Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Introduction
- 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)
- Conclusion
- Appendix A List of nunneries and incomes
- Appendix B List of nunnery superiors
- Appendix C Election procedures at Wilton
- Appendix D Eulogy for Euphemia of Wherwell
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Volumes in Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
2 - Leadership and Lineage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Introduction
- 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)
- Conclusion
- Appendix A List of nunneries and incomes
- Appendix B List of nunnery superiors
- Appendix C Election procedures at Wilton
- Appendix D Eulogy for Euphemia of Wherwell
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Volumes in Studies in the History of Medieval Religion
Summary
The election and retention of an abbess or prioress depended to a large extent on the interaction of numerous factors including social class, networks of supporters, secular attitudes to the role and religious conventions. Also of considerable significance was the nunnery superior's relationship with the outside world. Investigations into this area demand attention to a range of data, including wills, letters, and selected documents from the royal and papal courts.
Election of the Convent Superior
The Benedictine Rule, like others of its kind, provides advice for the election of a monastic superior. The male Benedictine version states that the abbot may be chosen ‘unanimously’ by the whole community, or a minority, however small, if its counsel ‘be more wholesome’. It also requires that the nominee be selected on the basis of personal wisdom and quality of life, regardless of seniority in the monastery. Where an unsuitable candidate is selected, the local bishop and ‘neighbouring abbots of christians’ are to take action and choose another, when the situation becomes known. The ‘Northern Metrical Version’ for nuns includes a similar prescription; the only significant variation from the early form is the direction that the nuns are to elect their new superior in consultation with the whole community rather than by a select committee. Of course, the very fact that the late medieval monastery superior was appointed by vote indicates that differences of opinion were not uncommon; indeed, canon law made provision for alternative methods to cover this contingency.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Leadership in Medieval English Nunneries , pp. 20 - 40Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2005