Maya Mitra

2014-15 Mitra FAMILY GRANT Recipient The Enchantments of the Habit Maya Nandakumar, Class of 2015

THE ENCHANTMENTS OF THE HABIT

Maya Nandakumar Mitra Family Scholar Mentors: Ms. Carol Zink, Mrs. Lauri Vaughan April 10, 2015

Nandakumar 2 In the Middle Ages, female virginity was an important facet of both ecclesiastical and secular law. Chastity was crucial to sanctifying monogamous relationships. Additionally, abstinence helped to safeguard property in the upper class, while preventing procreation in the lower class.1 Consequently, veneration of the Virgin Mary began to grow popular around the 1100s, exacerbated by the Black Death and the failure of the Church to provide adequate aid to sufferers. Viewing her as an apposition to Eve, that is as a pure, sinless bearer of the Redeemer, Mary was increasingly seen as a peerless ideal that women should strive towards. Furthermore, she was in many ways a relief from the years of oppression that women suffered due to their perceived ancestral relationship with Eve. As the women’s religious movement began to take flight, the Franciscan Clarist Order, one of many nun groups to emerge, became one of the favored convents of the Church. However, many of the benefits they experienced were unintentional and disconnected from the mission or forma vitae outlined by their founder, St. Clare. While the Papacy overtly abetted the Franciscan women's movement by encouraging Marian veneration and issuing official documents on their behalf, these gestures were forced by external events, and the Vatican was at best disinterested in, and at worst wary of the convent as evidenced by their stringent codes and overall reluctance to sanction the order as a whole.

Up until the late twelfth century, popes effectively exiled women from all religious proceedings. In part, their exclusion was attributed to the Bible verses describing the creation of man: Thus, the Lord God sent a deep slumber to Adam. While he had slept, the Lord God raised from him one rib and replenished the area with flesh; and the Lord God built from the rib, which he had removed from Adam, a woman and led her to the man. And Adam

Nandakumar 3 said, ‘this is now the bone from my bones and the flesh of my flesh! This shall be called woman (virago) since she was taken out of man (viro).2 Numerous interpretations have often cited the aforementioned passage as concrete evidence that females are inherently inferior and weaker, for their existence is based entirely on their role as appendages and companions to men. While man was free to colonize and create, his counterpart was meant to please and support him in his endeavors. The Vatican has, since its inception, applied such views to its policies and liturgies, shutting women out of ordination and martyrdom, a practice which has been characterized at times as oppressive and discriminatory. The Church states that a woman’s purpose is defined by her husband and that in life she should serve as a missionary for his faith: Likewise, wives, be as a subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not trust in the word, they may be won without the word by the conduct of their wives…For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.3 According to the Church, woman is, indeed, in issues of faith, wholly subject to her spouse. In fact, she should conduct herself to earn his salvation, not necessarily her own. According to these writings, the basis of her existence is submission and servitude.4 For the unmarried however, the codes are yet more stringent, requiring virginity and holiness: “An unmarried woman or maiden is concerned about the Lord’s works, that she is dedicated in both body and mind.”5,6 Thus, women were expected to be either devoted to their husbands or to God. Salve Regina Devotion to the Virgin Mother greatly expanded in the late Middle Ages. According to University of Tel-Aviv Medieval Studies Professor Shulamith Shahair, “[w]orship of Mary was

Nandakumar 4 highly developed in the twelfth century. The Ave Maria became one of the most important prayers, together with the Pater Noster and the Credo. The Holy Mother became one of the central themes of art, sculpture and drama of the age. Songs and hymns were written in her praise – to the radiant mother who bore the Redeemer, to the Mater Dolorosa at the foot of the Cross.”7 Sculptures from the 13th century, show a clear change in the nature of Marian veneration.

Jeanne d’Evreux’s Virgin and Child for the Abbey at St. Denis depicts the relationship between Christ and Mary in great detail, expressing a sort of tenderness in her glance, as she is cast in a motherly role. Works such as d’Evreux’s set the foundations for the Virgin Mother’s place in theology as a merciful mediator between man and God, which would later play an important part as the Black Death progressed into an epidemic.

Furthermore, a number of building projects undertaken during the same era display the Marian fervor spreading throughout Western Europe. Probably the most significant example is the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, translated as Our Lady of Paris. Constructed between 1163 and 1345, the exalted and elaborate edifice emphasized the newfound devotion many Catholics felt towards the Virgin Mary. The location became a popular stop for vagabond pilgrims and kings alike, who flocked to the walls of the gothic masterpiece to honor the mother of Christ.

In addition, as Shahair notes, the Ave Maria joined the ranks of the Pater Noster and the Credo. The text of the prayer, taken from the gospel according to Matthew, praises Mary for her role as the bearer of the Redeemer and as a mediator between God and his flock. Perhaps the most well-known line is “blessed art thou among women.” Earlier liturgies viewed Mary as important only in the context of her son; however, the Ave Maria serves as one of the first

Nandakumar 5 instances in which she is elevated to the level of the saints.8 Here, she is her own sacred personage who deserves to be individually venerated.

As the image of the perpetual virgin changed, so did societal perceptions of chastity, and the emergence of the convent can be seen as a direct corollary to these changes: “In addition, the history of these communities shows that the history of religious houses of women, like the history of secular houses of women, was tightly connected to changing attitudes toward marriage and sexuality and also to shifting conceptions of public order and the place of single women in society.”9 As the Church and its subjects began to see virginity as a mark of honor in addition to an instrument for control, a path was paved for the women’s religious movement. It is clear that one could not have existed without the other, for the impact of the former made the latter more feasible.

Furthermore, Catholic societal opinions of maidenhood caused a far-reaching rift in social structures; circumstances which would eventually force the Papacy to support the creation of the Franciscan Clarist Order. While prostitutes began to embody the lower-class women whose tainted state threatened to corrupt the Catholic community, nuns personified the purity of the same community and its immunity against social, sexual, and spiritual pollution.10 Indeed, it was the rising influence of Mary that caused a social divide within the community, offering up the convent as a suitable alternative to traditional roles for women. A newfound disdain was shed upon unmarried women who were not dedicated to virginity.

