A Tale of Two Convents: Nuns and Anabaptists in Munster, 1533-1535
This article explores part of the story of women before and during the period of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster. Convent chronicles and eyewitness accounts shed light on differing attitudes of nuns from two of Munster's most important convents, Uberwasser and Niesing. Nuns of Uberwasser were...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1995
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1995, Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-47 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article explores part of the story of women before and during the period of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster. Convent chronicles and eyewitness accounts shed light on differing attitudes of nuns from two of Munster's most important convents, Uberwasser and Niesing. Nuns of Uberwasser were among Bernd Rothmann's early supporters. They rejected the habit. attended sermons outside the convent, and were rebaptized even while continuing to live in the convent. They took a leading role in agitation for reform in the city streets and council chambers, and attempted to convert Niesing's traditional nuns. After the Anabaptist takeover, Uberwasser's Anabaptist nuns lived in the convent and took a husband in common when polygamy was introduced. The story of these nuns provides a corrective to the common explanation for the appeal of Anabaptism in Munster since the nuns were largely members of patrician and noble families. In addition, this story has important implications for the larger question of the involvement of women in Reformation movements and convents' struggles for independence from ecclesiastical authorities. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2541524 |