ABSTRACT
The shocking events of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) were recorded in eye-witness accounts by German-speaking men and women across the Holy Roman Empire, providing a wide variety of perspectives.1 Among them are a significant number of texts written by nuns.2 It was common in convents to keep written records of important events, sometimes in the form of a continuous chronicle for posterity. This tradition existed in convents across Europe in the early modern period and was often the responsibility of the abbess or prioress.3 In the areas of Germany affected by the Thirty Years’ War, the life of contemplation in cloisters suffered severe disruption. In many cases, nuns, who had been living in strict enclosure in the wake of Counter Reformation spiritual reforms, were forced to leave their convent and travel in poor conditions to live in poverty and exile.4 Convent property was threatened; the estates and livestock plundered by ‘friendly’ and enemy armies alike, with abbey treasures and even the buildings a target for the enemy.