When it came to marriage, the state strove to confine sexual activity to officially approved, patriarchal marriages and to the wealthier social strata. Denouncing any nonmarital sex as profligate ‘whoredom,’ state authorities shut down urban brothels, which in effect left the specter of prostitution everywhere. As a result, single women, in

Nandakumar 6 particular poor women – who could ill afford to turn relationships into publicly sanctioned unions – faced greater risks of being suspected of prostitution.11 By absolutely condemning premarital sex, the Church provided only two distinct paths for women: either marriage or the convent.

The Church promoted this standard of behavior by asking that women follow the example of the Virgin Mary.

The development of the concept of the sanctity and special role of the Holy Mother and her redemption of Eve’s sin led to partial rehabilitation of woman and reconsideration of her role in the annals of mankind, and brought with it depiction of the image of woman as a believer, faithful, sacrificing and redeeming…But it was Abelard…who elevated the image of woman as a reflection of the Holy Mother’s image…12 As the teachings of Abelard, a notable French scholastic, spread through Western Europe, the Vatican began to adopt his ideas regarding women, as did other theologians of the 12th century.

Of all the texts produced at the time, perhaps none are more significant than the Speculum Virginum, a text which compared normal women to the Virgin Mary. A dialogue between a friar and a young woman, the Mirror of the Virgin, instructed that females view Mary as a role model for themselves, and that they adopt her conduct on a daily basis.13 Wide circulation of the work reveals how valued it was as a textbook for monastic teachers.

Perhaps the greatest push towards Marian veneration came as a result of the Black Death, which caused much of Western Europe to redirect their prayers to the Virgin Mary and embrace her as a merciful intervener. Disillusioned with the raging epidemic, devout Catholics, who had initially viewed the disease as a punishment from God for their sins, began to plead with the

Nandakumar 7 Holy Mother for her clemency. Pilgrims flocked from all over the continent to visit the shrines of saints known for their piety: Therefore they decided to all walk barefoot in a priest-led procession to the [shrine of the] blessed Virgin [Mary] of Santa Maria della Scala, six miles away from Messina.

When they drew near to the Virgin, everyone all at once became transfixed, and on bended knee with tears in their eyes they called with great devotion upon God and the blessed Virgin for aid. And they entered the church saying devout prayers, while the priests chanted the psalm, misere nostri Deus (Lord have mercy), and laid their hands upon the sculpted image of the mother of God, set up there since ancient times‌they prayed to the blessed Virgin to not take new vengeance for their past sins; added to these humble prayers were the sacred entreaties which the holy bride of Christ, the Virgin herself, addressed to the Lord.14 The Catholic Church further embraced the concept of Marian veneration and encouraged its practice. Subsequently, cult sites for Mary became popular destinations for travelers; she herself emerged as a purveyor of kindness and forgiveness in disease-torn Europe.

The bubonic plague also paved the way for greater participation of religious women in Church activities by allowing them to perform last rites for the dying. Priests increasingly refused to anoint the afflicted, citing the contagiousness of the disease as a death sentence for themselves.15 The masses began to lose faith in the Church, so legislation was passed to permit nuns and laypeople to perform extreme unction.16 However, as with nearly everything that was provided to the nuns, it was more a result of circumstance rather than a genuine desire on the part of the patriarchal church to encourage women religious. There was a need to redeem the face of the Church, and allowing women to perform last rites was an easy solution.

Nandakumar 8 The rise of Marian veneration contributed to the creation of the Franciscan Clarists, which benefitted greatly from the newfound fervor spreading throughout Western Europe. The movement justified its demand for a superior role for women by asserting that it was their mission to follow the example set by the Blessed Virgin. Clare of Assisi capitalized on society’s changing opinions regarding virginity and attempted to create an independent order for herself and her followers. However, the Church blocked nearly all her attempts at autonomy. For instance, The Vatican was opposed to providing her with land for her desired monastery, or recognizing her order officially. However, circumstances necessitated the acknowledgement of her group, and Clare was forced to change the intended direction of her group.

A Place of Worship By the time the cornerstone of the San Damiano Monastery was placed, Clare had compromised on nearly all of the stipulations she had originally presented to the Vatican in her forma vitae. What seemed to be a gesture of kindness and commitment to the order was almost wholly politically motivated. In fact, the papacy had refused and rewritten nearly all of her rules for living. The only exception was that she was granted a privilege of poverty.

Overtly, the Church acted with the utmost generosity towards the Poor Clares: they granted land at San Damiano for the building and the money to create a functional living environment for the women. By 1212, the nuns were living and worshipping comfortably in their new monastery. However, behind the scenes, there were ulterior motives which necessitated its creation. To begin with, aristocratic fathers pleaded with the Church to create the convent so that they would have somewhere honorable to send their unmarried (or unmarriageable) daughters.

For many, the cloister was considered the next best option.

Nandakumar 9 Women’s religious communities were recreated in the image of male-headed households, with the added component of confinement. Just as secular patriarchs had a stake in controlling their female dependents’ behavior, so did the male guardians of nunneries.

They too guarded women in their care from improper public exposure that could jeopardize female honor and, in this case, the societal resource of sacred virginity.17 Instead of their unmarried daughters bringing shame upon the family name, men locked them away in convents and associated them with a higher cause, an act which continued through the centuries. One such victim of the practice was Angela Tarabotti, author of the famous 17th century treatise Paternal Tyranny, in which she argued that religious vows had no Biblical basis and were instead a cruel invention of the patriarchy meant to stifle the female voice: “…on the contrary, the most Catholic and spiritual of them [men] – or rather the most hypocritical – consider it their right to offer up young creatures to God in unlawful sacrifice for the sake of preserving their own advantages.”18 The symbolic nature of virginal purity added greater social value, and eventually religious life became the only other esteemed realm for women outside of matrimony. Cloistering prevented women from violating their pure condition, and their roles as brides of Christ required their supervision by a male at all times.19 Furthermore, by sending their daughters to nunneries, there was no need to provide an upper-class education for these women, so the families could spend their money on their sons instead. The Church, in solidarity with the aristocracy, refused to sanction female education in any monastery, and they received little education in the convents.20 The creation of the Monastery at San Damiano was further necessitated by the close relationship between Cardinal Ugolino (who became Pope Gregory IX in 1227) and Francis of Assisi.21 The two maintained close contact while the latter worked to establish his growing

Nandakumar 10 mendicant order. In fact, Ugolino was named Cardinal Protector of the group in 1220.22 Since he believed strongly in the cause of the Franciscans, he devoted much of his energy to ensuring that the Church would pass legislation sanctioning the order. When Clare linked herself and her sisters to the order, there was a need to formalize her role in the Church as well. Because the Fourth Lateran Council had forbidden monastic organizations from existing outside the Church, Pope Gregory IX was left with two options: either he would have to disband the Clarist order and thus discredit the Franciscans, or he would have to sanction them both, which he did. Other religious women’s organizations without a close connection to a Cardinal or the Papacy found themselves quickly dissolved under the orders of the Fourth Lateran Council.

