had consideredto be, "veryproper and necessaryto the maintenanceof the house and also forthe observation, 41 management,and preservationof the life of the holy reform" (fol. 15r). In cluded in the doc'umentwere steps taken toward reform of and compliance witha wide rangeof aspectsof conventlife: cloistering, economic self-suffi- ciency, revitalization and expansion of the convent's structuresand properties,construction of areasfor reading and learning,repairs to the in- firmary,repair and renovationof the kitchensand refectory,restocking the vestry,and commissioningof works of art for the glory of God. The account concludeswith a claim of a totalannual netprofit of 84 livres,a substantial SUM. Fortunatelyfor the community,their efforts in self-defensewere successful.After a fifteen-dayinvestigation that included a review of the document,an inspectionof the conventand its property,and interviews with Guillaume de Bruxelles,Jeanne de Boubais, and the nuns of Flines,

" "II estvenu nostrecongnoissance que, depuis que I'abbayede Flinesa este're'duicte 'a l'ordrede r6formation,aulcuns religieux ou aultresqui onteu etont encores le gouvernement et administrationd'icelle 6glise et desbiens y appartenans,ont prins et emporte'la pluspart desbaghes, jeuwaux, vaisselle, or et argent comptent, et aultres biens meubles de laditee'glise en grantvalleur et estimation,et les ontemportez, vendus et discipez,sans que riensen ayt este'aplicque' ne distribue'au prouffitd'icelle e'glise. S'avancent aussy lesdis gouverneurs etad- ministrateursde recepvoir les rentes, revenues et aultres drois appartenans icelle e'glise et les distribuer leur volunt6, sans les employer la sustentationdes religieuses, ne I'entretne- mentdu servicedivin d'icelle 60ise; laquelle, au moyendudit gouvernement, du dit est taille'e de 'atraictie' de tempstumber en totalle ruyne et de'solation. Du moinsque lesbiens ordonnez pourla foundationd'icelle seront de plusen plusdiscipez et convertis en aultreusaige que en I'augmentationdu servicedivin et aultresope'rations salutaires selon l'ordonnance et inten- tiondes fondateursd'icelle, au grantme'prisement et diminution de l'ordrede religionet nostregrant regret et desplaisir."A.D.N. citedby Hautcoeur, 1873, 434. 15 Douai,Arch. Mun., Arch. de la Famillede Lalaing,Layette LIX, no. 322/1. ""Trespropree et necessairesa lentretenement de la maisonet en oultrepour observer, tenir,et garderla viede sainctreformation."

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Cuvillonruled that the charges against the convent were erroneous. 4' In this case,monastic theory and practicedo notseem to havebeen inconsistent withone another. The communityhad managed to fulfillits Order's expectationsfor reform.

THE FLINEs DiPTYCH AND ExPECTATIONS FOR REFORM The devotionalportrait diptych commissioned by Jeanne de Boubais(Figs. 4-6) is, on one hand,quite typical of works of this particular artistic format,one of themost prevalent in northernEurope in thefifteenth and 41 earlysixteenth centuries. Characterizedby an imageof theVirgin and Childor otherholy figures on one interiorpanel and a portraitof a devotee,in thiscase a Cisterciancleric, on theother, the painting corresponds to a generalstandard formula for works of this sort. Yet the presence of an additionalportrait on an exteriorwing is highlyunusual: the Flines diptych is one of twosurviving devotional portrait diptychs in whichthis is the case.One reasonfor departing from the norm, it seems, was that Jeanne de Boubaiswished to invitea comparisonof the likenesses of herself and the cleric(although the two images could not be viewedsimultaneously due to theirphysical arrangement within the diptych). The portraits,when con- sideredtogether, articulate the relative relationship of abbess and monkin associationto the enclosureof the convent.In the panel containing Jeanne'sportrait, the walls of the convent separate her and thenuns in the backgroundfrom the outside world, disengaging them from all socialen- tanglementsas requiredby cloistering. The nuns'focus is theirspiritual ardorand edification,be it achievedby worshipping the host as Jeanne does,or byreading texts as herspiritual sisters do. Jeanne'ssuperior, by contrast,is portrayedoutside of the convent walls, or at leastout of doors, emphasizinghis role as liaisonbetween the women of Flines and laysoci- ety.As theconfessor of Flines,Guillaume de Bruxellesalso oversawthe pietyof the community by hearing the nuns' confessions and advisingits residents.The clericrepresented here seems to takeon theconfessor's role as theprimary spiritual liaison for the abbess and her nuns, serving as a fa- cilitatorin theirrelationship with the Virgin and Christ.Overall, the por-Lraitssuggest the cleric's predominance in thenuns' spiritual and tem- poralaffairs, a traditionalhierarchical organization within monasticism thatwas given an evengreater emphasis than usual during reform. The dip-

"The convent'srecord of Jean Cuvillon's visit and its result can be foundin A. D.N. 31 H 11. 48 Forthe most recent studies of devotional portrait diptychs, see Gelfand,Biumler, Friedman,Wilson, Pearson, 2000, and Pearson, Fall 200 1 /Winter 2002.

