Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305517
- eISBN:
- 9780199784813
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305515.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and ...
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Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and mission issues facing Catholic colleges and universities as they look to the future. It analyzes and addresses these issues using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture. Adopting cultural concepts of “distinguishability” and “inheritability”, the book provides four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market. After specifying the content of the Catholic tradition — intellectual, moral, and social — the book critiques the present performance among institutions in all four models, provides specific policy proposals for attending to religious cultural weakness, and offers principles for effectively leading and managing cultural change. For much of the history of Catholic colleges and universities, nuns, priests, and brothers provided successful Catholic cultural leadership. This book takes a critical look at the way congregations prepared members for knowledgeable, committed, and effective religious cultural leadership, and explains how insights from that model might prove particularly usefully today. The book also explores the cultural collapse of the once highly dynamic Roman Catholic sisterhoods as a cautionary tale about the perils of a cultural change process ineffectively managed.Less
Relying on empirical evidence from a national study of senior administrators at Catholic colleges and universities across the United States, this book defines the critical religious identity and mission issues facing Catholic colleges and universities as they look to the future. It analyzes and addresses these issues using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture. Adopting cultural concepts of “distinguishability” and “inheritability”, the book provides four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market. After specifying the content of the Catholic tradition — intellectual, moral, and social — the book critiques the present performance among institutions in all four models, provides specific policy proposals for attending to religious cultural weakness, and offers principles for effectively leading and managing cultural change. For much of the history of Catholic colleges and universities, nuns, priests, and brothers provided successful Catholic cultural leadership. This book takes a critical look at the way congregations prepared members for knowledgeable, committed, and effective religious cultural leadership, and explains how insights from that model might prove particularly usefully today. The book also explores the cultural collapse of the once highly dynamic Roman Catholic sisterhoods as a cautionary tale about the perils of a cultural change process ineffectively managed.
Berenice M. Kerr
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207528
- eISBN:
- 9780191677717
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207528.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, History of Religion
The year 1350 marks the end of the study of the three English Fontevraud foundations. In many ways the middle of the fourteenth century was a ...
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The year 1350 marks the end of the study of the three English Fontevraud foundations. In many ways the middle of the fourteenth century was a watershed. Two strong links between England and Fontevraud had already been severed by the death of Abbess Eleanor of Brittany in 1342. She represented a strong Fontevraud–Plantagenet blood tie. Since the time of Fulk of Anjou, friend of Robert of Arbrissel and patron of the order, associations between Fontevraud and the Angevin house had been strong. Many of its members had been buried in the abbey. Now, six generations later, the ties were visibly weakened. The study of these houses has led to questioning some of the conventional stereotypes of medieval nuns. Far from being dependent, non-productive women living in isolated places, they were dynamic, resourceful, and positive, actively engaged in exploiting their resources, both spiritual and temporal.Less
The year 1350 marks the end of the study of the three English Fontevraud foundations. In many ways the middle of the fourteenth century was a watershed. Two strong links between England and Fontevraud had already been severed by the death of Abbess Eleanor of Brittany in 1342. She represented a strong Fontevraud–Plantagenet blood tie. Since the time of Fulk of Anjou, friend of Robert of Arbrissel and patron of the order, associations between Fontevraud and the Angevin house had been strong. Many of its members had been buried in the abbey. Now, six generations later, the ties were visibly weakened. The study of these houses has led to questioning some of the conventional stereotypes of medieval nuns. Far from being dependent, non-productive women living in isolated places, they were dynamic, resourceful, and positive, actively engaged in exploiting their resources, both spiritual and temporal.
Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305517
- eISBN:
- 9780199784813
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305515.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the ...
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This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the achievements of Catholic institutions through the influence of nuns. It briefly recounts the history of religious congregations of women in the United States, giving special emphasis to their process of religious cultural formation designed to produce knowledgeable and committed women who were visible witnesses of the Catholic tradition in the institutions in which they served. In discussing what has happened in religious congregations of women since the Second Vatican Council, the chapter illuminates some of the strategic choices that can ultimately erode, rather than enhance, an organization’s culture. This simultaneously exhilarating and depressing story yields three cautionary principles, and ushers in a discussion about how Catholic colleges and universities should assess their current situation and move forward strategically.Less
This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the achievements of Catholic institutions through the influence of nuns. It briefly recounts the history of religious congregations of women in the United States, giving special emphasis to their process of religious cultural formation designed to produce knowledgeable and committed women who were visible witnesses of the Catholic tradition in the institutions in which they served. In discussing what has happened in religious congregations of women since the Second Vatican Council, the chapter illuminates some of the strategic choices that can ultimately erode, rather than enhance, an organization’s culture. This simultaneously exhilarating and depressing story yields three cautionary principles, and ushers in a discussion about how Catholic colleges and universities should assess their current situation and move forward strategically.