It is probably no coincidence that in those same years the papacy…began to issue warnings against “illegal” gatherings of non-enclosed women. These groups appear in the sources under different names, such as sorores Sancti Damiani, discalcaeatae, chordulariae…and many of them were engaged in forms of active charity and mendicancy that the papacy considered to be completely unacceptable… Between 1246 and 1250, Pope Innocent IV, Gregory’s successor, issued a number of comparable condemnations of those ‘little women’ and ‘minor sisters’ (mulierculae, sorores minores) who were not bound by any discipline.23 By then, Ugolino’s involvement had transformed him into a sort of protector for the religious women.24 After being presented with the task of administering the Fourth Lateran Decree in Northern and Central Italy, he distinguished himself as an authoritative but beneficent figure.25 Almost immediately after moving there, he opened communication with the Pope regarding the plight of religious women, stating that the Roman See ought to monitor “the integrity and security of religious vows.”26 After receiving Papal approval, Ugolino attempted to

Nandakumar 11 unite the convents under Benedictine Rule and his constitutions, which detailed the precise lifestyle the women were to lead.27 Guardian of the nuns was a role he took particularly seriously, as evidenced by the instances in which he opposed avaricious bishops who sought to loot female monasteries.28 As a result, he did his best to provide legitimacy to Clare and her order.

However, the assistance he offered masked his subversive agenda. Concerned mostly with the development of his personal network of female monasteries, Ugolino focused carefully on quietly encouraging Clare to abandon her vision and instead accept the set of rules he had written.29 The passage of the Quo Elongati by Ugolino (now Pope Gregory IX) equalized all the institutions created by him, a change which nullified the San Damiano monastery’s commitment to the Franciscan way of life.30 These were the origins of the fight that Clare would later commence with the Church over her desire for an impoverished life.

The Fight for Nothing In chapter six of her 1253 Forma Vitae, Clare indicates the order’s dedication to the laws of poverty, a right for which she vehemently argued with layers of Vatican authority.

As I, together with my sisters, have ever been solicitous to safeguard the holy poverty which we have promised the Lord God and blessed Francis, so, too, the Abbesses who shall success me in office and all the sisters are bound to observe it inviolably to the end: that is, by not receiving or having possession or ownership either of themselves or through an intermediary, or even anything that might reasonably be called property, except as much land as necessity requires for the integrity and proper seclusion of the monastery, and this land may not be cultivated except as a garden for the needs of the sisters.31

Nandakumar 12 In retrospect, Clare of Assisi faced an excessive amount of obstacles in her battle for penury.

Nevertheless, she remained steadfastly determined through all of them, for it was the passage of the Privilegium alone that would separate her from Benedictine rule and push her back to her beloved Franciscan ways, which held that poverty was “a part and parcel of…conformity to Christ and…imitation of him.”32 Canon 13 of the Fourth Lateran Council was the first major impediment standing in Clare’s way. Along with banning unsanctioned orders, it also forbid the creation of new ones: “Lest too great a diversity of religious orders lead to grave confusion in the Church of God, we strictly forbid anyone in the future to found a new order, but whoever should wish to enter an order, let him choose one already approved. Similarly, he who should wish to found a new monastery, must accept a rule already approved.”33,34 Clare, however, was relentless in her pursuit of poverty, and appealed personally to Pope Innocent III requesting that she and her sisters be exempted from a law of traditional monasticism which required ownership of goods.35 In 1216, the Pope provided her with the following response: As is evident, you have renounced the desire for all temporal things, desiring to dedicate yourselves to the Lord alone. Because of this, since you have sold all things and given them to the poor (cf. Luke 18.22), you propose not to have any possessions whatsoever, clinging in all things to the footprints of Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), Who, for our sake, was made poor. Nor does a lack of possessions frighten you from a proposal of this sort; for the left hand of the heavenly Spouse is under your head (cf. Song of Solomon 2:6) to support the weakness of your body, which you have placed under the law of your soul through an ordered charity. Finally, He Who feeds the birds of the heavens (cf. Matthew 6:26) and clothes the lilies of the field (cf. Matthew 6:28) will

Nandakumar 13 not fail you in either food or clothing…Therefore, we confirm with our apostolic authority, as you requested, your proposal of most high poverty (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:2), granting you by the authority of this letter that no one can compel you to receive possessions.36 In 1228, after the death of Innocent III and the succession of Gregory IX, Clare found herself once again vying with those in power for her right to poverty. After he was presented with an initial request, Gregory responded by quietly changing the text from allowing no possessions whatsoever to saying that no one could compel them to own any.37 His lukewarm reception indicates his general resistance to the idea of a self-sustaining monastery, and his wish to create a stable and superior environment, one safe from the outside world and honorable enough for worship inside. As Innocent III had before him, Gregory compromised with Clare for his own personal benefit. He relied on Clare’s spirituality and authority to consolidate and expand his reforms for women. Additionally, the concept of a female mendicant order had been written by Francis in his will. Once more, Gregory’s deep friendship and admiration for Francis pushed him to accept her wish. It is clear that Clare benefitted from circumstance rather than through any great kindness from the Papacy. The Vatican did not pass a similar bull until a year later, demonstrating its unwillingness to sanction widespread female monasticism.38 Cloisters Perhaps the greatest concession made by Clare was her agreement to impose strict isolation rules upon her sisters. Under Ugolino’s constitutions, all women’s religious groups were banned from the public sphere. The order was the Vatican’s method of preventing the nuns from having any sort of influence in their communities, and the Clares were seen as especially threatening.

