The Visionary Life of Madre Ana de San Agustin (Textos B)

147 Pages·2004·0.42 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Teresa Howe

The Visionary Life of
Madre Ana de San Agustín

Elizabeth Teresa Howe

Textos B
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Colección Támesis
SERIE B: TEXTOS, 46
THE VISIONARY LIFE OF
MADRE ANA DE SAN AGUSTÍN
In two relaciones of her life, Madre Ana de San Agustín, a member of the
Discalced Carmelite reform under Santa Teresa, reveals a rich interior life of
visions, locutions, and visits to heaven and hell. Guiding her at many junctures of
her spiritual journey is the figure of Santa Teresa, both before and after the saint’s
death in 1582.
Although she does not refer to any books save the Divine Office in either
account, the details she provides suggest her familiarity with numerous contem-
porary devotional and mystical texts by men and women. Not least among these
are the works of Santa Teresa, but Madre Ana seems equally familiar with the writ-
ings of other medieval mystics. Her accounts share many of the characteristics of
these earlier works. Equally interesting are the connections she draws between her
visions and the outside world, especially the struggle over the Carmelite reform.
Madre Ana’s relaciones thus provide insight into the nature and extent of
female monastic culture at the turn of the seventeenth century. They also demon-
strate the ways in which cloistered women could exercise authorial control of their
narratives even in the face of obedience to male authority.
ELIZABETHHOWEis Professor of Spanish at Tufts University, Massachusetts.
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Image not available
Madre Ana de S. Agustín.
Portrait in the Monastery of Santa Ana, Villanueva de la Jara.
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THE VISIONARY LIFE OF
MADRE ANA DE SAN AGUSTÍN
Critical edition and introduction by
Elizabeth Teresa Howe
TAMESIS
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© Elizabeth Teresa Howe 2004
All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 2004 by
Tamesis, Woodbridge
ISBN 1 85566 103 9
Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604–4126, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Howe, Elizabeth Teresa, 1945–
The visionary life of Madre Ana de San Agustín / critical edition and introduction by
Elizabeth Teresa Howe.
p. cm. – (Colección Támesis. Serie B, Textos ; 46)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–85566–103–9 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Ana de San Agustín, 1555–1624. 2. Discalced Carmelite nuns–Spain–Biography.
I. Title. II. Series.
BX4705.A5694H69 2004
271(cid:1).97102–dc22
2004001063
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
St Edmundsbury Press Limited, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Disclaimer:

