I sette doni dello Spirito Santo nella poesia religiosa tedesca del XII secolo

Abstract

THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE GERMAN RELIGIOUS POETRY OF THE 12TH CENTURY. The essay deals with the theme of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit in a group of Early Middle High German works dating from the 12th century: a Commentary on the Our Father, the Siebenzahl (or De septem sigillis), Priester Arnolt’s Loblied auf den Heiligen Geist and a passage of Frau Ava’s Leben Jesu devoted to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The analysis focuses on the connections between these texts and the devotional literature of medieval Germany, with particular regards to the numerological philosophy, and above all to the symbolism of number ‘seven’. Attention will be paid to the didactic and catechetic role of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit within these works, highlighting a number of literary motifs and allegorical elements which provide their ideological foundation.