Nandakumar 14 The raising walls transformed the nuns’ collective identity and its public presentation.

The meaning of religious life and the metaphorical, iconographic, and ritual means of expressing that meaning had always differed for men and women…With the installation of a permanent border between cloister and world, entrance into and exit from the community upon death became particularly charged rites of passage and forceful vehicles for the promotion of the matrimonial model of female monasticism.39 Outwardly, the seclusion seemed to be another kind gesture of security offered by Ugolino in his protective role, for cloisters guaranteed the safety of the nuns and the belongings of the monastery. However, the change was the Roman See’s carefully orchestrated attempt at undermining the women’s abilities and minimizing their external influence. Ensuring that female voices were stifled was important to the papacy, and they adopted various methods of ensuring this silence.

In that regard, the Church was keen on limiting the number of females canonized into the sainthood, believing that prayers of virgins “could not equal the intercessory power of Catholicism’s most efficacious conduit between heaven and earth: the saints.”40 Since they did not have the same potential as the mostly-male pantheon of saints, it was the Church’s job to sustain the purity of the order and not corrupt it with weaker members.* While many nuns felt a calling towards martyrdom, they were essentially trapped by the rules of seclusion in the cloister.

Nuns mediating on the suffering of Christian saints aspired to feel the pain of martyrdom, which they could not suffer because of the walls that surrounded them…Excessive

*

Ironically, the 8th through 11th centuries were referred to as the “golden age for female saints” in some areas due to the high number of women who were canonized. Most of these females were abbesses and nuns. Thus, there seems to be a striking correlation between the women’s religious movement and canonization. For further reading see Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg, "Female Sanctity: Public and Private Roles, ca. 500-1100," in Women and Power in the Middle Ages, ed. Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1988), 106.

Nandakumar 15 physical mortification, contingent neither on freedom of movement nor on the involvement of others, became a means of bypassing these restrictions, achieving oneness with the divine and a reputation for sanctity‌Soon the women behind cloister walls were well known for feats of piety that could be accomplished behind walls – austere mortification of the flesh, potent visionary gifts, or the skillful decoration of sacred objects.41 Within the Church, there was a deep fear over the thought of these women coming together and sharing their radical ideals with the public. Indeed, a bull was passed by Gregory IX in 1241 warning against women who claimed to be nuns, but were just wandering and meeting.42 The cloister also effectively prevented that from happening.

In order to ensure that the cloisters were sufficiently protected, there was a decision to closely align the Franciscan order with the Poor Ladies of San Damiano. Clare, who had received her spiritual calling from Francis, was keen on the idea. Indeed, she often turned to him for advice and encouragement. However, despite the close bond between the two, Francis was reluctant to allow the combining of their orders. Yet, the Church forced him to accept responsibility for the women.

Alignment with the Franciscans The full depth of the relationship between Clare and Francis is evident, their devotion to one another clearly expressed. However, as Ugolino attempted to further normalize the order and provide for its spiritual and mental care, he linked it to the Franciscan brotherhood, a union which Francis did not entirely support. Although he was encouraging towards Clare’s monastery, he was not especially eager to accept care for all the women within.43 He was somewhat wary of having his brothers interacting so closely with the nuns and warned them against lustful thoughts

Nandakumar 16 or even mildly intimate interactions.44 According to medieval historian Dr. Bert Roest, Francis was apparently profoundly displeased by other friars who committed themselves to caring for the nuns, and grew increasingly wary of his interactions with the sisters.45 Pertinent documents produced from 1221-1223 are reflective of his belief that close contact and support might be too strong an onus for the brothers to bear, and a cause of unwanted scandal.46 Ugolino, however, was fully committed to the idea that the women needed spiritual and moral care, lest they fall off the path they had sworn to follow. He also wished to ensure personal supervision for his nuns.47 After Francis’ death in 1226, he assimilated the women into the pauperes moniale inclusae (the poor nuns inclusive) and attempted to force them to accept his forma vitae. He consigned spiritual care and responsibility for the nuns to the Franciscan fraternity.48 The new pope thought the time right to impose his wishes on the Franciscan order, and to exploit the traditional connection between Clare’s San Damiano community and the friars, which had been sanctioned by Francis’s personal promises. By co-opting the San Damiano community more fully into his own network of exempt female religious houses, he could use the promises of the soon to be beatified Francis of Assisi towards Clare as a precedent to make the Franciscan order accept, under strict conditions, responsibilities towards all the other female communities as well.49 Once more, Ugolino acted out of self-interest. In order to preserve his role as Cardinal Protector (not to mention, to secure his Papal bid), he presented himself as an almost fatherly figure for these women, making sure that their older brothers were there to cultivate their spiritual growth.

Subsequent issues surrounding the expansion of the order show Franciscan unwillingness to associate with the Poor Clares even after Francis’ death. From the 1250s to the 1270s,

Nandakumar 17 controversy about the responsibility for the care of the nuns was at its height, and the creation of new monasteries slowed down. The relationship between the two orders was tense and rigid, and it was only in the 1280s and 1290s that it began to improve.50 The mutual aversion between the groups reveals that the alignment was purely Ugolino’s desire and not that of the brotherhood.

Even later, they still wished to distance themselves from the women, a display of their eternal fearfulness.

Indeed, while the monks received schooling in Latin, rhetoric, and the Catholic liturgy, the women were not afforded the same benefit. In fact, though many of the women needed to receive a basic education, it was overlooked by both the Church and Clare herself. Thus, the women never achieved the same level of influence the men held.

Literacy and Education Nowhere in her forma vitae does Clare discuss education, even subjects as basic as liturgical Latin.51 The Catholic Church, in its endeavor to mitigate the influence of the women religious, never provided for any sort of lessons within the convents.52 The lack of even a simple knowledge of Latin prevented them from understanding the liturgy. Nuns were effectively prohibited from performing any sort of public outreach, converting the masses, or preaching to laypeople. Furthermore, without a basic knowledge of Latin, the sisters were unable to compose scholarly texts or publish their own visions. Religious works by the intellectual elite often quoted directly from the Bible and liturgical pieces. Without these quotations, the works lost legitimacy and were not counted among the scholarly essays of the time. The most widely circulated pieces dealt with complex Biblical themes and moral constructs. Their poor knowledge in these themes prevented the nuns from gaining influence in both the literary and monastic world.