Chün-fang Yü
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836580
- eISBN:
- 9780824871086
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836580.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The term “revival” has been used to describe the resurgent vitality of Buddhism in Taiwan. Particularly impressive is the quality and size of the nun's order: Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated ...
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The term “revival” has been used to describe the resurgent vitality of Buddhism in Taiwan. Particularly impressive is the quality and size of the nun's order: Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks. Both characteristics are unprecedented in the history of Chinese Buddhism and are evident in the Incense Light community (Xiangguang). This book is the first in-depth case study of the community, which was founded in 1974 and remains a small but influential order of highly educated nuns who dedicate themselves to teaching Buddhism to lay adults. It begins with a historical survey of Buddhist nuns in China, followed by discussions on the early history of the Incense Light community; the life of Wuyin, one of its most prominent leaders; and the crucial role played by Buddhist studies societies on college campuses, where many nuns were first introduced to Incense Light. Later chapters look at the curriculum and innovative teaching methods at the Incense Light Buddhist Seminary and the nuns' efforts to teach Buddhism to adults. The book ends with portraits of individual nuns, providing details on their backgrounds, motivations for becoming nuns, and the problems or setbacks they have encountered both within and without the Incense Light community.Less
The term “revival” has been used to describe the resurgent vitality of Buddhism in Taiwan. Particularly impressive is the quality and size of the nun's order: Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks. Both characteristics are unprecedented in the history of Chinese Buddhism and are evident in the Incense Light community (Xiangguang). This book is the first in-depth case study of the community, which was founded in 1974 and remains a small but influential order of highly educated nuns who dedicate themselves to teaching Buddhism to lay adults. It begins with a historical survey of Buddhist nuns in China, followed by discussions on the early history of the Incense Light community; the life of Wuyin, one of its most prominent leaders; and the crucial role played by Buddhist studies societies on college campuses, where many nuns were first introduced to Incense Light. Later chapters look at the curriculum and innovative teaching methods at the Incense Light Buddhist Seminary and the nuns' efforts to teach Buddhism to adults. The book ends with portraits of individual nuns, providing details on their backgrounds, motivations for becoming nuns, and the problems or setbacks they have encountered both within and without the Incense Light community.
Owen Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 1980
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269199
- eISBN:
- 9780191600487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269196.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
An account is given of the position of monks and nuns in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The following aspects are covered: numbers of monks and ...
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An account is given of the position of monks and nuns in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The following aspects are covered: numbers of monks and nuns, social needs met by monks and nuns, internal strain (tension) in religious orders, the nun's dowry, new orders, the Redemptorists (an Italian order founded in 1732), hermits, critics of the monks, the monastery prison, mortmain, and Joseph II of Austria and the abolition of monasteries and monks.Less
An account is given of the position of monks and nuns in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The following aspects are covered: numbers of monks and nuns, social needs met by monks and nuns, internal strain (tension) in religious orders, the nun's dowry, new orders, the Redemptorists (an Italian order founded in 1732), hermits, critics of the monks, the monastery prison, mortmain, and Joseph II of Austria and the abolition of monasteries and monks.
Victoria Van Hyning
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266571
- eISBN:
- 9780191889400
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266571.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
Convent Autobiography explores the ways in which cloistered women articulated their senses of self through genres such as letters, chronicles, accounts, guidance and devotional manuals, and ...
