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Själens örtagård

By Bengt Arvidsson

Book Description

Själens örtagård explores a fascinating chapter in spiritual literature where gardens became sacred spaces for contemplation and divine connection. Bengt Arvidsson examines a distinctive genre of devotional writing from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, known as hortulus animae, which wove together botanical imagery, herbal symbolism, and Christian meditation.

This scholarly work reveals how Lutheran authors around 1600 created a unique form of spiritual guidance that transformed everyday gardening into profound religious practice. These devotional texts used specific plants, flowers, and garden elements as starting points for deeper reflection on Christian virtues and truths. The garden emerged not merely as a physical space but as a metaphor for the soul's journey toward divine rest.

Arvidsson demonstrates how this literature served a particularly important role for women, who were encouraged to find spiritual meaning in their daily garden work. Each plant bed, sculpture, and growing thing became an opportunity for meditation and prayer. The author traces the rich symbolism embedded in these texts, drawing from biblical imagery, Renaissance emblems, and theological traditions that viewed nature as a divine teacher.

Through careful analysis of historical sources, this book illuminates how physical gardens provided both practical knowledge and spiritual nourishment, offering readers insight into a time when tending plants and tending the soul were understood as intimately connected practices.