Nandakumar 18 The lack of educational infrastructure was reflective of the Church’s disregard for the women. Indeed, since the Clares were never intended to become a permanent order, it was not pragmatic for the Roman See to set up a solid teaching program. They simply presented the nuns with the bare minimum and moved on to what they considered more important issues.

Papal Resistance to Expansion Like the Franciscans, the papacy too did not wish for the Clarist order to spread further.

Church leaders saw the women as an economic burden, since their poverty required constant charity which “did not constitute a sufficiently secure foundation.”53 They were more willing to dedicate funds to a male order, such as the Franciscans, than to their female counterparts.

Additionally, a great deal of manpower was required to sustain the women. Alexander IV had imposed regulations upon local friaries to take over spiritual care of the nuns, which did not change under his successor, Urban IV, despite promises of reform.54 The caretaking of the women was passed off from order to order throughout Europe, since nobody wanted the added burden.

Conspicuously, the papacy supported Clare’s actions and writings, and subsequently canonized her in 1255.55 However, the reasoning behind beatifying Clare was to secure a permanent link between the Damianites and the friars, since she had been confirmed as a devotee of Francis.56 Clare’s canonization, moreover, was not acknowledged by the Franciscans until long after.57 The Legenda Versificata of 1254, a piece from the Assisi codex, does not speak of Clare as a saint. She is only called a virgin, and not even a blessed one at that.58 Thus, the papacy and the Franciscans, while overtly supportive of Clare and her reforms, were passive and subversive in their agendas, each gesture of kindness motivated by external events.

Nandakumar 19 Over the course of their development, the Poor Clares would adopt Clare of Assisi’s forma vitae as a testament to their spirituality and devotion. The papacy never intended for the women’s religious movement to be successful. While a number of women’s groups were condemned and forgotten by the Roman See, the Clares were a lucky beneficiary of circumstance. Their close connections with the Vatican and outward political pressure earned them a monastery and special privileges. Furthermore, Gregory IX’s ambitious political agenda forced him to offer his full support to Clare, which allowed her and her order to thrive in a volatile field. Although the papacy and the Franciscans were unwilling to back the causes Clare stood for, she nonetheless managed to create a powerful order still extant today. Support for the nuns remained limited until the 16th century, but today, they are an international order with nearly 20,000 members.57 The growth is partly due to a need to house communities that fled from protestant countries to escape persecution. However, Clare’s influence has brought about the emergence of many related orders, including the Capuchin Poor Clares, the Poor Clares of the Strictest Observance, and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. Though the three follow their own unique constitutions, they are based on the original forma vitae.58 All Clarist groups now enjoy strong support and spiritual care from the Catholic Church and from the Franciscans, demonstrating the lasting results of Clare’s efforts in the 13th century despite the order’s difficult beginnings.

Nandakumar 20 Notes

1 Ulrike Strasser, State of Virginity (Ann Arbor, US: University of Michigan, 2004), 21.

2

3

Gen 2.21-23 (Vulgate).

1 Pet. 3.1-6 (Vulg.)

4

Ben Witherington, III, Women in the Earliest Churches, Society for New Testament Studies: Monograph Series 59 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 51.

5

1 Cor. 7.32-34 (Vulg.)

6

Kasper, "The Position of Woman," in The Church and Women, 56-57.

7

Ibid., 25.

8

2 Luk 1.42-43 (Vulg.)

9

Strasser, State of Virginity, 66.

10

Ibid., 57.

11

Ibid., 84.

12

Shahar, The Fourth Estate: A History, 26.

13

Speculum Virginum 5 (Continuato Medievalis)

14

Michele da Piazza, Chronicle, 1348, in The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350,

by John Aberth (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 102-103.

15

John Aberth, "Religious Mentalities," in The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, The Bedford Series in History and Culture (Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), 94.

16

Ibid., 95.

17

Strasser, State of Virginity, 23.

18

Arcangela Taraboti, Paternal Tyranny, ed. and trans. Letizia Panizza (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 43-44.

19

Ibid., 120.

Nandakumar 21

20 Monica Hedlund, "Nuns and Latin, with Special Reference to the Birgittines of Vadstena," in Nun's Literacies in Medieval Europe: The Hull Dialogue, ed. Virginia Blanton, Veronica O'Mara, and Patricia Stoop (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2013), 26.

21

Joan Mueller, The Privilege of Poverty: Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and the Struggle for a Franciscan Rule for Women (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 43.

22

Bert Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor Clares between Foundation and Reform, The Medieval Franciscans (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2013), 24.

23

Ibid., 46.

24

Mueller, The Privilege of Poverty, 35.

25

Ibid., 19

26

Ibid., 19-20.

27

Ibid., 20.

28

Ibid., 36.

29

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 28.

30

Maria pia Alberzoni, Clare and the Papacy, 1995, in Clare of Assisi and the Poor Sisters in the Thirteenth Century, by Maria Pia Alberzoni (Saint Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004), 16.

31

Pope Innocent III to Chiara Offreduccio, "The Form of Life of Clare of Assisi," 1253, in Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, ed. Regis J. Armstrong, trans. Regis J. Armstrong (Saint.

Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993), 72.

32

Ignatius Brady, O.F.M., Conferences on St. Clare of Assisi (Saint Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1966), 28.

33

Margaret Carney, O.S.F., The First Franciscan Woman: Clare of Assisi and Her Form of Life (Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1993), 67.

34

Constitution 13 (Ne nimia…monasteriis praesidere). Disciplinary Decrees of the General Councils Text, Translations, and Commentary, H.J. Schroeder, O.P. (New York. Herder, 1937), 255, quoted in Margaret Carney, O.S.F, The Fist Franciscan Woman: Clare of Assisi and Her Form of Life (Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1993), 67.

35

Carney, The First Franciscan Woman, 68.

