Leadership in medieval English nunneries
An examination of the role of the convent superior in the middle ages, underlining the amount of power and responsibility at her command. The position of an abbess or prioress in the middle ages was one of great responsibility, with care for both the spiritual and economic welfare of her convent. Th...
| Summary: | An examination of the role of the convent superior in the middle ages, underlining the amount of power and responsibility at her command. The position of an abbess or prioress in the middle ages was one of great responsibility, with care for both the spiritual and economic welfare of her convent. This book considers the power wielded by and available to such women. It addresses leadership models, questions of social identity and the varying perceptions of the role and performance of the abbess or prioress via a close examination of the records of sixteen female houses in the period from 1280 to 1540; the large range of documentary evidence used includes selections from episcopal registers, account rolls, plea rolls, Chancery documents, letters, petitions, medieval literature and comparative material from additional nunneries. The theme of conflict recurs throughout, as religious women are revealed steering their communities between the directives of the church and the demands of their budgets or their secular neighbours. The Dissolution and its effects on the morale and behaviour of the last superiors conclude the study. 1. The meaning of leadership in the medieval English nunnery -- 2. Leadership and lineage -- 3. Guardians of the brides (care of the female religious by bishops, archbishops and their representatives) -- 4. The lady and the monarchs (the relations of the abbess or prioress with king and pope) -- 5. The distaff and the crosier (balancing financial and spiritual responsibilities) -- 6. The clerical view (interpretations of episcopal reports) -- 7. Shifting perspectives (secular views of the nunnery superiors) -- 8. Epilogue (preparations for the dissolution and reaction to its demands) -- App. A. List of nunneries and incomes -- App. B. List of nunnery superiors -- App. C. Election procedures at Wilton -- App. D. Eulogy for Euphemia of Wherwell |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015) |
| ISBN: | 1846154081 |