Speculum Virginum

The Speculum Virginum (Latin for "Mirror of Virgins"; German: Jungfrauenspiegel) is a 12th-century didactic treatise on female monastic life.

It mainly consists of a hypothetical dialogue between Peregrinus, a male religious teacher, and Theodora, a female disciple.

The dialogue seeks to strengthen the determination and resolve of Theodora (and hence by example, other readers) to live life as a virgin dedicated to God.

The growth[ambiguous] of the various manuscripts of the Speculum Virginum in the Middle Ages had a particular resonance for women who sought a dedicated religious life.

[3] The text was widely read from the 12th century until the Reformation, and it survives in 26 vernacular (Middle Low German) and in 30 Latin recensions.

Illustration of a "harvest" allegory, from a 13th-century manuscript. The "Three Conditions of Woman": the virgins who dedicated themselves to Christ are shown as harvesting "hundredfold", the pious widows harvest "sixty-fold", and the pious married wives harvest "thirty-fold".