The secrets of women in Middle Dutch: a bilingual edition of Der vrouwen heimelijcheit in Ghent University Library Ms 444

A poet, head over heels in love with a charming lady, writes a book at her request on intimate matters concerning women. It is a delicate undertaking, not only because it is a relatively unknown subject for him, but also because he does not want her to be angry with him when she reads about these highly personal matters. This is how 'Der vrouwen heimelijcheit' [The Secrets of Women] begins. It has survived in an fifteenth-century paper manuscript kept in the University Library at Ghent under siglum 444. An intriguing characteristic of the text is the way in which the author has alternated scientific knowledge of the medieval 'artes' corpus with a personal love complaint. He interrupts his gynecological exposition in twenty-odd places to give expression in lyrical terms to his love for a charming lady. To make the text available for an international readership, this publication provides a cultural historical introduction and presents the Middle Dutch 'Secrets of Women' together with an English translation.