Mulieres Religiosae: Shaping Female Spiritual Authority in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods (Europa Sacra, 12)

Mulieres Religiosae considers the nuances of what constitutes female spiritual authority, how it was acquired and manifested by religious women, and how it changed and evolved from the high Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. Traditionally women were denied access to positions of official religious authority within Christianity and were therefore compelled to explore other avenues to acquire and express spiritual leadership. Through twelve case studies covering different regions in Europe, this volume considers the nuances of what constituted female spiritual authority, how it was acquired and manifested by religious women, and how it evolved from the high Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. Whilst current scholarship often emphasizes binaries within the fields of gender and religious authority, this volume examines the manifestation of female religious authority in its multiple facets. It looks both at individuals displaying exceptional forms of agency such as prophesying, as well as more commonplace, communal activities such as letter-writing and music-making. By taking into account the pervasiveness of spirituality in society as a whole in the Pre-Modern era, this collection of essays renegotiates the relationship between the spiritual and the social domain. Through the chronological organization of the contributions insight is gained into the changes in the means and forms female religious authority could take between 1150 and 1750. The narrative is clearly impacted by late medieval enclosure policies and by changing modes of spirituality. Whereas women in the earlier period tended to represent themselves as a door through which God could advance towards mankind, later on they functioned more frequently as a portal through which others could advance towards God. Front Matter ("Editorial Board", "Title Page", "Copyright Page", "Table of Contents", "Illustrations", "Acknowledgements"), p. i Free Access Colour Plates, p. xiii Introduction: Shaping Female Spiritual Authority in Europe from the High Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period, p. 1 Veerle Fraeters, Imke de Gier https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102242 Elisabeth von Schönau and the Story of St Ursula: Visionary Authority and the Cult of the Saints, p. 17 María Eugenia Góngora https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102243 ‘You shall all live together in harmony and spiritual unity’: Images of Abbesses and Female Religious Communities in the Empire, p. 37 Andrea Worm https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102244 Beguines in Hungary? The Case of St Margareta of Hungary (1242–71): A Mystic without a Voice, p. 87 Viktória Hedvig Deák https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102245 Sharing Charismatic Authority by Body and Emotions: The Marvellous Life of Lukardis von Oberweimar (c. 1262–1309), p. 109 Piroska Nagy https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102246 Text as Authority: Marguerite Porete’s Mirouer des simples ames, p. 127 Imke de Gier https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102247 The Soft Face of Power: Jeanne de Valois and Female Authority in the Middle Ages, p. 151 Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102248 Language and Authority in Julian of Norwich’s Showings, p. 169 Kathleen M. Smith https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102249 Mulieres religiosae and Sorores clausae: The Dominican Observant Movement and the Diffusion of Strict Enclosure in Italy from the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth Century, p. 193 Sylvie Duval https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102250 Book Illumination in the Bridgettine Abbey of Vadstena, p. 219 Eva Lindqvist Sandgren https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102251 Female Leadership and Authority in the Sisterbook of Diepenveen, p. 243 Mathilde van Dijk https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102252 Neither ex officio nor ex gratia: The Brussels Visitandines’ Discourses of Authority and the Collective Self, 1668–99, p. 265 Ping-Yuan Wang https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102253 Piae virgines choristae: Musicians for the Greater Glory of God and the Venetian Republic, p. 287 Caroline Giron-Panel https://doi.org/10.1484/M.ES-EB.1.102254 Back Matter ("Index", "Titles in Series"), p. 301 "Traditionally women were denied access to positions of official religious authority within Christianity and were therefore compelled to explore other avenues to acquire and express spiritual leadership. Through twelve case studies covering different regions in Europe, this volume considers the nuances of what constituted female spiritual authority, how it was acquired and manifested by religious women, and how it evolved from the High Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. Whilst current scholarship often emphasizes binaries within the fields of gender and religious authority, this volume examines the manifestation of female religious authority in its multiple facets. It looks both at individuals displaying exceptional forms of agency such as prophesying, as well as more commonplace, communal activities such as letter-writing and music-making. By taking into account the pervasiveness of spirituality in society as a whole in the Pre-Modern era, this collection of essays renegotiates the relationship between the spiritual and the social domain. Through the chronological organization of the contributions insight is gained into the changes in the means and forms female religious authority could take between 1150 and 1750. The narrative is clearly impacted by late medieval enclosure policies and by changing modes of spirituality. Whereas women in the earlier period tended to represent themselves as a door through which God could advance towards mankind, later on they functioned more frequently as a portal through which others could advance towards God."--Back cover.