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tycNslocalization of the nuns within the convent, and the placement of their superioroutside of it,suggest that Jeanne understood and acceptedthis arrangement. Not onlydoes the diptych suggest Jeanne de Boubais'compliance with enclosure,it also impliesher obedience to additionalexpectations for fem- ininemonasticism. In thisregard, it is theabbess' piety that is themaj'or focusof the portrait. The imageshows Jeanne kneeling at an altar,holding herabbatial crozier, and readingfrom an openbook. A sumptuouslyem- broideredpillow cushions the volume from the firm plane of thealtar beneathit." The mostsignificant object on thealtar is the gilt ciborium, the presenceof which is accentuatedby the crimson canopy that encircles it. The Latinphrase "Ecce panis angelo(rum)," (Behold the bread of angels) shownon a clothcovering the platform beneath the vessel, along with the translucentpall overthe container, confirms that the eucharistic wafer is heldinside. 50 The abbess'position before the ciborium is suggestiveof her personalardor for the host, a typeof piety that carried particular significance forfemale worshippers inthe late Middle Ages. Through a carefulreading of thevitae of saints and medievalreligious treatises, Caroline Walker Bynum has shownthat by thethirteenth century, devotion to theEucharist had 51 becomemore strongly associated with women than with men. Somefe- maleworshippers were compelled to seekcommunion as frequentlyas possible,others experienced visions associated with the host, and still others wereinvolved in Eucharisticmiracles. For many women, eating the Eucha- ristwas a way to recognizeChrist's physicality and to fusewith his corporeality.Some women who ingested the consecrated host even experi- encedmystical union with Christ. Although by the end of thesixteenth centuryChurch officials openly discouraged women's mystical experiences 52 andvisions, ardorfor the host was certainly still central in women'sdevo- tionsearlier in the century. The reformdocuments from Flines indicate that thebarriers of enclosure were to permitthe nuns and lay sisters to retainvi- sualcontact with the Eucharist (fols. 15r and 15v). Jeannede Boubais'devotion to thehost carried specific associations withdevout individuals affiliated with Flines. Flines abbess Imaine de Loos (1260-70),was a closefriend of Juliana of Mont-Cornillon O 193-1258),

"For a discussionof inventory descriptions for such pillows at theconvent of Long- champ,see Mlynarczyk, 100- 1 03. 50 The ciboriumrests on a metalaltareportatile or portable altar. My thanks to Conrad Rudolphfor this information. 51Bynum, esp. 73-112. See alsoStiennon, Hontoir. 52Pearson, 1995, 96-139.

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who successfullyled thefight to institutethe feast of Corpus Christi.5'From veryearly in herlife one ofJuliana's most pressing goals had been to heighten the significanceof the Eucharisticcelebration. Around 1208 thisaim was broughtto thefore by a vision,in whichJuliana saw an imageof thechurch beneatha fullmoon. The moon had a singledark speck on its surface.To Juliana,the black spot denoteda missingfeast, one dedicatedto theEucha- rist.Hearing of the vision and moved by its intensity,the Dominicans in Lige, the bishop of Cambrai,and the chancellorof Parisall approvedthe feast.News ofJuliana's mystical experience and the newlyestablished feast spreadthroughout Europe, leading to itsapproval by UrbanIV in '1264 and the resoundingsupport of the Chaptergeneral of CAiteaux in legislationof 1318. Afterthis, ardor for the host increased rapidly and dramaticallywithin the Cistercianorder, as is made clearin the repeatedreferences in thewrit- ings of the Cistercianmonk Caesarius of Heisterbach.In Book 10 of his Dialogus miraculorum,for instance, the authordiscusses Eucharistic won- dersno lessthan sixty-seven times. 5' The communityof Flinesfelt a similar ardorfor the host. Devotion to the Eucharistcarried renewed importance therebeginning in 1258 when the communitytook in Imaine as a refugee. Imaine'sfriendship with Juliana and herpersonal devotion to thehost must have givenEucharistic worship a specialmeaning at Flines.A passagefrom the biographyof Flinesnun Florencede Werguignoeul,in whichshe is said 55 to spend all herfree time kneeling before the host, suggests this view. The imageof Jeanne de Boubais,then, evokes a traditionof Eucharisticdevotion at Flines,associates the abbess withthe spiritualityof Imaine and Juliana, and assertsJeanne's identification with these holy figures. In contrastto Jeannede Boubais' venerationof the host,the clericon the innerpanel is portrayedin prayerbefore the Virgin, a focusfor spirituality that we now know was especially fittingfor male supplicants. As Caroline WalkerBynum has shown,from the thirteenththrough the fif- teenthcenturies, devotion to Marywas moreprominent in the spirituality of male thanfemale saints (female saints seem to have had a particularrev-

"On Julianaof Mont-Cornillon,see Henschenius and Papebroch,and Newman. Al- though neverofficially a Cistercian,Juliana had taken refugein fourdifferent Cistercian conventsduring her lifetime, requested burial at theCistercian house of Brabanqon,and held the writingsof Saint Bernardin greatesteem. Abbess Imaine of Flineswas at Juliana'sside at her death. For theirrelationship see Newman, bk. IL chap. 6-8. Julianadid not accompany Imaine to Flines; she had died at Fosses on 5 April 1258, priorto the latter'sdeparture for Flines.The foundationand liturgyof the feastof the Corpus Christihas been discussedby Rubin, 164-212. 54 McDonnell, 3 10-1 1. 15 Martne and Durand, 246.

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FIGURE7. The Masterof 1499 (leftpanel). Diptych of Chritien de Hondt,interior. Oil on panel,1499. (Photo:Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten.)

16 erencefor Christ and forChrist's humanity). The Virgin,in fact,figures morefrequently in the visionsof Cistercianmale saintsthan Cistercianfe- male saints,suggesting a genderedapproach to Marian pietywithin the Order." Such a preferencemay also be expressedin devotionalportrait diptychs,which most oftenportray male worshippersin prayerto theVirgin. Indeed, of the 45 knowndevotional portrait diptychs, 36 representsolitary

56 Bynum,26 and 269, pointsout thatthe dominance of Mary in mensvisions in no wayprecludes the importance of the Virgin in womens devotion. Wbmens ardor for the Vir- gin,however, seems to havebeen a preludeto a devotionto herSon. 57 Roisin,108 and 11 1-20, and Weinstein and Bell,123-37.

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FIGURE7. The Masterof 1499 (rightpanel). Diptych ofChritien de Hondt, interior. Oil on panel,1499. (Photo:Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten.) malesupplicants, five show female worshippers, two portray a manand a womantogether, and two represent families." In 30 ofthe 36 worksthat de- pictsolitary male worshipers, the focus of veneration is Mary.While laymen initiallywere the primary portrait subjects in devotionalportrait diptychs, bythe later part of the fifteenth century, clerics, primarily Cistercians and Carthusians,had begunto appearin themin substantialnumbers. Perhaps "For elaboration,see Pearson, 2000. Additionaldevotional portrait diptychs have been locatedsince that article was written, which strengthens the association of the format with men.Four of the diptychs portraying a female worshipper represent Margaret of Austria. For these,see Gelfand, 72-5, Silver, Eichberger, and Pearson,Fall 2001 /Winter 2002.

