A letter to her brother

Translated letter:

Only and most beloved brother N. H., the last of the handmaids of God salutes you in Christ. Why is it, my brother, that you have let so long a time pass, that you have delayed to come? Why do you not want to remember that I am alone on this earth* and no other brother visits me, nor any family members will come to me? Even if you do not visit because I have not been able to grant a certain favour, even one my mind most diligently wanted, then you must be forgetful of the bonds of love and kinship if nothing else persuades you or changes your mind. O brother, o my brother, for what reason can you afflict my mind with grief, tears and sadness about my constant insignificance by day and night through the absence of your love? Do you not know for certain that I place no other of all those living ahead of your love? Behold, I cannot make all this know to you in writing. Already I feel certain that you have no care for me in my insignificance.

Original letter:

Fratri unico atque amantissimo . N . H . ultima ancillarum Dei in Christo salutem. Quid est, frater mi, quod tam longum tempus intermisisti, quod venire tardasti? Quare non vis cogitare quod ego sola in hac terra et nullus alius frater visitet me, neque propinquorum aliquis ad me veniet? Etsi ideo facis quia adhuc nihil potui, secundum quod mens mea diligenter voluisset, aliquid beneficii inpendere, tamen caritatis atque adfinitatis iura, nullo alio suadente aut mente tua mutante, debes obliviscere. O frater, o frater mi, cur potes mentem parvitatis meae adsiduae merore fletu atque tristitia die noctuque caritatis tuae absentia adfligere? Nonne pro certo scies quia viventium omnium nullum alium propono tuae caritati? Ecce non possum omnia per litteras tibi indicare. Iam ego certum teneo quod tibi cura non est de mea parvitate.

Historical context:

This letter is not attributed to Berhtgyth in the manuscript, but Maude argues it is close enough in style and expression to be hers.

Scholarly notes:

* I [KM] have translated "in hac terra" as "on this earth" here to fit with the exaggerated tone of the letter overall. However, it could also be translated as "in this country," or "in this land," which would suggest that Balthard is no longer in the same country as Berhtgyth. 

Printed source:

Kathryn Maude, Berthgyth's Letters to Balthard, ed. and trans. (Medieval Feminist Forum, A Journal of Gender and Sexuality, 2017).  The text and translation are reprinted here with the generous permission of the translator and the series editor, Mary Dockray-Miller.

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