Some images in the original version of this book are not
available for inclusion inclusion in the eBook.
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vi
Acknowledgements ix
Chronology x
Introduction 1
Sources 1
Biography 7
The Visions 24
Ana de San Agustín and Santa Teresa 36
Narrative and Style 39
Manuscript Sources and Editorial Conventions 40
Relación q[ue] hizo de su vida la M[adr]e Ana de S. Agustín 45
[Segunda] relación de la vida de M. Ana de S. Agustín 108
Works Cited 119
Index 125
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ILLUSTRATIONS
The author and publishers are grateful to all the institutions listed below for
permission to reproduce the illustrations for which they hold copyright. Every
effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered
forany omission in this regard, and the publishers will be pleased to add any
necessary acknowledgements in subsequent editions.
1. Madre Ana de S. Agustín. Portrait in the Monastery of
Santa Ana, Villanueva de la Jara. Reproduced from
Avanti con Dio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy
of the Discalced Carmelites of Villanuevade la Jara. frontispiece
2. Santa Teresa repels the demons. A. Collaert, 1613.
By kind permission of the Bibliothèque Royale,
Brussels, Belgium. 9
3. Santa Teresa and the Child Jesus. Anonymous, nineteenth
century. Reprinted from The Infant of Pragueby Ludvic
Nemec (New York: Benziger Brothers Inc., 1958). 11
4. The Niño Jesús, el Fundadorstatue, given to the
Monastery at Villanueva de la Jara by Santa Teresa.
Reproduced from Avanti con Dio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini,
1982). Courtesy of the Discalced Carmelites of Villanueva
de la Jara. 13
5. Ana de San Agustín, Santa Teresa y Ana de San Bartolomé.
Porcar Querel, c. 1930. Reproduced from Avanti con Dio
(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of the Discalced
Carmelites of Villanueva de la Jara. 14
6. Fray Jerónimo Gracián. Portrait in the Monastery of
San José de Sevilla. Reproduced from Avanti con Dio
(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of the Discalced
Carmelites of the Monastery of San José de Sevilla. 16
7. Fray Nicolao Doria. Portrait in the Discalced Carmelite
Convent of Genoa. Reproduced from Avanti con Dio
(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of the Discalced
Carmelite friars of Genoa, Italy. 17
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ILLUSTRATIONS
8. Interior of the Church at Villanueva de la Jara. Photo:
Girolamo Salvatico, OCD. Reproduced from Avanti con Dio
(Arenzano: Ed.Paolini, 1982). By kind permission of the
photographer and the Discalced Carmelites of Villanueva
de la Jara. 20
9. Tomb of Ana de San Agustín. Photo: Girolamo Salvatico,
OCD. Reproduced from Avanti con Dio(Arenzano: Ed.
Paolini, 1982). By kind permission of the photographer and
the Discalced Carmelites of Villanueva de la Jara. 24
10. Last Judgment: detail of hell. Giotto di Bondone
(1266–1336). In the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.
Cameraphoto Arte, Venice/Art Resource, New York. 29
11. Last Judgement. Bolognese school. Pinacoteca Nazionale,
Bologna, Italy. Scala/Art Resource, New York. 31
12. The communion grille in the Monastery at Villanueva
de la Jara. Photo: Girolamo Salvatico, OCD. Reproduced
from Avanti con Dio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982).
By kind permission of the photographer and the Discalced
Carmelites of Villanueva de la Jara. 34
13. Bibite Amici. Theodor Galles. By kind permission of the
Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels, Belgium. Cabinet des
Estampes. 35
14. Cristo de los lindos ojos. Sixteenth-century fresco in the
Monastery of San José de Ávila. Reproduced from Avanti
con Dio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of the
Discalced Carmelites of the Monastery of San José de Ávila. 37
15. Santa Teresa receiving communion from Christ, in the
Monastery ofSan José de Toledo. Reproduced from Avanti
con Dio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of the
Discalced Carmelites of the Monastery of San José de Toledo. 73
16. Statue of the Virgin, La Paloma, given to the Monastery at
Villanueva de la Jara by Santa Teresa. Reproduced from
Avanti conDio(Arenzano: Ed. Paolini, 1982). Courtesy of
the Discalced Carmelites of Villanueva de la Jara. 113
vii
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge my thanks to Tufts University for the sabbatical
leave which made possible my research at the Biblioteca Nacional. I am also
indebted to Tufts for providing financial assistance for me to consult the
collections at Harvard University’s libraries, which aided me in preparing this
edition. Thanks are also due to the Carmelite Fathers at Whitefriars Hall in
Washington, D.C., for allowing me access to the materials of the Carmelitana
library and to the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Washington, for access to
their library as well. Special thanks go to Ángel and Joan Berenguer for assist-
ing me while in Madrid and to Joachim Smet, O.Carm., Steven Payne, OCD,
and Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, for their assistance on points of Carmelite his-
tory and practice. I am also indebted to Patrick McMahon, O.Carm, and
Patricia O’Callaghan of the Carmelitana. I appreciate the invaluable assistance
of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers of the Basilica of the Infant of Prague in
Arenzano, Italy; Art Resource of New York; Mr. Andrew Cunningham of the
Tufts Veterinary School; and Dr. Christopher Wilson of the Department of Art
History at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in helping me to
obtain appropriate artwork. Vincent Pollina, Constance Toth-Berendei, Daniela
Bartalesi-Graf, Claudia Mejía, and Conchita Lagunas-Davis of the Department
of Romance Languages and Madeline Caviness of the Department of Art and
Art History at Tufts provided very timely assistance. Margaret Carracino, Rachel
Christiansen, Anne Marie Ferraro, Margaret Gooch, and Thomas Souers pro-
vided essential technical and moral support in the preparation of this work.
Finally, I dedicate this work to all of the sons and daughters of Santa Teresa
who continue her vision.
The author and publishers wish to record their thanks to Tufts University
for assistance with the costs of publication of this book.