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Convent Autobiography explores the ways in which cloistered women articulated their senses of self through genres such as letters, chronicles, accounts, guidance and devotional manuals, and conversion narratives. The book explores writings by early modern English women who elected a double self-exile from home and ‘from the world’, undertakings that shaped and informed so much of their self-writing. These nuns sometimes composed under their own names, but many composed anonymously. Using a combination of close reading, palaeography, manuscript evidence and other data, this book reveals the identities of half a dozen women, including descendants of Sir Thomas More, whose contributions to English literature and history were hitherto unknown. Although anonymous composition was in keeping with monastic norms of humility, Convent Autobiography argues anonymity offered paradoxical freedoms, such as enabling an author to write extensively about her own family, and herself, or to present institutional narratives through the lens of her own experiences. Three case studies devoted to anonymous chronicling reveal the complexity of authorial strategies of self and communal representation. On the basis of these, two new genres of autobiography are proposed: anonymous and subsumed autobiography. These definitions have wider application beyond convent and early modern literature. The book includes a complete edition of the vibrant conversion narrative, lists, and prayers of Catherine Holland, who defied her Protestant father by running away to join the convent of Nazareth where she could practise Catholicism and ‘escape the slavery of marriage’.Less
Convent Autobiography explores the ways in which cloistered women articulated their senses of self through genres such as letters, chronicles, accounts, guidance and devotional manuals, and conversion narratives. The book explores writings by early modern English women who elected a double self-exile from home and ‘from the world’, undertakings that shaped and informed so much of their self-writing. These nuns sometimes composed under their own names, but many composed anonymously. Using a combination of close reading, palaeography, manuscript evidence and other data, this book reveals the identities of half a dozen women, including descendants of Sir Thomas More, whose contributions to English literature and history were hitherto unknown. Although anonymous composition was in keeping with monastic norms of humility, Convent Autobiography argues anonymity offered paradoxical freedoms, such as enabling an author to write extensively about her own family, and herself, or to present institutional narratives through the lens of her own experiences. Three case studies devoted to anonymous chronicling reveal the complexity of authorial strategies of self and communal representation. On the basis of these, two new genres of autobiography are proposed: anonymous and subsumed autobiography. These definitions have wider application beyond convent and early modern literature. The book includes a complete edition of the vibrant conversion narrative, lists, and prayers of Catherine Holland, who defied her Protestant father by running away to join the convent of Nazareth where she could practise Catholicism and ‘escape the slavery of marriage’.
Suzanne Vromen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195181289
- eISBN:
- 9780199870752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181289.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The chapter is based on interviews with formerly hidden children and is illustrated by numerous quotes. It describes various responses to the wearing of the yellow star and the desperate search for ...
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The chapter is based on interviews with formerly hidden children and is illustrated by numerous quotes. It describes various responses to the wearing of the yellow star and the desperate search for hiding places that follows the sudden and brutal roundups of the Jewish population in the summer of 1942. Life in the convents in which the children are hidden is detailed through the reactions of the children to prayers, baptism, confession, and communion. These reactions vary greatly from resistance to acceptance; remnants of Judaism persist for some. New attitudes to the body considered as shameful are learned, and lice fought, hunger endured, native language and identity concealed. Relationships with priests and nuns range from caring, tender, and maternal to cruel and punishing. In the aftermath of the liberation, the impact of Catholic institutions varies; many hidden children return to their Jewish identity and a few remain converted. The children face great difficulties due to the ravages in their families, and gender differences in opportunities offered to orphans are resented to this day.Less
The chapter is based on interviews with formerly hidden children and is illustrated by numerous quotes. It describes various responses to the wearing of the yellow star and the desperate search for hiding places that follows the sudden and brutal roundups of the Jewish population in the summer of 1942. Life in the convents in which the children are hidden is detailed through the reactions of the children to prayers, baptism, confession, and communion. These reactions vary greatly from resistance to acceptance; remnants of Judaism persist for some. New attitudes to the body considered as shameful are learned, and lice fought, hunger endured, native language and identity concealed. Relationships with priests and nuns range from caring, tender, and maternal to cruel and punishing. In the aftermath of the liberation, the impact of Catholic institutions varies; many hidden children return to their Jewish identity and a few remain converted. The children face great difficulties due to the ravages in their families, and gender differences in opportunities offered to orphans are resented to this day.
Suzanne Vromen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195181289
- eISBN:
- 9780199870752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181289.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter draws on interviews with surviving nuns to show that mothers superior were responsible for accepting children in the convents and that they did so while maintaining all possible secrecy ...