Nandakumar 22

36 Pope Innocent III to Chiara Offreduccio, "The Privilege of Poverty of Pope Innocent III," 1253, in Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, ed. Regis J. Armstrong, trans. Regis J. Armstrong (Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993), 86.

37

Mueller, The Privilege of Poverty, 40.

38

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 33.

39

Strasser, State of Virginity, 125.

40

Ibid., 135.

41

Ibid., 145-146.

42

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 45.

43

Ibid., 29.

44

Mueller, The Privilege of Poverty, 24.

45

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 30.

46

Ibid., 31.

47

Alberzoni, Clare and the Papacy, in Clare of Assisi and the Poor, 44.

48

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 32.

49

Ibid., 31-32.

50

Ibid., 82.

51

Pope Innocent IV to Offreducio, "The Form of Life," in Clare of Assisi: Early,62-80.

52

Hedlund, "Nuns and Latin, with," in Nun's Literacies in Medieval, 26:101.

53

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 54.

54

Ibid., 57-58.

55

Alexander, IV, "In Canonizationem S. Clarae Assiensis" [On the Canonization of St. Clare of Assisi], The Franciscan Archive, accessed August 19, 2014.

56

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 56.

Nandakumar 23

57 Ibid., 57.

58

Regis J. Armstrong, "The Legenda Versificata: Towards an Official Biography," in Clara of Assisi: Investigations, ed. Mary Francis Hone, O.S.C. (Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1993), 7:78.

57

"About," Poor Clare Sisters: Surrounding the World with Prayer, last modified 2015, accessed April 10, 2015.

58

Roest, Order and Disorder: The Poor, 360-362.

Nandakumar 24

Bibliography Aberth, John. "Religious Mentalities." In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, 94-97. The Bedford Series in History and Culture. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

Dr. John Aberth, a professor at the University of Vermont, provides some background regarding the religious mentalities people had during the Black Death. Indeed, he conveys the disillusionment that plagued Europe and the various methods of worship the civilians turned to. In brief, he discussed Bishop Ralph Shrewsbury's decision to allow laypeople and women to administer last rites, an unprecedented measure in European culture. This fact helped me to draw many conclusions regarding the relationship between the Black Death and the rise of women religious.

Alberzoni, Maria pia. Clare and the Papacy. 1995. In Clare of Assisi and the Poor Sisters in the Thirteenth Century, by Maria Pia Alberzoni, 29-88. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004.

Alberzoni - a professor of medieval history at the Catholic University of Milan - details in this book Clare's rocky relationships with the Papacy. She argues that while the pontiffs were critical in the formation of the women's religious group, there were many initial conflicts that contributed to later events in the history of the Poor Clares. This work was instrumental in describing the early interactions between Clare and the Church, as well as proving that Papal reception to the order of San Damiano was, at first, deeply resentful and restrictive.

Alexander, IV. "In Canonizationem S. Clarae Assiensis" [On the Canonization of St. Clare of Assisi]. The Franciscan Archive. Accessed August 19, 2014. http://www.franciscanarchive.org/bullarium/clara.html.

This Papal Bull, published under the authority of Pope Alexander IV, details the accomplishments of Clare and the reasons for her canonization. The document was useful in depicting the changes in pontifical sentiment towards Clare in the centuries following the establishment of her order. It allowed me to conclude that while initial reception was unwelcoming, the Papacy later warmed up to the idea of the female orders.

Armstrong, Regis J., O.F.M. "The Legenda Versificata: Towards an Official Biography." In Clara of Assisi: Investigations, edited by Mary Francis Hone, O.S.C., 69-93. Vol. 7.

Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1993.

Armstrong, a professor of religious studies at the Catholic University of America, embarks in this essay on a journey to discover who might be the author of the Legend Versification, a mysterious 13th century text. It describes the life of Clare of Assisi. The work was helpful in allowing me to understand the initial reception to Clare’s canonization from a primary document.

Bechtel, Joan. "St. Brigitte: The Disjunction between Women and Ecclesiastical Male Power." In Equally in God's Image: Women in the Middle Ages, edited by Julia Bolton Holloway,

Nandakumar 25

Constance S. Wright, and Joan Bechtel, 88-102. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1990.

Bechtel - then a law student at the University of Denver College of Law and an expert on medieval women's studies - details here the patriarchal submission of St. Brigitte. In her analysis, the author describes the power structures of the Church and St. Birgitta's as conformist. The essay, however, was most useful in its explanations of Marian symbology in the early Church. In addition, the information regarding the place of the Virgin Mother in Catholic theology was critical to a further understanding of Mariology.

Brady, Ignatius, O.F.M. Conferences on St. Clare of Assisi. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1966.

Ignatius Brady, O.F.M., published these conferences on the on the life of Saint Clare and her writings. These works describe her accomplishments and teachings with relation to the works of Saint Francis and the greater Franciscan tradition. This source was particularly useful in explaining the recent position of Clare in the Franciscan order and the virtues she originally espoused.

Carney, Margaret, O.S.F. The First Franciscan Woman: Clare of Assisi and Her Form of Life.

Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1993.

Margaret Carney - President of St. Bonaventure's University - explains in this book the role of Saint Clare and the entire female evangelical movement in Franciscan life. Her conclusions argue that Clare was a major figure in the medieval women's religious movement and was the first woman to combine the ideals of Francis, women's orders, and the Church to create her enduring order. The book was critical in detailing the major goals of Clare for her order: poverty, charity, and self-governance.

Dalarun, Jacques. "The Clerical Gaze," translated by Arthur Goldhammer. In Silences of the Middle Ages, edited by Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, 15-42. Vol. 2 of A History of Women in the West. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.

Dalarun - director of medieval studies at the Ecole Francaise de Rome - describes the misogynistic practices of the Church during the Middle Ages. His analysis delves in monastic roles and theological portrayals of women. This essay was most useful in its description of veneration of the Virgin Mary and the emergence of such practices. In addition, information was also provided on the linkage between the suppression of women and the changing views towards Mary Magdalene.

da Piazza, Michele. Chronicle. 1348. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, by John Aberth, 100-03. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

In this selection, Piazza, a Franciscan Friar, describes the powerful appeal of local religious shrines during the Black Death, especially that of the blessed Virgin Mary of Santa Maria della Scala. He details the forgiving, merciful nature of the virgin mother, her role in theology, and testifies to the number of people who turned to her at this dark time. The work allowed me to conclude that the Black Death played a major role in the rise of Marian veneration around the same time.