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FIGURE 8. South-Netherlandish.Miracle of the Lactationwith Denis van Zever- donck. Oil on panel, circa 1524-45. (Photo: Lige, Collections Artistiquesdu Wniversit6.) thebest known example originating with a Cistercianpatron is the 1499 diptychcommissioned by Chr6tien de Hondt,thirtieth abbot-of Les Dunes (Fig.7).59Given the reverence that Saint Bernard held for the Virgin, and theabundance and popularityof his writings on hervirtues and glories,in Cistercianhouses the commissioning of works portraying clerics in adorationof Mary suggest clerical devotion to Bernard,and, by extension, to a

59Between1519 and 1557,the thirty-second abbot of Les Dunes,Robert Leclercq, had hisportrait added to theverso of the left wing. It islikely that the same artist is responsiblefor theoverpainting to theverso of the right wing which portrays the Salvator Mundi in partial grisaille;Leclercq's coat of arms are additions. When the work passed into the collection of theChevalier Florent van Ertbornin 1827,it camefrom the last abbot of the Dunes. See Flandersin theFifteenth Century, 171-74.

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Bernardine-centeredspirituality.' The manysurviving images of the Mira- cle ofthe Lactation, such as thatcommissioned by Denis van Zeverdonck, abbotof Villers-en-Brabant from 1524 to 1545 (Fig.8), in whichportraits ofCistercian clerics are presented in theguise of Saint Bernard, bespeak an intenseand pervadingdevotion to Maryand to Bernardineideals. 6' Ber- nard,as a devoteeto theVirgin and her Son, provides an exemplarfor the cleric. Whilethe outer panel of the Flines diptych addresses Jeanne de Boubais' devotionto the host, it also suggests her attentiveness to the written word, as does herportrait in theRetable du Cellier.In bothpaintings, Jeanne de Boubais'gaze rests on an openmanuscript. While it would be easyto dis- missthe abbess' volumes as standardprops, it cannotbe an accidentthat booksfigure prominently in so manyfifteenth- and sixteenth-century im- 62 agesof women, bothlay and religious,and in fiveof the seven surviving 63 portraitsof the abbesses of Flines. judgingfrom surviving manuscripts that canbe linkedto women through coats of arms or provenance, itis clearthat womenwere avid readers. This is truetoo of Cistercian nuns, who often ran schoolsin theircommunities and for whom spiritual reading - lectiodivina - wasa significantcomponent of daily life. The importanceof the written wordfor the nuns' spiritual awareness and health - andfor their salvation - couldbe reinforcedby visual images, as suggestedby a circa1500 painting ofthe Crucifixion (Fig. 9), perhapsfrom Bruges. Here the Virgin looks away fromthe cross, points to theopen book held by a Cisterciannun in theleft foreground,and directsthe nun to read.The Virgin'sgesture to thetext, madein frontof the cross and during the Crucifixion, implies that reading devotionaltreatises was thekey to achievinga divineunderstanding of Christ'ssacrifice. The paintingalso suggests the nun's attention to theVir- gin'sdirectives.' The image,however, provides no clueto theidentification ofthe text held by the nun, and neither are we given such information inthe

"I am gratefulto ConradRudolph for suggesting a possible relationship between the patronand a Bernardine-typespirituality. 61 Examplesof paintings of this theme originating from Cistercian contexts are in the collectionof theBibi. de l'Universit6,de Li6ge;the Mus6e des Beaux-Arts,Tournai; the Cath6draleSaint-Sauv6ur de Bruges,and theMus6e des Beaux-Arts,Ghent. All of these are singlepanels and areillustrated in Dewez and van Iterson,figs. 3-6. Two examplesof the themein thediptych format are in theBob Jones University Coflection, Greenvflle, S.C., and theYale University Art GaHery, New Haven. 62 As suggestedby Sheingorn. On womenand books,see also S. G. Bell,Signori, and Taylorand Smith. 63 Forthese images, see Pearson, 1995, 402-37. 64 Forthe Virgin Mary as exemplar,see Schreiner.

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FIGURE 9. Bruges(?). Crucifixion.Oil on panel, circa 1500. Presentlocation unknown.(Photo: GettyResearch Library.)

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1382 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY paintingscommissioned by Jeanne de Boubais.The pagesof the volume in theRetable du Cellierare not visible to us,and thetext of the diptycM vol- umeis illegible."Nonetheless, the implication is thatthe devotee reads a typeof text suited to herpiety, such as a breviaryor prayerbook.' The nu- merousplace markers within the text suggest the abbess' familiarity with its contents. Emphasison lectiodivina and on educationgenerally were given strong ifnot increased emphasis at Flinesduring the early sixteenth century, pre- sumablydue to thereform's push toward spiritual renewal and learning. 67 A manualof the convent's expenditures from 1511-12 lists a numberof manu- scriptsacquired by the community, and severalnew books, and selected volumespreviously owned by the convent, received new bindings. 6' These recordsspeak to thedesire for new texts by which to nurtureand sustain ed- ificationthrough reading, to an effortto preservevolumes the community alreadyhad obtained, and perhapsto theneed to replace"corrupted" texts forcompliance with reform. 6' Two passages in thedocument of 1509 refer to theconstruction of new chambers specifically dedicated to learning:(Ca verybeautiful room [has been built] for six or seven novices to learn properly and decentlywith their teacher" (fol. 17r).7' The nunsrepresented in the roomadjacent to theabbess (Fig. 5) bespeakthis emphasis on thewritten wordand on spiritualedification via texts. The seatedfigure studies an open volume,while the other stands nearby, perhaps offering guidance about the contentsof the book or simply providing encouragement through her presence.One wondersif the standing figure represents Jeanne de Boubaisat anothermoment in time,instructing one ofher spiritual sisters. Whatever

15My thanksto DavidN. Bellfor confirming my proposal that the text rep'resented in theexterior panel is illegible. 'Separatestudies of Cistercian nuns and theirreading practices by David N. Belland Bondeelle-Souchiershow that texts appropriate for the nuns' devotional edification and guid- ancegenerally included the Bible, the writings of the Church Fathers, the lives of the saints, andtreatises on spiritualityand edification, especially Thomas i Kempis'Imitatio Christi. 'This waspart of a broadermovement toward increased education within the order. In 1490 theChapter General tried to encourageenrollment at theCistercian college in Paris, writing,"that the honor and glory of our order depended mosdy on themultiplication oflit- erateand learned members." Lekai, 237. 6'A.D.N. 31 H 566,fols. 35r-35v. 69Thiswas the case at theconvent of Ebstrof when it underwentreform in 1469.The prioress,Gertrude von dem Brake, destroyed the existing "corrupt" choir books and replaced themwith new ones. See Hamburger,1992, 121. 70 "Item,Une tres belle novisserie pour six ou septnovisses estre et aprendre proprement ethoniestement avoec leur maistresse."

