Medieval History
They were held up as paragons of virtue, but one congregation of Essex nuns appear to have needed some pointers on how to conduct themselves.
In a book of advice for the cloistered women written more than 1,300 years ago, they were reminded of the benefits of virginity, warned of the sin of pride, and cautioned against wearing garments which ?set off? the body.
The guidance came from the Anglo-Saxon cleric Aldhelm in a text dedicated to the abbess nuns of Barking Abbey, the oldest surviving version of which is now up for sale. In the work, De Laude Virginitatis [In Praise of Virginity], the author tells the nuns that abstinence from sex is not enough - their ?stainlessness of bodily virginity? must be accompanied by a ?chastity of the spirit? if they are to avoid the ?untamed impulses of bodily wantonness?.
Addressing the issue of clothing, he writes: ?If you dress yourself sumptuously and go out in public so as to attract notice, if you rivet the eyes of young men to you and draw the sighs of adolescents after you, and nourish the fires of sexual anticipation ... you cannot be excused as if you were of a chaste and modest mind.?
Click here to read this article from The Telegraph
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Medieval History
No sexy outfits nuns told in 1,300-year-old 'rule' book
In a book of advice for the cloistered women written more than 1,300 years ago, they were reminded of the benefits of virginity, warned of the sin of pride, and cautioned against wearing garments which ?set off? the body.
The guidance came from the Anglo-Saxon cleric Aldhelm in a text dedicated to the abbess nuns of Barking Abbey, the oldest surviving version of which is now up for sale. In the work, De Laude Virginitatis [In Praise of Virginity], the author tells the nuns that abstinence from sex is not enough - their ?stainlessness of bodily virginity? must be accompanied by a ?chastity of the spirit? if they are to avoid the ?untamed impulses of bodily wantonness?.
Addressing the issue of clothing, he writes: ?If you dress yourself sumptuously and go out in public so as to attract notice, if you rivet the eyes of young men to you and draw the sighs of adolescents after you, and nourish the fires of sexual anticipation ... you cannot be excused as if you were of a chaste and modest mind.?
Click here to read this article from The Telegraph
- Umkc Conference To Celebrate Medieval Nuns? Literary Contributions
The letter to Eadburga expressed thanks for the previous goods sent from Minster-in-Thanet and asked for yet another favor ? a special copy of the Epistles of St. Peter. Along with Bishop Boniface?s ?thank you? was a quantity of gold, to be pounded...
- Minnesota Professor Receives Funding To Research Medieval Religious Women In Germany
In the past year, Jennifer Deane, associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota Morris, has received two grants: the University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid-of-Research and a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, which fund...
- Sexuality In Late Medieval Iceland
Is there anything more private than sexuality? And more political? Sexuality has always been used for political purposes, and there are many examples of historical changes where political and sexual strategies of power have interacted. In his dissertation,...
- Wanna Be A Monk?
Apparently, monasteries are no longer the draw that they were in the 11th century and modern abbots (and bishops) are realizing this. But in the spirit of "try before you buy," some Anglican and Roman Catholic monasteries and nunneries in England are...
- Nuns' Literacies In Medieval Europe: University Of Missouri-kansas City
A conference on ?Nuns? Literacies in Medieval Europe? will take place at the University ofMissouri-Kansas City from 5-8 June 2012. This is the second of three conferences designed to bring together specialists working on diverse...