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This chapter draws on interviews with surviving nuns to show that mothers superior were responsible for accepting children in the convents and that they did so while maintaining all possible secrecy about their actions. Not only children were hidden in convents, sometimes right under the noses of the occupiers, but also entire families as well as young people who avoided labor conscription. Jewish children were expected to go to mass and were treated like all the other boarders, a strategy that, from the point of view of nuns, served to conceal them. In the contemporary interviews nuns argue that at the time hidden Jewish children were not coerced into baptism and communion; they depict rescue in a humanitarian light. In running the convents in wartime, German nuns facilitated relationships with the German occupiers. Assuring a sufficient food supply demanded great skill and the occasional recourse to collective resources from other orders. In the nuns' recollections the fear of bombardments is the most vivid one. The chapter affirms the nuns' general active stance and highlights many facets of the entrepreneurial and affective authority of mothers superior. In conclusion the contributions of these mothers superior to the Resistance and to rescue have been taken for granted and not accorded the recognition that they deserve.Less
This chapter draws on interviews with surviving nuns to show that mothers superior were responsible for accepting children in the convents and that they did so while maintaining all possible secrecy about their actions. Not only children were hidden in convents, sometimes right under the noses of the occupiers, but also entire families as well as young people who avoided labor conscription. Jewish children were expected to go to mass and were treated like all the other boarders, a strategy that, from the point of view of nuns, served to conceal them. In the contemporary interviews nuns argue that at the time hidden Jewish children were not coerced into baptism and communion; they depict rescue in a humanitarian light. In running the convents in wartime, German nuns facilitated relationships with the German occupiers. Assuring a sufficient food supply demanded great skill and the occasional recourse to collective resources from other orders. In the nuns' recollections the fear of bombardments is the most vivid one. The chapter affirms the nuns' general active stance and highlights many facets of the entrepreneurial and affective authority of mothers superior. In conclusion the contributions of these mothers superior to the Resistance and to rescue have been taken for granted and not accorded the recognition that they deserve.
John Powers
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195306316
- eISBN:
- 9780199867721
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306316.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The historical Buddha insisted on celibacy for monks and nuns because suffering was caused by ignorant craving and because sexual relations encouraged attachment to the world. Both functioned as ...
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The historical Buddha insisted on celibacy for monks and nuns because suffering was caused by ignorant craving and because sexual relations encouraged attachment to the world. Both functioned as obstacles to mental concentration. Monastic rules helped one to comprehend the reason for the essential role of celibacy in the quest for liberation. Buddhist practice became more complex with later developments, such as Tibetan Buddhism, which witnessed some schools insisting on celibacy, while others allowed sexual intercourse within a ritualistic context for advanced practitioners, and other schools approved a married clergy.Less
The historical Buddha insisted on celibacy for monks and nuns because suffering was caused by ignorant craving and because sexual relations encouraged attachment to the world. Both functioned as obstacles to mental concentration. Monastic rules helped one to comprehend the reason for the essential role of celibacy in the quest for liberation. Buddhist practice became more complex with later developments, such as Tibetan Buddhism, which witnessed some schools insisting on celibacy, while others allowed sexual intercourse within a ritualistic context for advanced practitioners, and other schools approved a married clergy.
Marie-Louise Coolahan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199567652
- eISBN:
- 9780191722011
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, Women's Literature
This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous period of ...