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FIGURE IO. Janvan Eyck. The Virginat a Fountain.Oil on panel, 1439. Antwerp, KoninklijkMuseum voor Schone Kunsten.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1384 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY thecase, Jeanne is notonly a modelreader, as suggestedby her image in the foreground,but also a mentorwithin the communitys push to educate. Additionaldetails in the diptych associate Jeanne de Boubaiswith tradi- tionalexpectations for women's monasticism. The fieldof flowers rendered in brightreds, pinks, whites, yellows, and bluesagainst a fieldof green, as representedboth in thetapestry (or embroidery?) suspended on thewall be- hindthe abbess' head and in the pillow resting on thealtar, evokes the hortus conclususor enclosedgarden. While such representations appear in secular as wellas religiousworks of this period, and in imagesshowing both men and women,in a reformedconvent setting the hortus conclusus is symbolic of a nun)svow of chastityand of herenclosure within her community. The themeof the hortus conclusus originated in the Song of Songs 4:12: "a garden lockedis mysister, my bride; a gardenlocked, a fountainsealed" (hortus conclusus,soror mea sponsa; hortus conclusus, fons signatus). Saints Jerome andAmbrose, and then later, in a Cisterciancontext, Bernard of Clairvaux, interpretedthis verse as a referenceto Maryand her virginity. 71 By the fif- teenthcentury the enclosed garden had becomea highlyrelevant pictorial theme,especially in relationto theVirgin. Jan van Eycws 1439 Virginat a Fountain(Fig. IO), for instance, shows Mary and the Christ Child within an enclosedgarden, next to a fountain,and beforea clothof honor suspended bytwo angels. The floweringplants that appear both behind and at thefeet ofthe Virgin, combined with the low wall running behind her, invoke this subject.The hortusconclusus appeared frequently within conventual art - a numberof works representing the theme were made by the nuns themselves - whereit was a reminderof the monastic vow of chastity and the nuns' ob- ligationfor cloistering. The presenceof the textile in thediptych might have suggestedJeanne de Boubais'attention to thesecomponents of her profes- sion.Because the tapestry on therear wall is suspendedon, andessentially becomespart of, a physicalbarrier, it impliesthe kind of strict segregation thatensures enclosure and permitsthe preservation of chastity.This at- tributealso is suggestedthrough the presence of twovirgin saints on the abbess'crozier, Catherine of Alexandria, identified by her attribute, a wheel, andBarbara, identified by hers, the tower. The figuresimply Jeanne's atten- tionto theirexamples as modelsfor her own virtuousness.

71 See Daley,Purde 157-167, and Vandenbroeck, 91-104. The latterinustrates sculpted altarpieceson thistheme made by nuns in thesouthern Low Countries.For a controversy overthe appropriateness ofthe presence and use ofthese elaborate works within convent choirs,see Harline,158-62.

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Otherfabrics in thework, including those used for the nuns' habits and thebed coverings at theupper right, suggest the production of cloth, an ad- ditionalexpectation of thereform and a traditionalaspect of women's monasticism.Such work helped the nuns satisfy a majordirective of the Benedictinerule, namely opus manuum (work of the hands). In thelater MiddleAges, cloth production and handworkin generalcarried moral meaning,with women who participated in suchtasks taking part in a "vir- tuousfemale activity." Prior scholarship on thisissue cites numerous literary sourcesthat promoted the moral aspect of handwork, including the Bible (Proverbs3 1) and theBenedictine rule, which encouraged handwork as an appropriatealternative to idleness,"an enemy of the soul."" An eyewitness accountconcerning daily life at Flinesattests that at leastlater in thecen- tury,the nuns often occupied themselves with sewing. Franois de Bar,prior ofthe nearby Benedictine abbey of Anchin and a visitorto Flinesaround 1599,wrote thit, "all [the nuns of Flines] work and make what is necessary forlife and to clothe the sisters. I have seen them spin, weave panels of cloth, and dyevestments, as wellas makevarious things the nuns need. ,13 The nuns'production of their own garments enabled them to complywith their superiors'expectations for their attire as stipulatedin the reform documents. One tenetcalls for simplicity in theveils, habits, and collars of the nuns, for standardlengths of garments, and for the elimination of all excesses in acces- sories,while another insists that lay sisters wear only the color gray (217). Creatingfabrics and embroidered work also might have augmented the convent'seconomy. By makingtheir own garments,the nuns were able to reducethe communitys expenditures and strengthenthe financial base of thecommunity, a characteristic vital to reform. We alsoshould consider the bed portrayed in theadjoining space at the upperright of the panel, which may suggest, along with the reading nuns, a conflationof spaces. In theNetherlands during this period, however, draped bedssuch as thiswere often displayed by the nobility in publicareas of their homes,to suggestsolid financial standing and elevatedsocial status." In somecases, in fact,draped beds were never intended to be sleptin at all,but

