Apostate nuns in the later Middle Ages
To make a vow is a matter of the will, to fulfill one is a matter of necessity," declared late medieval canon law, and religious profession involved the most solemn of those vows. Professed nuns could never renege on their vows and if they did attempt to re-enter secular society, they became ap...
| Published in: | Studies in the history of medieval religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Woodbridge
The Boydell Press
2019
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| In: |
Studies in the history of medieval religion (volume 49)
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| Series/Journal: | Studies in the history of medieval religion
volume 49 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Great Britain
/ Nun
/ Exit
/ Canon law
/ History 1100-1500
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| IxTheo Classification: | KCA Monasticism; religious orders |
| Further subjects: | B
Nuns (Canon law)
History To 1500
B Convents (Canon law) B Convents (Canon law) History To 1500 B Nuns (Canon law) B England B History B Monasticism and religious orders for women (England) History Middle Ages, 600-1500 B Monasticism and religious orders for women ; Middle Ages |
| Online Access: |
Table of Contents Blurb Literaturverzeichnis Review |
| Summary: | To make a vow is a matter of the will, to fulfill one is a matter of necessity," declared late medieval canon law, and religious profession involved the most solemn of those vows. Professed nuns could never renege on their vows and if they did attempt to re-enter secular society, they became apostates. Automatically excommunicated, they could be forcibly returned to their monasteries where, should they remain unrepentant, penalties, including imprisonment, might be imposed. And although the law imposed uniform censures on male and female apostates, the norms regarding the proper sphere of activity for women within the Church would prohibit disaffected nuns from availing themselves of options short of apostasy that were readily available to monks similarly unhappy with the choices that they had made. 0This book is the first to address the practical and legal problems facing women religious, both in England and in Europe, who chose to reject the terms of their profession as nuns. The women featured in these pages acted, and were acted upon, by the law: the volume shows alleged apostates petitioning for redress and actual apostates seeking to extricate themselves, via self-help and litigation, from the moral and legal consequences of their behaviour |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 1783274263 |