Sunday Feature: Suster Bertken

Janina Ramirez uncovers a 500-year-old story about Suster Bertken, a woman who chose to run away from this world by bricking herself into a tiny cell for life in the middle of a busy Dutch city. In her cell, as well as living a life of prayer and contemplation, Suster Bertken wrote religious tracts, poems and songs. When she died, some of these were printed and thus she became the first Dutch woman whose texts appeared in print. Suster Bertken's song, The World Held Me in Its Power, is performed by Ensemble Trigon, conducted by Margot Kalse. All other Suster Bertken songs are specially recorded and performed by Margot Kalse, and there are interviews with Dr Andrea van Leerdam from the Special Collections of Utrecht University Library, and Medieval scholar Lieke Wijnia