71 See Benedict,chap. 48, "DailyManual Labor," 86-7. 71 "Omniaoperantur et conficiuntquaecumque necessaria sunt ad victumet vestitum ipsarumsororum. Videas enim illic filorum ductrices, textrices telarum ac pannorum,atque tinctrices,calceamentorum confectrices, denique omnium rerum quae usuisororum sunt opifices."Franqois de Bar,Historia Episcopatus Atrebatensis etcoenobiorum Artesiae, II, fol. 132 ff.,Douai, Bibl.Mun. 821, citedby Hautcoeur, 1868, 15, n. 1. The documentcom- posedby the convent in responseto theaccusations of 1509 statesthat the community had purchasedspecial tools for cloth production in compliancewith reform (f. 20v). 74 Hafl,83-88.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1386 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY wereinstalled in accessibleareas for the sole purpose of conveying one's social and financialrank. Jeanne de Boubais,a memberof thenoble class, certainlyunderstood this. Thus, the bed in theFlines diptych would be bet- terunderstood as an indicatorof the economic stability of her community ratherthan as a signof the function of the space in whichit is positioned. Finally,the clock hanging on thewall within the room represented be- hindJeanne de Boubaissignifies her insistence upon a renewalof regularity 75 at Flines. Withinmonasticism generally, timepieces were seen as thein- strumentsthat enabled monastic constancy; a twelfth-centuryCistercian 76 ruledescribes the clock as theregulator of monastic life. The Benedictine rule,revitalized atFlines through the reform, is replete with references tothe timesat whichthe Offices- and daily tasks should be performed.The time- piecekept and governedthe hours of theday, signaling the moments at whichmass and the Offices were to be attendedand labors to be done.The clockin thepainting suggests that the nuns attended the Divine Office (Cmeurementet'a traict"(promptly and on time)as stipulatedin thereform mandates(214), despitethe accusation in 1509 thatthey did not. Sus- pendedhigh above the canopy of the bed, allowing the nuns present within in theroom to monitorit with ease, the timepiece implies that the women wouldhave a constantawareness of thehour and, byextension, would honortheir commitment to theDivine Office.

THE THEME OF THE RETABLE DU CELLIER The Retabledu Cellierhas remained. an enigmaticwork, in partbecause the subjectportrayed on theinterior panels of the altarpiece (Fig. 1) has been difficultto pinpoint.77The identityof the figures, the outdated costumes of thenobility, Jeanne de Boubais'Benedictine habit, and the absence of a spe- cificattribute that identifies the bishop saint, have generated controversy. Mostefforts to resolvethe debate about these puzzling features have been groundedin comparisonsof the painting's iconography to thatof other im- agesoriginating from Cistercian contexts in thesixteenth century. This approachhas great potential, but has not been entirely successful because thesubjects of the images used for comparison have themselves been prob- lematic.Robert Genaille, for instance, proposed that the subject of the

"Whileit is clear that one hand of the clock is directed at the 9, theposition of the other handis notdefinitively rendered. Thus, the clock does not indicate a specifictime of day. "Referencesto theCistercian rule are cited in Strayer,458. Forclocks and time-keep- ing,see Dohrn-van Rossum. "I'n additionto thebibliography on theRetable du Celliercited below, see Spinson de Jesusin Ainsworth and Christiansen, 332-34.

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altarpieceis theadoration of theVirgin and Childby the family of Saint Bernard."Although his conclusion was correct,the evidence was noten- tirelyconvincing. Genaille comparedthe Flines altarpiecewith an illuminationin a fifteenth-centuryFrench manuscript showing Bernard's familylooking on as Bernardtakes his vows as a Cistercianmonk. Although Bernard'sparents, Tescelin le Saurand Aleth de Montbard,are identified by banderoles,the brothers are not, which draws Genaille's conclusion into question. Fortunately,as Robert Will has shown, a paintingby Nikolaus Kremer fromthe reformed Cistercian convent of Lichtenthal in southwestGermany dated1534 (Fig. I 1) resolvesthe problem." The Lichtenthalwork corre- spondsclosely enough to theimagery of the Flines altarpiece - not so much in compositionbut in thenumber and characteristicsof thefigures dis- cussedabove - thatthe two works must portray the same theme, and in the Lichtenthalpainting the enigmatic figures are identified in banderoles." SaintBernard's five brothers, Gui, Gerard,Andrew, Bartholomew, and Nivard,converted to theCistercian order via Bernard's influence, are shown at thelower left, while their parents appear at thelower right. Saint Malachy O'Morgair(circa 1094-1148), abbot of Bangor,bishop of Connor,and archbishopof Armagh, appears atop the right-hand column. The onlyfigure notidentified by a banderoleis thefemale figure at thelower right. This mustbe Bernard'ssister, the Blessed Humbeline (d. II 35), prioressand later abbessof the convent of jully near Troyes, wearing the black habit of the Benedictineorder to which she belonged." Finally, the male figure shown at thelower left, apart from the rest of the figures, is theconfessor to thenuns ofLichtenthal, Se'bastien Metzger, the only figure that does not correspond to a figurein theFlines altarpiece. The themeof the Lichtenthal painting, then,is thefamily of SaintBernard in adorationof the Virgin and Child, withMalachy and the donor also looking on. Byextension, the same theme mustbe portrayedin theRetable du Cellier.

7'Genaille, 1952. Sterling,20, supportsGenaille. 79Will, 124.

8OForthe art,history, and cultureof Lichtenthal,see most recendySiebenmorgen. 8'As firstsuggested by Genaille, 1952, 104.

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FIGURE I 1. Nikolaus Kremer.The FamilyofSt. Bernardof Clairvauxin Adoration oftheVirgin and Child. Oil on panel, 1534. (Photo: Baden-Baden,Cistercienserin- nen-AbteiLichtenthal.)

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FIGURE 12. French.The Familyof St. Bernardof Clairvauxin Adorationof the Vir- gin and Child. Woodcut frontispiece of the Mellifui deuotiq[uel doctoris sancti Bernardi [..] Opuspreclaru[m]. Paris, 1517. Princeton University Library.

The banderolesin the Lichtenthalpainting also permitthe identification of the subjectof Bernard'sfamily in a woodcut frontispiecefrom the Mellifui deuotiq[ue]doctoris sancti Bernardi [ . J Opuspreclaru[m] (The il- lustriouswork of the mellifluous and devoutdoctor Saint Bernard)(Fig. 12), 12 publishedin 1508 and in nine latereditions through 1546. The volume contains,among otherwritings, selections of Bernard'ssermons and homi- lies, his commentaryon the Song of Songs, and his biographyof Saint

"My thanksto John Monfasani for translating the title.

