| Summary: | Nearly five centuries have elapsed since Apollonia von Freyberg departed from her convent in Mülhausen (today, Mulhouse, France). Little is known about this Poor Clare nun who witnessed the dissolution of her conventual shelter in the midst of her community’s protracted financial struggles as well as spiritual conflict catalyzed by the emerging Reformation. It is fortuitous, however, that documents related to Apollonia are preserved at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (NGA) and at the Archives de Mulhouse, in Mulhouse, France. Among these are letters written to and on behalf of Apollonia as well as a detailed church inventory in which Apollonia’s many donations to her convent are recorded. Individually, these documents elucidate aspects of Apollonia’s relationships, cloistered existence, and her convent’s ultimate disbandment in the 1520s. In concert, they constitute fragmented and poignant vignettes from Apollonia’s life.
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