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This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous period of political, religious, and linguistic contestation that encompassed the key power‐struggles of early modern Ireland. This study brings to light the ways in which women contributed; they strove to be heard and to make sense of their situations, forging space for their voices in complex ways and engaging with native and new language‐traditions. The book investigates the genres in which women wrote: poetry, nuns' writing, petition‐letters, depositions, biography, and autobiography. It argues for a complex understanding of authorial agency that centres on the act of creating or composing a text, which does not necessarily equate with the physical act of writing. The Irish, English, and European contexts for women's production of texts are identified and assessed. The literary traditions and languages of the different communities living on the island are juxtaposed in order to show how identities were shaped and defined in relation to each other. The book elucidates the social, political, and economic imperatives for women's writing, examines the ways in which women characterized female composition, and describes an extensive range of cross‐cultural, multilingual activity.Less
This book examines writing in English, Irish, and Spanish by women living in Ireland and by Irish women living on the continent between the years 1574 and 1676. This was a tumultuous period of political, religious, and linguistic contestation that encompassed the key power‐struggles of early modern Ireland. This study brings to light the ways in which women contributed; they strove to be heard and to make sense of their situations, forging space for their voices in complex ways and engaging with native and new language‐traditions. The book investigates the genres in which women wrote: poetry, nuns' writing, petition‐letters, depositions, biography, and autobiography. It argues for a complex understanding of authorial agency that centres on the act of creating or composing a text, which does not necessarily equate with the physical act of writing. The Irish, English, and European contexts for women's production of texts are identified and assessed. The literary traditions and languages of the different communities living on the island are juxtaposed in order to show how identities were shaped and defined in relation to each other. The book elucidates the social, political, and economic imperatives for women's writing, examines the ways in which women characterized female composition, and describes an extensive range of cross‐cultural, multilingual activity.
Mark S. Massa
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199734122
- eISBN:
- 9780199866373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199734122.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The chapter examines the famous case of the IHM nuns of Los Angeles in their battle with Cardinal McIntyre, their bishop. The IHMs represent the single largest group of American nuns to leave the ...
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The chapter examines the famous case of the IHM nuns of Los Angeles in their battle with Cardinal McIntyre, their bishop. The IHMs represent the single largest group of American nuns to leave the Catholic Church en masse, which they did as a result of their rough handling by McIntyre. The IHMs were initially excited by the prospect of reforming their order along the lines mandated by the Second Vatican Council in its famous document (Perfectae Caritatis): getting rid of their old habits, introducing more democracy into their governance, and so on. The archbishop of Los Angeles (who understood the historical significance of these things in a radically different way than the nuns) was, as a result, responsible for one of the most infamous events in American Catholic history.Less
The chapter examines the famous case of the IHM nuns of Los Angeles in their battle with Cardinal McIntyre, their bishop. The IHMs represent the single largest group of American nuns to leave the Catholic Church en masse, which they did as a result of their rough handling by McIntyre. The IHMs were initially excited by the prospect of reforming their order along the lines mandated by the Second Vatican Council in its famous document (Perfectae Caritatis): getting rid of their old habits, introducing more democracy into their governance, and so on. The archbishop of Los Angeles (who understood the historical significance of these things in a radically different way than the nuns) was, as a result, responsible for one of the most infamous events in American Catholic history.
Marie‐Louise Coolahan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199567652
- eISBN:
- 9780191722011
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567652.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, Women's Literature
This chapter analyses the literary activities of Irish nuns; specifically, the Poor Clare community. These nuns produced translations into Irish of their order's Rule, which prescribed the forms and ...
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This chapter analyses the literary activities of Irish nuns; specifically, the Poor Clare community. These nuns produced translations into Irish of their order's Rule, which prescribed the forms and rituals of monastic life. The chapter argues that these translations, produced in partnership with eminent male scholars, constitute a collaborative form of authorship. Their securing of vernacular translations accorded with the continental picture of nuns' writing, but it also participated in the Counter Reformation politicization of Irish as a dimension of resistance to the English crown. The chronicle of the order, authored by its exiled former abbess in Spain, is then located in the context of European nuns' chronicle‐writing and the confederate histories of male contemporaries. The analysis argues that this chronicle functions on three levels: to assert community identity; to articulate royalist catholic Irish identity; and to testify to the experiences of Irish nuns in exile.Less
This chapter analyses the literary activities of Irish nuns; specifically, the Poor Clare community. These nuns produced translations into Irish of their order's Rule, which prescribed the forms and rituals of monastic life. The chapter argues that these translations, produced in partnership with eminent male scholars, constitute a collaborative form of authorship. Their securing of vernacular translations accorded with the continental picture of nuns' writing, but it also participated in the Counter Reformation politicization of Irish as a dimension of resistance to the English crown. The chronicle of the order, authored by its exiled former abbess in Spain, is then located in the context of European nuns' chronicle‐writing and the confederate histories of male contemporaries. The analysis argues that this chronicle functions on three levels: to assert community identity; to articulate royalist catholic Irish identity; and to testify to the experiences of Irish nuns in exile.
