[Sca-cooks] Katerina's Windows

[Sandra Kisner]

 From the TMR review list:

Schleif, Corine, and Volker Schier. "Katerina's Windows: Donation and 
Devotion, Art and Music, As Heard and Seen Through the Writings of a 
Brigittine Nun." University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University 
Press, 2009. Pp. xliv, 579. $110.00. ISBN: 978-0-271-03369- 3.

It is a rare, but joyous, event when a scholar stumbles upon a rich, but 
virtually unknown cache of documents that opens a window onto the life 
and times of the now long forgotten. Such is the case with "Katerina's 
Windows," which offers the reader a glimpse into the fascinating life of 
Katerina Lemmel (1466-1533), a Nuremberg patrician wife, widow, and 
Brigittine nun, who played a pivotal role in raising funds for the 
construction and decoration of Maria Mai, a recently founded convent at 
Maihingen, and her eventual home. ... Those interested in the economics 
of life within a late medieval convent will find this study equally 
rewarding. Although there is no record that Katerina Lemmel ever held 
any official position as financial officer for the convent, her economic 
resources and mercantile background were highly valued and utilized. Her 
letters consistently show a vast knowledge of spice market values, as 
well as a constant accounting of her own diversely-vast investments, and 
the expected income that each would reap. ... Even though the current 
study stands on its own, the authors have provided additional resources 
for both scholars and students alike. Published concurrently with the 
book is a website (http://katerinaswindows.asu.edu/index.html) designed 
to stimulate further discussion within the classroom context.

The website doesn't have anything that I can see about spice prices; 
you'll have to go to the book for that.

Sandra