Hortus Deliciarum facsimile Tab.11 extrait

This image shows a religious hierarchy with Jesus Christ at the top, flanked by saints including Peter and John the Baptist, while the community of Hohenburg Abbey is shown below. On the lower level, Saint Odilia leads a group of nuns upon a green mountain, representing Mount Hohenburg, and receives a key from Duke Eticho. A large scroll held by Christ and various blocks of text throughout the composition provide spiritual instructions and historical context for the monastery.

The Hortus Deliciarum is the first known encyclopedia written by a woman, Herrad of Landsberg, intended to educate her nuns in the history of salvation and the liberal arts. It reflects the 12th-century Neoplatonic effort to synthesize all human and divine knowledge into a structured visual and textual garden of wisdom.