Christina Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208235
- eISBN:
- 9780191716683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208235.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Religious women in early medieval Ireland have begun to receive attention only recently. This book examines whether there were different grades or sorts of religious women, the extent to which they ...
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Religious women in early medieval Ireland have begun to receive attention only recently. This book examines whether there were different grades or sorts of religious women, the extent to which they were creatures of their families' political ambition, and how often, if ever, they were strictly enclosed. It also explores whether women under vows ever continued to control wealth, whether powerful abbesses owed their power to royal or noble status rather than ex officio, whether the number of female houses declined over time, whether female houses were more vulnerable to dissolution than male ones, and whether double houses were anything other than nunneries with male workers attached. First, the academic historiography of early medieval nuns is discussed, along with popular perceptions and non-specialist historiography on early Irish holy women, modern Celtic Christianity movement, and modern pagans, especially those who practice a revived druidism.Less
Religious women in early medieval Ireland have begun to receive attention only recently. This book examines whether there were different grades or sorts of religious women, the extent to which they were creatures of their families' political ambition, and how often, if ever, they were strictly enclosed. It also explores whether women under vows ever continued to control wealth, whether powerful abbesses owed their power to royal or noble status rather than ex officio, whether the number of female houses declined over time, whether female houses were more vulnerable to dissolution than male ones, and whether double houses were anything other than nunneries with male workers attached. First, the academic historiography of early medieval nuns is discussed, along with popular perceptions and non-specialist historiography on early Irish holy women, modern Celtic Christianity movement, and modern pagans, especially those who practice a revived druidism.
Christina Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208235
- eISBN:
- 9780191716683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208235.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
There were many women in early Ireland following a monastic life, yet only four women's foundations survived as major monasteries over a long period: Kildare, Killeedy, Killevy, and Clonbroney. It is ...
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There were many women in early Ireland following a monastic life, yet only four women's foundations survived as major monasteries over a long period: Kildare, Killeedy, Killevy, and Clonbroney. It is not just the martyrologies (calendars) in which the myriad names of holy nuns appear; they are also found in hundreds in the corpus of so-called genealogical texts of the saints. Virtually unmentioned in the voluminous scholarly literature of Irish monasticism is the fact that many male monasteries had nuns in their familiae. Nuns who were at a men's monastery include those who were within the administrative structure and who were physically within its bounds or locale. This chapter looks at monasteries at which women were reported only as temporary members, that is to say, students. This is because there would have been a constant female presence, transient though it may have been. This chapter also looks at nuns in local churches and religious women on family property.Less
There were many women in early Ireland following a monastic life, yet only four women's foundations survived as major monasteries over a long period: Kildare, Killeedy, Killevy, and Clonbroney. It is not just the martyrologies (calendars) in which the myriad names of holy nuns appear; they are also found in hundreds in the corpus of so-called genealogical texts of the saints. Virtually unmentioned in the voluminous scholarly literature of Irish monasticism is the fact that many male monasteries had nuns in their familiae. Nuns who were at a men's monastery include those who were within the administrative structure and who were physically within its bounds or locale. This chapter looks at monasteries at which women were reported only as temporary members, that is to say, students. This is because there would have been a constant female presence, transient though it may have been. This chapter also looks at nuns in local churches and religious women on family property.
Christina Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208235
- eISBN:
- 9780191716683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208235.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
When the earlier portrayals of male–female relations in the church are compared with the images in the later hagiography, the overriding characteristic is continuity, as it was with the nuns' ...
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When the earlier portrayals of male–female relations in the church are compared with the images in the later hagiography, the overriding characteristic is continuity, as it was with the nuns' professions and the other subjects discussed in the preceding chapter. Yet the issues and problems of sexuality within the monastic world in early medieval Ireland were being addressed more than they had been before, and subtle but important changes were afoot. In both male and female lives of the period, the normal course of events remained as it was in the earlier ones. Monks, clerics, and nuns interact in close proximity on account of friendship, collaboration, and mutual support: such arrangements neither scandalised nor puzzled the redactors. This chapter examines sexual anxiety among nuns; presence of nuns in male monasteries; proper proximity between monks and nuns, monks and laywomen, and nuns and laymen; relation between male saints and female saints; nuns' sexuality, abortions, and absolutions; and women's seduction of monks or clerics.Less
When the earlier portrayals of male–female relations in the church are compared with the images in the later hagiography, the overriding characteristic is continuity, as it was with the nuns' professions and the other subjects discussed in the preceding chapter. Yet the issues and problems of sexuality within the monastic world in early medieval Ireland were being addressed more than they had been before, and subtle but important changes were afoot. In both male and female lives of the period, the normal course of events remained as it was in the earlier ones. Monks, clerics, and nuns interact in close proximity on account of friendship, collaboration, and mutual support: such arrangements neither scandalised nor puzzled the redactors. This chapter examines sexual anxiety among nuns; presence of nuns in male monasteries; proper proximity between monks and nuns, monks and laywomen, and nuns and laymen; relation between male saints and female saints; nuns' sexuality, abortions, and absolutions; and women's seduction of monks or clerics.
