Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland, C.1140-1540

A major study of women and the medieval Irish church, this book includes groundbreaking investigations of medieval nunneries in Ireland, their personnel, patrons, buildings and estates and their strategies for ensuring the productivity of their resources. The author argues for the existence of close ties between the supposedly cloistered nuns and the surrounding lay communities. Medieval women not among the small number who actually joined nunneries channeled their pious energies towards such activities as patronage of local churches and monasteries, pilgrimage and requests for papal and Episcopal privileges. These pious activities are examined in detail and placed within their European context. This exploration into a previously neglected aspect of the history of monastic and church life in medieval Ireland is a major contribution to the history of women in Ireland and Europe. Cover 1 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Table of contents 6 List of illustrations 8 Author's note 9 Acknowledgements 10 List of abbreviations 12 Introduction 16 1. Lay women's piety 22 2. Women's patronage of religious institutions 43 3. Foundation of nunneries in medieval Ireland 64 4. Convent buildings and estates 97 5. Income, management and conflict 134 6. The permeable cloister 160 7. Elicia Butler and Kilculliheen 192 8. The end of the medieval period 202 Appendix 1: Convents in medieval Ireland 208 Appendix 2: List of all the names of individual women 212 Bibliography 222 Index 246