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News and Events, Research Seminars

Jacques Dalarun, Sean Field and Valerio Cappozzo, A Female Apostle in Medieval Italy: The Life of Clare of Rimini

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The Other Sister Research Group met on March 6th to discuss the book by Jacques Dalarun, Sean Field and Valerio Cappozzo, A Female Apostle in Medieval Italy: The Life of Clare of Rimini (University of Pennsylvania, 2022), and its use in the classroom. The group read the introduction, chapter 6, “The Shadow of Heresy” and chapter 11, “The Power of Images.”

Meghan Lescault acted as the moderator of the session. She is a PhD Candidate working on secular canonesses in Nivelles during the medieval and early modern period.

Jacques Dalarun is a medieval historian, member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, and corresponding fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. A specialist in medieval sanctity from the 11th to the 14th century, he has devoted numerous studies to Francis and Clare of Assisi and the Franciscan movement. His English publications include The Misadventure of Francis of Assisi. Toward a Historical Use of the Franciscan Legends (2002); Robert of Arbrissel : Sex, Sin, and Salvation in the Middle Ages (2006); Francis of Assisi and the Feminine (2006); Francis of Assisi and Power (2007); The Rediscovered Life of St. Francis of Assisi (2016); To Govern is to Serve : An Essay on Medieval Democracy (2023)

Sean Field is a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America and a correspondent étranger of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres.  His latest book, tentatively titled Framing Female Sanctity: Three Case Studies on Medieval Authorship and Gender, will be published by Cornell University Press in 2027.

Valerio Cappozzo is Associate Professor of Modern Languages at The University of Mississippi. His research focuses on dream interpretation in the Middle Ages, with numerous publications including monographs, translations, transcriptions, and scholarly articles. He is the author of Medieval Dream Dictionary (Olschki, 2018) and the editor of Dreambooks in the Middle Ages: A Global Perspective (Brill, 2026).

The meeting started with Jacques Dalarun thanking the organizers of The Other Sister. He shared that while editing Clare’s life, he, Valerio, and Sean wished to avoid the disappointment sometimes felt when reading such editions, in which the format is not conducive to the reader’s enjoyment or interest. In their text, the chapters begin with a faithful translation of the source in English, followed immediately with a commentary on each section. This format was received extremely positively. The Female Apostle explores Clare’s life but also introduces the reader to the complexity of life in medieval Italian cities more generally by providing contextual details to the important religious moment of the crackdown on Franciscans, and the shift from Latin to Italian as the primary written language. The author, Jacques states, who was a Friar minor, fell under the spell of the penitent, and ended up writing with much realism. We know this because he writes what he should not, recounting moments when Clare did not act within the expectations of holiness. Clare of Rimini was never canonized, and her story was largely lost to time until Jacques, Sean, and Valerio brought her story to life.

Next, the group heard from Valerio Cappozzo. He pointed out that the text can be used in many different types of courses, and he shared that he taught a course with it recently. For the students in that course, the descriptive nature of the vita helped bring medieval Italy to life by highlighting (with other sources he also used) sounds, smells, tastes, and real experiences and struggles. As an Italian, he was surprised by the language of the text –more poetic than liturgical, a very fluid, harmonious, and refined Italian. The author of the hagiography writes in prose before Bocaccio, and even before Dante who elevated Italian to prose in The Divine Poetry. Valerio read some lines to the group in the original Italian, illustrating the beautiful and melodic nature of the vita. Its language is extremely sophisticated and light, capable of expressing complex imagery and religious experience. He also highlighted the structured nature of the text, which indicated that it was destined for widespread circulation. The image of Clare rooting around with her head in the dirt is particularly striking if we connect it with a riddle written by a monk from the eighth or ninth century that likens the hand that writes to agricultural work. Another striking element is the connection between literature and visual art, which inspired many contemporary writers. He explained that the cover of the book reflects the visual art which was highly connected to literature and which depicts Clare herself. Her life draws from both art and literature, with the two powerful forces of language and image coming together to give life to the story. The text is important for specialists, but also for teaching, he said. The text shows Clare’s struggle between her own richness of spirit and the moral poverty of the political world around her.

Then, Sean Field stated that his colleagues gave thorough comments, and he only wanted to add two points. First, he shared the joy of working collaboratively, with Jacques Dalarun, keen to make the text available to students in a new and innovative format, and Valerio, who made sure of the faithfulness of the translation. It was mostly carried out during the covid years, with tireless online correspondence. The two chapters which they shared with the group were also perhaps the two which they were most invested in, one concerning heresy (Chapter 6) and the other images and visions (Chapter 11).