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Malachy.The iconographyand compositionof itsfrontispiece are nearly identicalto thatof the Lichtenthal painting. The onlymajor differences be- tweenthe two works are the presence of the confessor and theabsence of Ccrays))emanating from God theFather in thelatter work. It seemslikely, as suggestedin separatestudies by Kaspar Elm and Robert Will, that the frontispiece,widely available in a popularprinted text, served as a modelfor the Lichtenthalwork or thatperhaps both images ultimately came from the samesource." The woodcutalso might have provided a loose point of inspi- rationfor the Retable du Cellier,not so muchin compositionand certainly notin format,but ratherin theme.'4The 1508 editionof theOpuspre- claru[m]appeared, in fact,just prior to thedate at which Jeanne de Boubais commissionedthe altarpiece, ifone accepts the separate stylistic evaluations byGenaille and Sterling, who date the painting circa 1509- 10.85 No matter whatthe ultimate source for the Flines altarpiece, the subject of the family of SaintBernard certainly held a currencyinCistercian art at thetime. The use ofthe theme outside Flines suggests that Jeanne de Boubaisintended to ex- tendthe Retable du Cellierbeyond the painting's localized point of origin intothe politics of the Cistercian Order at large.

PATRON AND AUDIENCE Afteryears in obscurity, the Retable du Cellierwas rediscovered inthe middle ofthe nineteenth century in the chapel of a Cisterciangranary called Le Cel- lier,located near Clairvaux. Although it maynever be knownwhen the paintingarrived there, its presence substantiates a link between the triptych andClairvaux. In askinghow the altarpiece made its way to Le Cellier,one couldspeculate that Jeanne de Boubaiscommissioned itfor Clairvaux6 and perhapseven for Jean Foucault, who had initiatedreform at Flines."The connectionsbetween the nuns of Flinesand Foucaultare pronounced: his

83 Elm, 1980, 618 and Will, 121-29. 'Wif, 124, mentionsin passinga similarityin compositionbetween the Retable du Cel- lier and the woodcut. He characterizesthe altarpieceas a "freecopy" of the frontispiece. Anotherexample of the theme of the familyof Saint Bernardis a paintingof ca. 15 50 by Camillo Orasse. My thanksto JamesFrance for bringing this work to my attention. 85 Genaille, 1952, 99 and Sterling,20-21. 81 It would not have been unusual forthe convent to financeitems forothers, as the manual of expensesfrom Flines dating from 1511-12 listsseveral books thatwere purchased forthe convent'sconfessor, certainly with Jeanne's approval. A.D.N. 31 H 566, fol. 35v. 8'As firstproposed by M61y,107. Sterling,18-19, suggeststhat Jeanne presented it to the communityof Clairvauxat large.Here I augmentM61ys argument by adding documen-

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name,with references to his authority at theconvent and seniority to Guil- laumede Bruxelles,appears repeatedly in thereform mandates. For at least thefirst few months after Jeanne de Boubaisbecame abbess in 1507,Fou- caultcorresponded with her regularly, and the letters that survive are nearly exclusivelyabout the reform. Foucault's writings underscore the importance he assignedto theprogram, declaring that he had confirmedJeanne's ap- pointmentto theabbatial office, "under the condition that [She] always maintainand perfectthe holy reform."88 In a separateletter to thenuns of Flines,Foucault urged them to be respectfulof theirabbess and confessor, andto be "goodand obedient daughters, who live without variation, accord- ingto thereform." The successof the reform of Flines must have seemed vitalto Foucault,especially in lightof the Order's earlier difficulties in gain- ingthe cooperation of convents. Foucaultmust have been at leastsomewhat impressed when the Retable du Cellier,a large-scalealtarpiece made by a talentedartist and commis- sionedat no smallexpense to itspatron, arrived at Clairvaux.The tripty&s Bernardine-centeredsubject matter, including the Miracle of the Lactation representedon theexterior panels and the family of Saint Bernard on theinterior,surely resonated in a particularlyprofound way for Foucault, who was a successorto SaintBernard in theabbatial office at Clairvaux.The focuson theVirgin Mary, venerated by Bernard's family on thealtarpiece's interior panels,must also have appealed to him,as Marianpiety was such a central elementin thespirituality ofCistercian men. Given the concurrent practice ofrepresenting Cistercian clerics in theguise of Saint Bernard, perhaps the featuresof Saint Bernard in theLactation scene, which seem highly individ- ualized,are those of Foucault.'o

tationfor gift-giving at Flines, by expanding upon the links between Foucault and Jeanne de Boubais,and by relating the painting to the concerns of male devotees. A contrastingview on theoriginal destination of the Retable du Cellieris providedby Genaille, 1952, 99-108, who linksthe triptych to an entryin a Flinesmanual of expenses, thereby positioning the altar- piecein thechapel of Saint Michael at Flines.The descriptionprovided in themanual is far toovague, however, to allowa conclusionof this kind. Baligand rightly argues that the entry morelikely refers to a paintingcommissioned by Flinesbursar Isabelle de Malfiancefrom Bellegambe:this double-sided work represents, on onepanel, Saint Michael weighing souls, a suitablesubject for the chapel of Saint Michael. "Letterof 26 December1507 cited in Hautcoeur,1872, 237. "Ibid., 238. "No confirmedportrait of Foucaultthat can be used forcomparative purposes is knownto exist.My thanks to James France for discussing this issue with me.

