"Neither Married nor Cloistered": Blessed Isabelle in Catholic Reformation France
Nicolas Caussin (1583-1651) was a French Jesuit, an eloquent preacher, and a prolific writer; in 1644 he published a life of Isabelle, the sister of Saint Louis. This article examines Caussin's accolade of Isabelle's steadfast refusal to marry, and of her decision to lead a life of Christi...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1999
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In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1999, Volume: 30, Issue: 2, Pages: 457-472 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Nicolas Caussin (1583-1651) was a French Jesuit, an eloquent preacher, and a prolific writer; in 1644 he published a life of Isabelle, the sister of Saint Louis. This article examines Caussin's accolade of Isabelle's steadfast refusal to marry, and of her decision to lead a life of Christian piety in the world, not in the cloister. The early modern French state sought to subject the marital choices of even adult children to parental control, and the post-Tridentine Church sought to restrict women to the choice of a husband or a cloistered convent. Pere Caussin directly challenged both ecclesiastical and civil authorities as he lauded female freedom of conscience in vocational choices. His seventeenth-century panegyric of a thirteenth-century devout princess offers an intriguing window onto the intersection of religion, politics, and perception of gender in Catholic Reformation France. |
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ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2544713 |