His second point was that Clare is perhaps the perfect figure to represent “The Other Sister.” She was married twice, underwent a religious conversion, lived in a cell for a time, and then slowly built up her community, facing significant challenges along the way. She did not have a rule, but rather led the community by her charisma and her vita was there to guide them after her death.

Finally, Mary Doyno, one of The Other Sister organizers, expressed her excitement at the opportunity to discuss her uses of the book in the classroom. The text was extremely helpful in both medieval history survey courses and advanced seminars. It could serve as a standalone text for one or two weeks of a course, to speak about later medieval religious life, or be paired with more traditional sources on Francis of Assisi to illustrate the rise and importance of medicant orders. However, what works most effectively, she shared, was to read the text week after week throughout the semester.  One can move from a narrow focus on the primary source to a broader perspective which facilitates the examination of historical and historiographical contexts. The authors did a great job of explaining what previous scholars have said and what has changed in historiography. She pointed out that it is presented in such an accessible way that it makes teaching more seamless and easier for students to understand. Using the text, she can also show her students how a primary source can be interpreted and then ask them to do the same with other primary sources. She has also found it useful in more advanced seminars, in which she asks fewer students (about 15) to take on a chapter or two each, and present that chapter to the seminar. If the students can do that – explain what is going on in the source and what the scholars have done with it – they understand what they are being asked to accomplish in the class as well. She expressed sincere gratitude to have the opportunity to teach with the text.

Jacques responded to Mary that he has been incredibly impressed throughout his career by the works of American female scholars like Caroline Bynum. After also developing a love for vernacular Italian sources, like Clare’s life, he wondered why American historians and these amazing Italian sources had not yet met. He was grateful for the welcome from The Other Sister to see his two worlds come together.

After thanking the speakers, Meghan opened the meeting to questions.

The first comment came from Frances Kneupper, who shared that she is very excited to teach the text in her own courses and loves its format. She hopes for more translations that adopt their model of The Female Apostle. This is exactly the format that was adopted by the translators of the Life of Jeanne de Mailly, soon to be published (see our previous TOS meeting summary).

Next, Joseph Akl asked if the authors could speak more about the use of Italian rather than Latin in the text and what could have motivated the author in his choice. Valerio answered that they were all surprised to see the source written in vernacular Italian. He said that when reading the original text, he interpreted the use of Italian as representing the language of the future, to allow the message of Clare to be spread out to the surrounding regions. Whereas Latin was the possession of the church and not as accessible to the general population, Italian would allow her message to reach a much wider audience. Valerio also highlighted the vocalization of Italian words and the musicality of the language, which makes it more memorable and, thus, would help people remember Clare’s life and deeds.

Jacques added that after discovering the life of Clare in the 1980s, he wanted to be sure that it was the first life of a saint written in Italian as its original form. To find out if this was true, he co-edited an encyclopedia of hagiographical sources until 1500. For ten years, with other scholars, they listed about 1500 hagiographical sources written in Italian. At the end of this project, he was finally able to confirm his initial intuition that Clare’s life was indeed the oldest. But why was this the oldest hagiography written in Italian? Because she was a woman, he thinks, and as scholarly studies were forbidden for women in this time, the vernacular was more accessible to them. Women, he stated, were better able to express intimate feelings in Italian than Latin. The life was not only written to celebrate Clare’s memory, but also as a model for the female community created by Clare. The ability to understand its language was vital for her community, but also for those who wished to imitate the informal community founded by Clare. Italian is subtle and simple, making it a beautiful language. Jacques and Sean are now working on the life of another female saint, Isabelle of France, the first one written in France in French by a female author about a female saint. It is also a marvelous text because the use of French breaks away from the ‘weight’ of Latin. Each time there is a break against a linguistic domination, he explained, this first work must be a masterpiece.

Next, Mary asked to hear more about how the authors made decisions on historiographical issues – when to give attention to them and when to pull back – because it was done so effectively in the book. Sean answered that this emerged very naturally and pointed out the usefulness of the bibliography at the end for students to use. He said that it was very freeing to write directly for students, to imagine his own students reading the text, which meant they did not have to name all of the names or worry about egos and how people might react. Therefore, they pared down the historiography which made it perfect for students who did not need to be wrapped up in the niceties of academic discourse.

Next, Samantha Slaubaugh commented that she loved the liturgical elements mixed with iconographical images brought into Chapter 11 on Clare’s visions. She also asked them to speak more about the community after the death of Clare, and if the text illuminated their engagement with the church after her death. She also asked to clarify if the gospel was also translated into Italian.

