Sicut nutrix infantulum custodit: Devotion to the Infant Jesus in the Medieval Tradition of Female Religiosity

This paper examines devotional practices centred on the Infant Jesus in texts concerning European female religiosity – a relatively understudied phenomenon that flourished especially in German-speaking regions from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period. It focuses primarily on writings regarding nuns, mystics and beguines who frequently incorporated dolls and cradles into their devotions, particularly during prayers, visions, divine revelations and experiences commonly described as “paranormal” pregnancies. The study begins by mapping eighteen European religious women and the texts associated with them, all noted for their devotion to the Infant Jesus. The analysis subsequently turns to images and devotional objects – such as dolls, cradles, frescoes, infant trousseaux, and other material items – that are closely tied to the textual sources, forming the basis of a distinctly interdisciplinary inquiry. The ultimate goal is to reconstruct the history of a devotional tradition that has not yet been the subject of sustained academic investigation and whose boundaries remain obscure and difficult to delineate.