Nandakumar 26

de Mussis, Gabriele. History of the Plague. 1348. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, by John Aberth, 98-100. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

Gabriele de Mussis - a lawyer from Piacenza, Italy - opens up his book, History of the Plague, with this selection describing the Black Death as an instrument of God meant to punish the people. His piece attests to the sinful nature of the populace and the destructive nature of the plague. The work allowed me to analyze public responses to the Black Death, and appreciate various viewpoints regarding the purpose of the epidemic.

Gregory, IX. "Privilegium paupertatis" [On the Privilege of Poverty]. Translated by Maya Nandakumar. IntraText Library. Accessed August 19, 2014. http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0838/__P1.HTM. This Papal Bull, published under the authority of Pope Gregory IX, was the official document that granted the right of poverty to the Poor Clares. While Gregory initially saw the idea of an impoverished female order as absurd and unnecessary, he offers them this privilege later in his reign. The work allowed me to trace the changing reactions of the Church towards the order of St. Clare.

Hedlund, Monica. "Nuns and Latin, with Special Reference to the Birgittines of Vadstena." In Nun's Literacies in Medieval Europe: The Hull Dialogue, edited by Virginia Blanton, Veronica O'Mara, and Patricia Stoop, 97-118. Vol. 26. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2013.

Monica Hedlund, a professor emerita of Latin and Latin palaeography and codicology at Uppsala University, studies the changing patterns of female literacy in the medieval era.

She looks at various attempts to exclude nuns and women from proper education, and their efforts to remain among the intellectual elite. Her conclusions show that while no formal schooling existed for nuns, many of them learned Latin on their own and were able to sing the full liturgy in the language. This strong tradition of education led to increased female literacy in the medieval era and beyond.

Hotchin, Julie. "From Ecclesiology to Mariology: Patristic Traces and Innovation in the Speculum virginum." In Listen daughter: the Speculum virginum and the formation of religious women in the Middle Ages, edited by Constant J. Mews. New York, NY: Palgrave McMillan, 2001.

Hotchin - a professor of history at the Australian National University - explains the immediate shifts in religious groups after the formation of women's orders. Her conclusions state that female groups conformed to the expectations of male authorities, and shaped more assumptions of male dominance. She also details the rise of Marian veneration with relation to the emergence of nun orders. This essay was instrumental in directing me to research shifts in Mariology as well as in explaining the balance of power between men's and women's religious groups.

Kasper, Walter. "The Position of Woman as a Problem of Theological Anthropolgy," translated

by John Saward. 1983. In The Church and Women: A Compendium, edited by Helmut Moll, 51-64. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1988.

Nandakumar 27

Walter Cardinal Kasper, a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, considers the theological roots of women in the Church. With its focus on the Biblical basis of Church operations, the piece was particularly useful in explaining pontifical perspectives on women. In addition, his comments were critical in looking through overtly discriminatory messages towards women by understanding the larger context.

Mueller, Joan, O.S.C. The Privilege of Poverty: Clare of Assisi, Agnes of Prague, and the Struggle for a Franciscan Rule for Women. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006.

Joan Mueller – a professor of theology at Creighton University – explains in her book how and why St. Clare acquired the privilegium paupertis. She takes a holistic approach and looks carefully at the background and what motivated the vow of poverty. Moreover, she details each of the obstacles faced by Clare. This work was especially helpful in allowing me to understand Church resistance to Clare and why exactly concessions were made in the end. It allowed me to draw my conclusions that much of the conspicuous kindnesses given to Clare were motivated by other events.

Nandakumar, Maya, trans. The Bible. Vulgate. Accessed December 28, 2014. http://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/novavulgata_index_lt.html.

———, trans. Speculum Virginum. Corpus Christianorum: Continuatio Mediaevalis v. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1990.

Written in the 12th century, the Speculum Virginum is a didactic treatise on monastic life for women and the importance of virginity. The book offered specific insight on male expectations for religious women. Book 5 of this source was particularly useful in explaining the role of the nun with regard to the precedent set by the Virgin Mary.

Offreduccio, Chiara. Chiara Offreduccio to Svatá Anezka Ceska, "The First Letter to Agnes of Prague," 1234. In Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, 33-38.

Translated by Regis J. Armstrong. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.

This early letter is a congratulation from Clare of Assisi to Agnes of Prague on her decision to renounce worldly pleasures and join the convent. The correspondence reveals Clare's devotion to the institution of poverty and her resolve in practicing it. Clare establishes herself as a firm follower of Francis of Assisi and devout in her beliefs. The document was important in detailing the fundamental importance of poverty in Franciscan life and Clare's later refusal to relinquish it.

———. "The Testament." 1247-1253. In Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, 56-61. Translated by Regis J. Armstrong. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.

The Testament, a statement by Clare of the values espoused by her order, is widely regarded as the guide to the Order of San Damiano. The work reveals Clare's Franciscan

Nandakumar 28

virtues and her essential goals. It was critical in providing an overview of the specific fundamentals of the Clarist order and later conflicts they would have with the Church.

Poor Clare Sisters. "About." Poor Clare Sisters: Surrounding the World with Prayer. Last modified 2015. Accessed April 10, 2015. http://poorclare.org/blog/?page_id=36.

This website, the official homepage of the Clarist Nun Order, provides some information regarding the modern state of the group. I used the site for the statistic on membership and to gain a better understanding of their style of life today. It was useful in allowing me to draw the conclusion that the group now enjoys spiritual care and support from the Catholic Church.

Pope Innocent III. Pope Innocent III to Chiara Offreducio, "The Privilege of Poverty of Pope Innocent III," 1216. In Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, 85-86. Translated by Regis J. Armstrong. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.

This letter was sent by Pope Innocent III to Clare after he decided to grant her privilege of poverty. It shows an exemption from the 4th Lateran Council canons and a drastic change in Church policy. The approval he gave to Clare helped me understand why exactly concessions were made for her.