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The connectionsbetween the Retabledu Cellierand reformare strengthenedwhen one asks whyJeanne de Boubais wished to be representedas Bernard's sister, Humbeline." Humbeline, although chastised byBernard early in herlife for her excesses in dressand behavior,later recantedthis lifestyle and becamea championof Bernard'sattempts to promotereform, especiall' his push to renewthe asceticismof the Benedictinerule among the Cistercians.The portraitof Jeanneas Humbelineimplies that the former intended to emulatethe latter, both in attitudeand behavior.Jeanne enforced the ruleat Flines- as implied throughthe black habit of the Benedictines - and was dedicated to monastic reform,as Humbelinewas. Furthermore,based on a comparisonof the featuresof the monk shown in theRetable du Cellier'scenter panel with a knownportrait of Guillaumede Bruxelles,it is clear thatthe figure representsthe confessor of Flines." The samefacial features, distinguished bya sharpnose and chin, are found in thedonor portrait of a triptychofthe Annunciationcommissioned by Guillaume between circa 1516-1518 (Fig. 13). Guillaume,like Jeanne, is shownas integralto thefamily of Flines, and byextension to thefamily of Clairvauxand theOrder of CAiteaux. The portraitsuggests Guillaume's central role in executingthe mandates of reform,as he hadbeen charged to do bythe abbot of Clairvaux. The presenceof Saints Bernard of Clairvaux and Malachy O'Morgair in theRetable du Celliermakes the associations between the altarpiece and re- formeven more pronounced. Both saints were revered by the Cistercians for theirwork as reformers.The twelfth-centuryreform of theOrder, which promotedstrict observance of the Benedictine rule, is well known. Bernard's participationin this struggle was a primaryfactor in Malachy's canonization byPope Clement III in 1199.While Bernard's efforts toward reform were widespread,Malachy's were localized to Bangorand thechurch of Armagh. Bernard'sbiography of Malachy discusses the latter's efforts at restoringdis- cipline,devoting an entirechapter to thereform of Bangorand "certain

"Suggestedby Genaille, 1952, 104-5.)While similarities between the physiognomy of thefigure of Humbeline in theRetable du Cellierand Jeanne de Boubaisin theFrick diptych arestrong, Genaille offers a less convincing example when he compares the features of Hum- belineto thoseof Jeanne in an imagefrom an antiphonaryshe commissioned in 1511-12,as thefeatures of this "Portrait" are too generalized to permitsuch an identification.On theico- nographyof Humbeline, see France, forthcoming. ' 12 Genaille,1961.

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FIGURE 13. Jean Bellegambe.Annunciation Triptych, center panel. Oil on panel, circa 1516-1518. (Photo: St. Petersburg,The StateHermitage Museum.)

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1394 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY miracles"performed by Malachy." Indeed, due in part to Bernard'spraise of thisaspect of Malacy's life, the Cistercian Order viewed reform a's a sigrnifi- cantcomponent in hiswork. Malachy died at Clairvaux,in SaintBernard's arms,in 1148,and was subsequently canonized in 1190.While a longand extensivetradition of Bernardine imagery weakens any argument associating Bernard'sfigure in theRetable du Cellierdirectly to reform,representations ofMalachy are much more rare. He appearsin visualrepresentation with anyfrequently only in the fifteenth century, when reform began to take hold withinCistercian convents. His figureis presentin an altarpiecefrom Clair- vaux,in thewoodcut frontispiece to the Opuspreclaru[m] and in the paintingfrom Lichtenthal, also a reformedhouse.9' The Opuspreclaru[m] alsoincludes Bernard's biography of Malachy. Perhaps the new emphasis on theIrish abbot-reformer at this time, and on thefamilial associations of the subjectof the Retable du Cellier,point to thegenesis of a reform-relatedico- nographywithin the Order, a hypothesisthat cannot be exploredhere but onethat deserves greater attention in thefuture. The dateof circa 1509-10 proposed by Genaille and Sterlingfor the Retabledu Celliersuggests that Jeanne de Boubaismight have commissioned thepainting in responseto a weightyevent of the period, namely the accu- sationsof violationsof thereform levied against the convent in 1509. Chargedwith driving the convent into "total ruin," Jeanne would have had amplereason to wish,to counteractsuch charges in anyway she could. Drawingup a listof the communitys accomplishments toward reform was one wayshe and Guillaumede Bruxellesattempted to refutethe accusa- tions;commissioning the Retable du Cellier,it seems,was another.In additionto thepainting's reform-based iconography, the very act of com- missioningand paying for an altarpieceof such size and quality suggests the strengthof the communitys economy and the means the convent had to di- vertfunds to suchan endeavor.Indeed, the depiction of Flines in theleft wingof the altarpiece, which portrays an impressivegrouping of meticu- lously-maintainedstructures and a populatedcourtyard alive with activity (Fig.2), suggestsjust the kind of economic stability that reform sought to achieve. Thus,the iconography of the Retable du Cellierproposes a parallelbe- tweenthe "ideal" family of Saint Bernard and the reformed family of Flines. It presentsa tightly-knit, single-minded monastic family akin to Bernard's biologicalfamily, with Jeanne de Boubaisand Guillaume de Bruxellesas its

"Bernardof Clairvaux, 30-36. 94 Forthe Clairvaux altarpiece, see Quarrand Geiger,entry I 1, withbibliography and exhibitionhistory.

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representatives.By -presenting herself and Guillaume as membersof Ber- nard'sfamily, the abbess suggeststhe integralposition of Flineswithin the filiationof Clairvauxand the Order of CA teaux. The altarpiecethus pro- motes the identityof Flines as a Cistercianhouse, a communitywhose membersare unitedby a commondevotion to thetraditions of theirOrder. Destined,as Jeannemust have hoped, fordisplay on a majoraltar at Clair- vaux,the paintingalso suggeststhe centralityof the femininebranch of the Order withinthe Cistercianfamily as a whole, followinga long historyof oppositionto reformon thepart of manyconvents.

