El libro de doña Ana de Zúñiga: nobleza, espiritualidad y cultura en el Monasterio de Jerónimas de San Pablo de Toledo

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to highlight the value of an interesting book kept in the Monasterio de Jerónimas de San Pablo in Toledo which contains, among other texts, a copy of a work written by Ana de Zúñiga (Toledo, 1540-1594). This noble nun wished to compile and compose a collection of the lives of women who had lived in the aforementioned monastery where she became prioress. Her intention was to weave a genealogy of exemplary female devotional experiences and preserve their memory, which contributed to building the identity of her religious community. Several of the women biographed came from the high nobility of Toledo (or were closely related to it) and, in some cases, became models of spiritual wisdom praised by later reputed hagiographers such as Alonso de Villegas and José de Sigüenza.

Keywords

• hagiography
• Monasterio de Jerónimas de San Pablo of Toledo
• Ana de Zúñiga
• María García de Toledo
• convent writing