Holy Vows, Worldly Manners: Monastic Space, Consumption Practices and Social Identity in the Cistercian Nunnery of Clairefontaine

Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Archaeology. This research aims to contribute to the study of daily life in medieval and early modern Cistercian nunneries. Clairefontaine serves as classic example of a 13th century Cistercian nunnery foundation and serves as a starting point for the research. According to the foundation narrative, this small community of religious women was founded in 1247 by Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg and ancestress of the House of Luxembourg- Limburg. The construction of the abbey was the last wish of Ermesinde and, was completed in 1253 by her son Henry the Blond. The community was admitted two years before into the Order of Cîteaux. The abbey served as the count’s dynastic burial place for more than a century. The research presented in this thesis has raised a corner of the veil so to speak. By the use of archaeological remains carefully interpreted in a multidisciplinary environment we were able to take a look behind the wall of the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine. By doing so we were able to shed more light on the phenomenon of female monasticism in the Low Countries during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times. The image we were able to provide was not one of women living in a remote reality, detached from secular society and alienated from worldly existence. On the contrary, research has demonstrated that female monasticism was entwined with the secular world and more specifically with the social world of nobility and aristocracy. Female monasticism was part of being noble and served the desire for social recognition of members of the nobility on both sides of the convent wall. Acknowledgements 5 Preface 9 Part 1: Broader perspective to case in point 19 Chapter 1. Introduction 21 Chapter 2. Building and rebuilding. an archeo-historical analysis of monastic architecture in Clairefontaine (13th to 18th century) 47 Part 2: From etic to emic... 89 Chapter 3. What’s cooking behind the curtain? A cross-disciplinary perspective on the late medieval kitchen complex of the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine 91 Chapter 4. Composition and state of alteration of 18th century glass from the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine 131 Chapter 5. All crystall clear: 18th century glass 'à la façon de Bohème' from the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine 145 Part 3: ...into the nebulous concept of culture 165 Chapter 6. The memory remains. Memoria, material culture and monastic space in Clairefontaine 167 Chapter 7. A cup of tea in the parlour. Material behaviour, consumer practices and elite identity in the 18th century Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine 193 Chapter 8. Final thoughts, further research perspectives and conclusions 223 List of Figures 237 List of Tables 243 Bibliography 245