Trauer und Gedächtnis. Zwei österreichische Frauentagebücher

The focus of the present book ist on two autobiographies by noble Austrian women of the late 16th and 17th century and a funeral sermon. Essential parts of these selftestimonies are devoted to the everyday life of noble women in the early modern time. The first - protestant Esther von Gera, a religious refugee from Styria to Upper Austria - and the second autor - Maria Susanna von Weiss, Esther`s roman-catholic granddaughter - wrote down their daily routine in the same book although at a 30-years interval. These two selftestimonies which are edited for the first time touch a lot of themes central to the life of noble women in early modern time such as birth, illness, marriage, children`s care, celebrations and ever present death, especially as far as noble relatives and members of the family are concerned. To preserve the memory ("memoria") of the decessed seem to be constituent for these two selftestimonies: The death of each husband changed the life of the two widows dramatically. This book tries first to give a survey on the situation of women`s writing in early modern time in Austria, followed by a biographical survey concerning the two authors and their families, finally funeral sermons on Esther von Gera`s husband are treated. A useful index of persons and places will make the edition more accessible. This book should considerably raise our knowledge of women`s writing in Austria in the early modern time, which had hitherto been regarded to start with Elisabeth Stampfer`s records at the end of 17th century.