The legend of the nun Beatrijs is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Middle Dutch literature. The luxurious execution of the manuscript, the high quality of the vellum, the beautiful script, and the decoration -- fairly unusual for Middle Dutch manuscripts -- suggests that it was intended for a prominent lay person, or for a prospective nun as a present upon entering the convent.
The legend of Beatrijs, sacristan of her convent, tells the story of a nun who, overwhelmed by love, has herself abducted from the convent by a young man whom she had known from childhood. They live happily for seven years and have two children, but when money runs short, the young man deserts her. Beatrijs now has to provide for herself and her children as a "ghemeen wijf," a woman of the streets. For seven years she manages to do so, faithfully praying to the Virgin Mary and reciting the Hours of the Virgin every day. Overcome by remorse she then sets out with her children, begging her way to the region of her former convent. On her arrival she is told that the sacristan is still at the convent, and in three successive visions she is urged to resume her former duties: for all those years the Virgin had been taking her place.