M. Whitney Kelting
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195389647
- eISBN:
- 9780199866434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195389647.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
In chapter 5, the focus is on the narrative and rituals associated with the sati Rajul, who is rejected on her wedding day when her fiancé Nemi (the twenty‐second Jina) renounces. Rajul decides to ...
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In chapter 5, the focus is on the narrative and rituals associated with the sati Rajul, who is rejected on her wedding day when her fiancé Nemi (the twenty‐second Jina) renounces. Rajul decides to follow her husband, Nemi into renunciation. Rajul's renunciation and Jain ordination of women are read through the lens of sati discourse, which illuminates parallels between these two ideals for women—nuns and satimatas—and challenges the received interpretation of Jain ordination being modeled on the wedding rites. Though Jains reject the rite of dying with one's husband, shifts particularly in the medieval literature in the portrayal of the Nemi and Rajul story and the veneration of Rajul trace the movement of this narrative from an uncomplicated Jain renunciation narrative to a narrative that shares many features with Hindu satimata stories. Likewise, Jain women venerate Rajul in veil songs and worship her in ways seemingly drawn from satimata worship.Less
In chapter 5, the focus is on the narrative and rituals associated with the sati Rajul, who is rejected on her wedding day when her fiancé Nemi (the twenty‐second Jina) renounces. Rajul decides to follow her husband, Nemi into renunciation. Rajul's renunciation and Jain ordination of women are read through the lens of sati discourse, which illuminates parallels between these two ideals for women—nuns and satimatas—and challenges the received interpretation of Jain ordination being modeled on the wedding rites. Though Jains reject the rite of dying with one's husband, shifts particularly in the medieval literature in the portrayal of the Nemi and Rajul story and the veneration of Rajul trace the movement of this narrative from an uncomplicated Jain renunciation narrative to a narrative that shares many features with Hindu satimata stories. Likewise, Jain women venerate Rajul in veil songs and worship her in ways seemingly drawn from satimata worship.
Todd Lewis and Subarna Tuladhar
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195341829
- eISBN:
- 9780199866816
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195341829.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter moves the Buddha's life forward through more of the standard incidents associated with important doctrinal sermons. It begins with the Buddha's last visit to King Shuddhodana, who is on ...
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This chapter moves the Buddha's life forward through more of the standard incidents associated with important doctrinal sermons. It begins with the Buddha's last visit to King Shuddhodana, who is on his deathbed; after his death, the Buddha performs the cremation rites according to Newar custom. The chapter then describes the meetings between the Buddha and his foster mother Gautamī when she requests that he allow a nun's order within the sangha, a contentious issue that merits extended treatment, one in which Ānanda intervenes. Also mentioned are the Buddha's wanderings through the famous places where the early community flourished and the locations where he spent his monsoon retreats. Of special focus are troubles with the disputatious monks of Kausāmbi, a bizarre proposal from a brahmin father that the Buddha marry his daughter, and a famous conversation with a general from the Licchavi city‐state about the virtues of compassion and nonviolence.Less
This chapter moves the Buddha's life forward through more of the standard incidents associated with important doctrinal sermons. It begins with the Buddha's last visit to King Shuddhodana, who is on his deathbed; after his death, the Buddha performs the cremation rites according to Newar custom. The chapter then describes the meetings between the Buddha and his foster mother Gautamī when she requests that he allow a nun's order within the sangha, a contentious issue that merits extended treatment, one in which Ānanda intervenes. Also mentioned are the Buddha's wanderings through the famous places where the early community flourished and the locations where he spent his monsoon retreats. Of special focus are troubles with the disputatious monks of Kausāmbi, a bizarre proposal from a brahmin father that the Buddha marry his daughter, and a famous conversation with a general from the Licchavi city‐state about the virtues of compassion and nonviolence.
