Herlind of Maasryck (fl. 8th c.)

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Herlind of Maasryck (fl. 8th c.)

Nun and artist of Belgium. Flourished in the 8th century in Maasryck, in the Low Countries.

Herlind of Maasryck was a famous nun and artist whose life is preserved in a biography written a century after her death. She entered the convent of Maasryck in the Low Countries to obey her devout parents, who wanted to show their love for God by dedicating one of their children to the religious life. She was well-educated by the nuns at Maasryck, and her enthusiastic biographer lists numerous accomplishments at which Herlind excelled. Even given the inclination of medieval biographers toward exaggeration, the skills attributed to this nun are remarkable: she was highly literate and a good singer, copied and illuminated manuscripts in the convent's scriptoria, spun and wove cloth, and embroidered beautifully.

Laura York , Riverside, California

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