Elsbeth Stagel
Item
Author
Elsbeth Stagel
Location
Toss Monastery, Switzerland
Dates
1300-1360
Biography
Elsbeth Stagel entered the Dominican convent of Töss, near Winterthur, in her youth. Around 1335–1336, she made the acquaintance of Henry Suso who became her spiritual director, as mentioned in the Exemplar as well as in the prologue and second part of the Life of Suso (ch. XXXIII f.) and the Briefbüchlein (letters 3 and 8). At Töss, she wrote 37 biographies of deceased sisters of exemplary life of her convent. This work, finished in c.1336, was to serve as model and encouragement to new generations of sisters. The book of the nuns of Töss (Tösser Schwesternbuch) has been preserved in three 15th-c. manuscripts. It was supplemented by a Vita of Elizabeth, daughter of King Andras III of Hungary, who died young in the convent of Töss.
Works
Tösser Schwesternbuch (Lives of the Nuns of Töss)
Languages
German
Genres
Sisterbook, Letters
Editions and Translations
Edition Unknown
Archival Holdings
Chronik der Klöster St. Katharinenthal, Töss und Berenberg, containing Tösser Schwesternbuch: S 61 - 79, Y 105, Cantonal Library, Thurgau, Switzerland.
