Marguerite d'Oingt (probably 1240–11 February 1310) was a French

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

and celebrated mystic. She was also among the earliest identified women writers of France.

Life

Marguerite was born into the locally powerful family of the seigneurs of Oingt in

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine in the Burgundy wine, Burgundy region. Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in grape tannins, tannin, but like most ...

, who became extinct in 1382 for want of male heirs. She joined the

Carthusian Order The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin Church, Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rul ...

as a nun, and in 1288 became the fourth prioress of Poleteins Charterhouse, near Mionnay in the

Dombes The Dombes (; ) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the provinces of France, province of Burgundy (region), Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of France, department of Ain, and b ...

, founded in 1238 by Marguerite de Bâgé for nuns who wished to live according to the custom of the Carthusians as far as was then thought possible for women. Marguerite d'Oingt was also a well-known mystic of her day, contemporary with

Philippe le Bel Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip I from 1 ...

and

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

Works

Along with

Marie de France Marie de France (floruit, fl. 1160–1215) was a poet, likely born in France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of Kin ...

, Marguerite is one of the first women writers in France of whom any record survives. She habitually wrote in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, of which her knowledge was comparable with that of the (male) clerics of the age. Her first work, in Latin, was ''Pagina meditationum'' ("Meditations") of 1286. She also wrote two long texts in

Franco-Provençal Franco-Provençal (also Francoprovençal, Patois or Arpitan) is a Gallo-Romance languages, Gallo-Romance language that originated and is spoken in eastern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy. Franco-Provençal has several di ...

, the first surviving works in that language: ''Li Via seiti Biatrix, virgina de Ornaciu'', the '' vita'' of Blessed Beatrice of Ornacieux, also a Carthusian nun; and ''Speculum'' ("The Mirror").

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

discussed Marguerite's spirituality and quoted from her writings at the general audience of 3 November 2010.

Translations

* ''The Writings of Margaret of Oingt, Medieval Prioress and Mystic.'' Trans., intro., and notes by Renate Blumenfed-Kosinki. Newburyport, MA: Focus Information Group, Inc., 1990.

Notes and references

Sources

* Bouvier, Abbé C. (ed.), 1982: ''La Bienheureuse Béatrix d'Ornacieux, religieuse de Parménie'' (2nd edn). Montsûrs: Résiac. * Duraffour, A., Gardette, P. and Durdilly, P. (eds.), 1965: ''Les Œuvres de Marguerite d'Oingt''. Paris, Les Belles Lettres. BNF : notice n° FRBNF33090080 * Guigue M.-C., 1908: ''Essai sur les causes de la dépopulation de la Dombes et l’origine de ses étangs''. Lyon: H. Georg. * Philipon, E. (ed.), 1877: ''Œuvres de Marguerite d’Oyngt, prieure de Poleteins, publiées d’après le manuscrit unique de la Bibliothèque de Grenoble'' with introduction by M.-C. Guigue. Lyon: N. Scheuring. BNF: notice no FRBNF31047406 * Sancho Fibla, S., 2018: ''Escribir y meditar. Las obras de Marguerite d'Oingt, cartuja del siglo XIII'' . Madrid: Siruela, 2018.

External links

*
Vatican website: General Audience 3 Nov 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oingt, Marguerite d 1240 births 1310 deaths Carthusian nuns 13th-century French women writers 13th-century French poets 13th-century Christian mystics French Roman Catholic writers Roman Catholic mystics 13th-century French nuns 13th-century writers in Latin