Jacques responded that the link between painting and visions is very strong. He said that when an earthquake happened in Rimini the 20th century, some plaster fell from the ceiling of the church, and people discovered there were medieval frescoes beneath. While Jacques was studying there, he went to see the frescoes and found that they represented the vision of Clare. It is important to know that there is a book at the center of that vision, showing the gift of access to the bible, which was so important to Clare, even though it was forbidden for her to access it through the sacred text herself. The community was very informal at the beginning, and Clare herself was the rule; there was no formal rule. Her life, therefore, became the rule when she died. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the community was absorbed into the Poor Clares. In the life, the gospel quotations are in Italian. Some of these translations make their interpretation more personal, allowing them to be read as the kingdom of heaven being closer when there is personal effort to do penance (approximavit –> approximabit) This error in the Italian translation which changes the tense, reflects the community and Clare’s choice to accept this future tense, which made them more active, even though it was a risk of heresy.

Next, Isabelle Cochelin evoked the penultimate TOS meeting, when André Vauchez spoke about Francis of Assisi as the key to allowing women like Clare to express their religiosity. Was such the case orshould we see these women as working in parallel, taking their own paths? Sean answered that it is not either one or the other. It would be foolish to minimize Francis’ influence, but it would also be an error to reduce these women’s actions to imitation of Francis. They followed similar paths, but there were many being influenced by him. The emphasis, though, could vary greatly. Valerio added that Francis was not the only one who lived such a life, but he was the only one who placed emphasis on dialogues with animals and other cultures, and in this way he could be the start of the dialogue between men and women about mystical religion. Jacques added that his previous book, François d’Assise : un passage, noted that Francis often presented himself as a woman. He was, therefore, a model of female devotion and religiosity; he imitated women first, who then imitated him. He often played the role of the mother of his brothers, which places him in a maternal role in the Franciscan community. He thinks that Francis treated Clare of Assisi very poorly; for him, she was a burden and a mixed community of men and women religious would have been too dangerous and would have risked backlash from the church. This is why he played the role of mother in his community. The model of Francis became the key to the secret of the sacred realities, as related to the chapter when Clare of Rimini plays the role of Christ in the streets of her city. A woman playing the role of Christ was more of a transgression than Francis doing so. When the same Clare asked to be whipped in public, it was an incredible transgression. It made her walk the line of heresy. Her actions stepped into the privilege of men, but more specifically of clerics. Transgressions moved people – a quality which Francis of Assisi and Clare of Rimini shared.

Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski complemented the way the commentary of the life in the book pointed out how visions diffused Clare’s transgressions. She shared that the life was translated into Latin in 1785, with the translation omitting the more scandalous passages.

Jacques answered that he investigated the modern process of canonization in the 18th century, launched by the local community of Rimini. To this end, they had the Italian life translated into Latin and claimed it was the original life. The most transgressive passages were excluded from the Latin version. It is telling that the ones about heresy and Clare playing the role of Christ on Good Friday were cut. It shows us where the story still caused issues.

Isabelle Cochelin pointed out that several members of The Other Sister were working on the northern half of Europe and wondered if there was a fundamental difference regarding non-cloistered religious women or even men between the north and south of Europe? Sean recommended an article about Isabelle de France and the use of a translation of the life into French. He added that Martine Pagan did a lot of work about the translations of Clare of Assisi’s life into French, finding that the original one was probably done at Longchamp, Isabelle de France’s foundation, in the 1270s around the same time Isabelle’s life was written. Sean and Martine’s critical edition of Isabelle de France’s life will be published in a few months in the Journal des Savants. Jacques added that the edition shows that the translation, completed by a woman, was done by translating Italian realities into realities of the court of Saint Louis and his son. A very precise linguistic study can show what you have to do to translate an Italian experience for a French audience. Renate added that the research group on Colette de Corbie has recently published an article in Etudes Franciscaines. Another big article coming out in Etudes Franciscaines is a collection of edited letters of Colette de Corbie. The work of Jeanne-Marie de Mailly is also being edited. According to Renate, there is no clear difference between the northern and southern traditions of non-cloistered religious women. Michael Hahn added that there is a great temptation to divide the groups into different trends, and while there are distinctions, the differences are not as significant as might be thought. Perhaps a chronological shift is more appropriate to think about than a geographical one. Jacques agreed, stating that we must not forget that there was a strong circulation of ideas and people in medieval Europe. He spoke about the modern difficulties of scholarly collaboration, but the joy of working in a group like the Other Sister which connects a large group of scholars.

Frances Kneupper posed another question, asking about public performances like Clare enacting the passion. She shared that she could not think of an example of a woman doing something like this in the Holy Roman Empire. Jacques responded that Clare’s life is like a drama, and for this sort of “theatric” performance, the urban context is important. For Isabelle de France, her theatre was the court of her brother the king, not the streets of a city.

