CH 206: Women Under Monasticism

Abstract

Course Description: The focus of this seminar is on the rules written for medieval women's religious communities, as they relate to the spirituality of the women who lived under them. How might these rules have shaped their spirituality, and how might our knowledge of these rules help us to understand better the aims of women monastics? We will also read the spiritual writings of a selection of medieval women of various orders (Benedictine, Francisan, Dominican, Augustinian, Carmelite) in order to compare their different spiritualities.