La correspondencia familiar en el ámbito conventual femenino : cartas de María de Jesús de Ágreda a la Duquesa de Alburquerque

Abstract

During XVI and XVII centuries, convents became the privileged space for women’s writing. Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda is a good example of this, because, besides the ascetic-mystical writings she performed, she also maintained a vast correspondence with important personalities of her time, as king Felipe IV. In this article, it is intended to reflect the main features of letter writing in that time through the analysis of nun’s private correspondence that she had with the Duchess of Alburquerque, in order to make known these missives analyzing their graphic features and epistolary order, as well as their main material aspects and their type (family letters).

Keywords

• María de Jesús de Ágreda
• Female conventual writing
• Letter writing
• Private correspondence
• Familiar letter
• XVII Century