THE AUDIENCE OF THE FLINEs DIPTYCH

Byvirtue of itsformat, the Flines diptych is suitedto differentcircumstances thanthe Retable du Cellier.Devotional portrait diptychs have long been con- sideredmore intimate in formatthan triptychs, which were usually destined forlarge altars located in public spaces.The intimacyof the diptych,along with its relativelylimited size, suggeststhat Jeanne de Boubais commissioned thework for a smallerspace, such as the one she herselfoccupies on the diptychsexterior. It would seem,then, that Jeanne must have ordered thepainting either for herself or forsomeone with whom she was closelyac- quainted." Indeed, although it is often assumed that the worshippers portrayedon theinterior panels of devotionalportrait diptychs were the patrons,owners, and primaryaudiences of theworks, by thesixteenth century such imageswere commissioned, kept, and displayedby and forothers. This was thecase withat leasttwo diptychscommissioned by Margaret of Austria portrayingher advisor and friend,cardinal Erard de la Marck,one ofwhich she hungin herbedroom at herpalace in Mechelen." It would be consistent withcontemporaneous practice, then, for Jeanne to have commissioneda diptychfor herself, even if it representedsomeone else, namelythe Cister- "Evidencefor the provenance of other devotional portrait diptychs from France and the Low Countriessuggests that some were destined for domestic spaces. One exampleis Hans Memling's1487 diptychof the Virginand Childand Martenvan Nieuwenhove (Bruges, MemlingmuseumO.C.M.W, Sint-jansHospitaal), which remained in thepossession of van Nieuwenhove'sfamily until 1640, suggesting that the donor kept the painting in hishome forpersonal use and passedit to his descendants.A secondis Rogiervan derWeyden's ca.1450 Triptychofjean Braque (Paris, Louvre), which was destined for Braque's home. See Bauman,49. 96 Referencesto Margaret'sdiptychs of Erardde la Marckappear in severalprimary sources.Two arementioned in a petitionfor payment made by Jan Vermeyen in 1533; see Horn,I: 61, n. 52. A thirdseems to have been disassembled prior to 1523T24.See Eichberger, 302. Mythanks to thelatter for kindly sharing her manuscript with me prior to itspublica- tion.For further elaboration on theownership and displayof devotional portrait diptychs, seePearson, 2000.

This content downloaded from 198.91.32.137 on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:52:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1396 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY cianmonk on theinner right panel. It is also possible,however, that the clericwas the intended recipient of the work. If the Flines diptych belonged to him,then patron Jeanne de Boubaismust have presented it to himas a gift.In doingso, herintention likely was to conveyher personal loyalty to hersuperior and to theideals of Cistercianfeminine monasticism. That SaintBernard holds a crozierwith representations ofthe same female saints as thoseon thecrozier of Jeanne de Boubais,namely Catherine and Barbara, impliesBernard's role as thespiritual sponsor of the convent." His approval hasbeen earned by the abbess, under whose administration the reform had beencarried out and sustained. Butwho is theCistercian cleric portrayed in thediptych's interior? In theabsence of direct documentary orvisual evidence that might link a name to him,we mustresort to othermeans to answerthis question. Of all the Cistercianmonks associated with the convent during Jeanne de Boubais' prelature,the name of Guillaume de Bruxellesappears with the greatest fre- quencyin survivingdocuments. Jeanne's reliance on herconfessor as an advisorfor reform was pronounced, and an imagewith reform-related content,such as thediptych, would be highlysuited for his portrait, as he was chargedwith the implementation ofthe program. The featuresof the cleric as portrayedin thepainting are consistent with the Retable du Cellierand the Annunciationaltarpiece, albeit the figure in theFlines diptych seems to be slightlyheavier, with a fullerface. The heraldicevidence - or lackthereof - alsopoints to Guillaume.The shieldheld by the putto in theupper left cor- nerof the left interior wing, which normally would have carried the coat of armsof the sitter, remains blank. Following conventional practices of the period,if heraldry had beenappropriate to thesitter it certainlywould have beenincluded in the painting. This suggests that the figure portrayed within thework was not of noble status, as Guillaumewas not. 18 HisAnnunciation altarpieceis alsodevoid of a heraldicdevice. Perhaps, then, it is Guillaume whoappears in thediptych." Ifone accepts the identification ofthe cleric as Guillaumede Bruxelles, thenthere are at leastthree possible moments that fall within the parameters ofJeanne de Boubais'term of office and Guillaume's service as confessorof Flines,that is from1507 to 1513,yvhen the abbess might have been espe- ciallyinspired to commissionthe diptych. First, she could have negotiated

"I am indebtedto ConradRudolph for bringing this association to myattention. "For biographiesof Guillaume de Bruxelles,see Lavinge, 240-5 1, and Kesters.I have beenunable to consultthe latter source. "Hovey,80, statesthat the monk is Guillaumede Bruxelles(Hovey calls him "Guil- laumeBollart"), but offers no supportfor this identification.

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thecommission when taking the abbatial seat in 1507,as a visualstatement ofher intentions to upholdthe expectations ofher office, including reform. The diptycEsimagery is alsosuited to theinquisition of 1509,when Flines was underclose scrutiny and Jeanne de Boubaiswould have wanted to ex- pressthe community'scommitment to the ideals of the Order.If the paintingwere ordered then, the lavish gilt ciborium may be an assertionthat thecommunity's administrators had notsold thechurch's vessels, as the 100 formerlay employees claimed in theiraccusations of that year. It is also conceivablethat Jeanne de Boubaiscommissioned the diptych to honor Guillaumeas he departedFlines to takethe abbatial seat at theBenedictine abbeyof Saint Amand in 1513.If so, thepainting may have been intended as a giftof thanks. In theend, the identity of the monk in theFlines diptych is farless im- portantthan what the portraits of theabbess and clericsuggest about Cistercianwomen and their relationships to their superiors. Indeed, in a periodof deep social and religiouschange that had thepotential to lead to seriousconflict, visual images played a keyrole in Jeanne de Boubais'efforts to communicatewith her superiors. Both the diptych and thetriptych presentJeanne as firmlycommitted and wholly responsive to theobjectives ofreform; the diptych in particularseems to supportfor the shift in power awayfrom the abbatial seat to theclerical positions via enclosure. In theend, theabbess' artistic patronage allowed her to situateherself and her commu- nityin relationto theconvent's superiors, to conveyher wish to yield to the mandatesof reform,and to suggesta desireto integrateFlines squarely withinthe Cistercian order at large. BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

"'The ciborium,and also the abbatial crozier, may be indicationsof the spiritual wealth ofthe community as expressedthrough its material wealth. Conrad Rudolph has shown that in latemedieval monasticism, "reform seems to havebeen one ofseveral underlying causes permittingthe attitude which saw large-scale investment in artas legitimatefor monks (...) as thecrowning achievement of the physical aspect of that renewal." Rudolph, 36. Bythe twelfthcentury, then, lavish artistic programs had becomestatements for the spiritual pros- perityof monastic institutions. McGuire argues that there was little contradiction between thespiritual and the material for the Cistercians in thelater Middle Ages.

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