Pope Innocent IV. Pope Innocent IV to Chiara Offreducio, "The Form of Life of Clare of Assisi," 1253. In Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, 62-80.

Translated by Regis J. Armstrong. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.

Commonly known as "The Rule of Saint Clare", this letter describes the goals of the Clarist order and informs Pope Innocent IV of her religious rules. The work explains nearly every aspect of Franciscan life and provided extremely helpful background information about the order itself. Her work is also notable for being the first religious rule by a woman and setting the precedent for later documents of this type.

Ranft, Patricia. Women and the Religious Life in Premodern Europe. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1996.

In her book, Patricia Ranft, a Professor of History, Emerita at Central Michigan University, surveys the origins and functions of nunneries from the early medieval era to the modern age. Thus, the source offered useful background on the immediate response to the founding of the Poor Clares. Moreover, the work also provides an overview of Clare's aspirations and goals for the order, and helped to describe key interactions between the Pope and herself.

Ratzinger, Joseph. "On the Position of Mariology and Marian Spirituality within the Totality of Faith and Theology," translated by Graham Harrison. In The Church and Women: A Compendium, edited by Helmut Moll, 67-79. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1988.

In his essay, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - later Pope Benedict XVI - studies the role of Marian theology within the Church. His piece studies the ideals of virginity and concludes that veneration to the Virgin Mary must always be viewed with relation to

Nandakumar 29

Christology as a whole. This essay was particularly useful for its analysis of Marian spirituality as a single facet of a larger picture, and its ultimate argument that veneration of the Virgin Mother is not meant to be a sect on its own. Thus, it paralleled the placement of nunneries within the larger scale of Christianity, that is, that they were only to be observed as a break-off from much larger and more important group - the monks.

Roest, Bert. Order and Disorder: The Poor Clares between Foundation and Reform. The Medieval Franciscans. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill, 2013.

Bert Roest – a professor of medieval history at the University of Toronto – explains in his book the history of the Poor Clares from their emergence to their expansion. He talked in great detail about the interactions between Clare and those around her. This source proved to be invaluable as it discussed negativity from the Church and dove deep into the outside circumstances that forced certain events.

Savelli, Cencio. Cencio Savelli to Ugolino di Conti, "The Letter of Pope Honorius III to Cardinal Hugolino," 1219. In Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, 8788. Translated by Regis J. Armstrong. Saint. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993.

This letter from Pope Honorius III to Cardinal Hugolino discusses the papal legislation that placed these female monasteries directly under the jurisdiction of the pope. Thus, Hugolino, as plenipotentiary of Innocent III, became responsible for these convents. This letter was useful in explaining how the order was viewed in the eyes of the Holy See, and in clarifying how Hugolino came to be seen as the protector of women.

Scheffczyk, Leo. "Mary as a Model of Catholic Faith," translated by Gordon Seely. In The Church and Women: A Compendium, edited by Helmut Moll, 81-102. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1988.

Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, a longtime theologian at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and contributor to Marienlexikon, writes in this piece about Mary's symbolization and role as a model for women. With its focus on the immaculate conception, the piece was particularly useful in explaining the role of virginity in a Church woman's life. Looking at Marian movements in the 13th century, we see the emphasis consistently placed on Mary's peerlessness and virginity, rather than her place as the mother of Christ. Similarly, with nuns in the same era, their honor was derived from their status as virgins instead of as the wives of Christ.

Schulenburg, Jane Tibbetts. "Female Sanctity: Public and Private Roles, ca. 500-1100." In Women and Power in the Middle Ages, edited by Mary Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski, 102-25. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1988.

In this essay, Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg, a professor of history in the Gender Studies and Outreach Department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, details shifts in sainthood and celibacy and the expansion of female sainthood. Her analysis argued that there was a direct correlation between the number of women elevated to sainthood and the rapid emergence of nun orders in the medieval era. This work provided evidence of direct changes in Catholic theological policies due to convents. As well, it offered critical

Nandakumar 30

information on the Church's altering attitudes towards the active participation of women in religion.

Shahar, Shulamith. The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages. Revised ed.

Oxford, England: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. First published 1983 by Methuen & Co. Shulamith Shahar, formerly a professor of medieval studies at Tel Aviv University, published this groundbreaking study of women in the middle ages in 1981. The work was adapted into book form into 1983 and has long been hailed as one of the first detailed looks into the lives of women during the dark era. This novel was particularly helpful due to its extremely in depth look at the roles of nuns in society as well as their lives in the convent. It also explored the circumstances that surrounded the establishment of a convent and a girl's entrance into the secular life.

Strasser, Ulrike. State of Virginity. Ann Arbor, US: University of Michigan, 2004.

State of Virginity, a novel published by University of Michigan professor Ulrike Strasser, focuses on the changing perceptions of female celibacy in different eras. Strasser previously was the Clark Professor at UCLA and then joined the faculty of UCSD. The work was particularly useful in its discussion of virginity as a means of control by both the Church and state, and its analysis of the treatment of non-cloistered women in the era.

In addition, Strasser also looked into the restrictive policies of monks that locked nuns inside the convent, explaining clearly that convents were used by the Church to control the female population.

Taraboti, Arcangela. Paternal Tyranny. Edited and translated by Letizia Panizza. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Angela Tarabotti was a crippled child of eleven, deemed unfit for marriage by her father and sent to a convent at a young age. Immediately, she rebelled against the abbesses and refused to serve as a proper nun. Her autobiography castigates the use of the convent as a dumping ground and exposes the plight many young daughters faced. She also chastises the lack of proper education both inside and outside the convent. Her treatise was especially useful in detailing the troubles women faced from both their families and society after the emergence of nunneries. Moreover, it also offered another example of the various ways that the patriarchy stunted the minds of their daughters.

Witherington, Ben, III. Women in the Earliest Churches. Society for New Testament Studies: Monograph Series 59. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

In his study, Ben Witherington III, then an associate professor of Biblical and Wesleyan Studies at the Ashland Theological Seminary, explores the contrasting portrayals of women in the Bible. In great detail, he analyzes the various positions Paul takes toward women in the text, that of a chauvinist as opposed to that of a feminist. This study was useful in its examination of the theological basis of the roles of nuns and generally, women in the church.

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