Cecilia A. Hatt (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270119
- eISBN:
- 9780191600609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270119.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
This chapter provides a short overview of the main events in Fisher's life, notably his association with Henry VII's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, which led to the development of various ...
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This chapter provides a short overview of the main events in Fisher's life, notably his association with Henry VII's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, which led to the development of various foundations within Cambridge University, including St John's College. As a theologian as well as bishop of Rochester, John Fisher engaged in anti‐Lutheran controversy in Latin and English. His opposition to Henry VIII's divorce made him unpopular at court and he was implicated in the Nun of Kent affair. He refused to swear to the Act of Supremacy and his trial and execution for treason followed in June 1535.Less
This chapter provides a short overview of the main events in Fisher's life, notably his association with Henry VII's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, which led to the development of various foundations within Cambridge University, including St John's College. As a theologian as well as bishop of Rochester, John Fisher engaged in anti‐Lutheran controversy in Latin and English. His opposition to Henry VIII's divorce made him unpopular at court and he was implicated in the Nun of Kent affair. He refused to swear to the Act of Supremacy and his trial and execution for treason followed in June 1535.
Owen Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269229
- eISBN:
- 9780191600456
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269226.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The vitality to be found among monks and nuns in the nineteenth century was less in the historic orders than in small groups gathered for particular purposes of prayer, promotion of a particular ...
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The vitality to be found among monks and nuns in the nineteenth century was less in the historic orders than in small groups gathered for particular purposes of prayer, promotion of a particular devotion, education, evangelism, or care for the sick or needy. The numbers of religious grew through the century, but not necessarily in the old orders, and despite the political difficulties, dissolutions and expulsions they suffered in most Catholic countries. Discussion of each major order in turn shows how they adapted or failed to adapt to the modern world and the tensions between centralization and local autonomy.Less
The vitality to be found among monks and nuns in the nineteenth century was less in the historic orders than in small groups gathered for particular purposes of prayer, promotion of a particular devotion, education, evangelism, or care for the sick or needy. The numbers of religious grew through the century, but not necessarily in the old orders, and despite the political difficulties, dissolutions and expulsions they suffered in most Catholic countries. Discussion of each major order in turn shows how they adapted or failed to adapt to the modern world and the tensions between centralization and local autonomy.
Christopher Highley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533404
- eISBN:
- 9780191714726
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533404.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Anglo-Spanish Relations and the Hispaniolized English Catholic examines how the dependence of exiled Catholics upon the Spanish Habsburgs was represented and exploited by both Catholics and their ...
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Anglo-Spanish Relations and the Hispaniolized English Catholic examines how the dependence of exiled Catholics upon the Spanish Habsburgs was represented and exploited by both Catholics and their adversaries. When the Elizabethan soldier Sir William Stanley defected to the Catholic side in the Low Countries, he was pilloried as a degenerate, unnatural Englishmen. In the language of Protestant polemic, Stanley had become a “Hispaniolated” or “Hispaniolized” Englishman. This chapter traces the emergence and deployment of a discourse of Hispaniolization, as well as Catholic counter-discourses. Texts examined include Robert Persons's accounts of English Catholic seminaries in Spain, as well as works about the exile experience of the English Bridgettine nuns.Less
Anglo-Spanish Relations and the Hispaniolized English Catholic examines how the dependence of exiled Catholics upon the Spanish Habsburgs was represented and exploited by both Catholics and their adversaries. When the Elizabethan soldier Sir William Stanley defected to the Catholic side in the Low Countries, he was pilloried as a degenerate, unnatural Englishmen. In the language of Protestant polemic, Stanley had become a “Hispaniolated” or “Hispaniolized” Englishman. This chapter traces the emergence and deployment of a discourse of Hispaniolization, as well as Catholic counter-discourses. Texts examined include Robert Persons's accounts of English Catholic seminaries in Spain, as well as works about the exile experience of the English Bridgettine nuns.