Meghan concluded the meeting by thanking the speakers and participants.

Jacques Dalarun ended the conversation as people said goodbye by pointing out that the meeting of The Other Sister had been, in a way, Clara of Rimini’s long-delayed canonization.

Research Seminars

The Other Sister discusses with André Vauchez regarding his most recent book

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If The Other Sister can gather so many researchers interested in women religious who fall outside the traditional lay/religious binaries, it is thanks to the historians who laid the groundwork to allow this type of thinking. André Vauchez is surely one of these historians, whose great works on late medieval sainthood (1981), laity (1987), and spirituality (1993) remain influential to historians to this day. It is for this very reason that The Other Sister was both honoured and excited to have André Vauchez as a guest speaker for our thematic meeting on the fifth of December 2025 to discuss his most recent publication: Les passionnées de Dieu. Expériences religieuses féminines au Moyen Âge. Éditions du Cerf, 2025. 304 pages.

Sean L. Field and Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski offered opening remarks. They highlighted how Vauchez’s work often take the shape of monumental surveys roaming freely over a wide range of subjects, allowing him to find similarities which would not be possible if too focused on one topic. This juxtaposition of topics that could otherwise be seen as unalike, such as recluses and pilgrims, as Vauchez does in his second chapter of his work, casts each in a new light. This speaks deeply to The Other Sister’s mission, to bring together researchers on various types of religious lives, from various parts of the world and times. Renate and Sean highlighted how many of the women Vauchez explores in this book could be categorized as “Other Sisters”: Margery Kempe, Francesca Romana, Ermine de Reims amongst others.

As with many The Other Sister discussions the question of differentiation, both historical and historiographical, of these types of lives were top of mind. First, Michael Hahn asked André Vauchez to elaborate on the distinction he made between prophetess, theologian, mystic and spiritual author and Renate then asked whether there were fundamental differences between Italian and French female spirituality. To the first question Vauchez responded that all terms are often insufficient to capture the reality of these women’s lived experiences, but that he certainly wants to break free of the vita activa/vita contemplativa dichotomy. Therefore, he opts for “spiritual” (spirituelle·s) which encompasses the variety of lives, which were often active and contemplative at the same time or in succession. Regarding “mystic,” he sees this as more an embodied experience, making, for him, all mystics spirituals but not all spirituals mystics. Considering the geographical differences, Vauchez pointed to the conclusion of the book. He spoke of the Mediterranean arc of influence in Southern Europe, where he argued Franciscanism took on heightened importance, allowing for more mailability in female religious devotion. Having observed more indifference for this type of life in Northern Europe, save for in the Flemish regions, Vauchez advanced that Germanic regions were more ready to retain traditional categorisations of religious life.

The theme of categorisation remained as Adam Davis sought Vauchez’s opinion as to where the line was drawn between a saint’s authentic charisma and possible accusations of hypocrisy. When was their charisma even dangerous for the Church? Vauchez spoke of a growing anxiety on the Church authorities’ part regarding this subject in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The clergy was extremely suspect of women who claimed to have more knowledge than them and the inquisition attacked female mystics, saying they were inspired by the devil. However, the line between authentic charisma and hypocrisy was as impossible for them to draw as it is for us. The best minds of the period were not able to do so; Jean Gerson attempted but was not able to. Often it seemed that it was better for the authorities to prevent the spread of their works by translating them into Latin, thusly restraining their spread beyond specialist circles, rather than condemn the mystic. Ermine de Reims is an example that was deemed likely orthodox, but whose works were tightly controlled by the Church authorities. This speaks to the problem of getting at women’s voices and works, which were still often mediated and controlled by men.

The final two questions of the discussion centred around the finding of sources speaking of these women. Anne Ibos-Augé questioned the idea of beguines being an urban phenomenon, given that certain of these women lived in villages or rurally alone or in much smaller communities. Vauchez answered that one must be skeptical of nomenclature, as, for example, he found that the beguines of Rouen were categorised as Benedictines in the parish archives. He pointed that historians previously needed to separate out the groups and create categories, but that we must now see more of a spectrum rather than airtight silos. A lone beguine at home and a recluse were perhaps not so different, therefore, when looking at archival sources we must keep this in mind. In conclusion, Mary Doyno asked: What is the most important question left to answer? To this Vauchez responded that many geographical areas remain understudied, even in Italy, such as Southern Italy. However, his main request is for researchers to be creative with sources. Just as he found the beguines of Rouen under another name, one must look where one does not think to. This extends to other type of archival sources, such as artwork. If one asks new questions, one finds new answers.

The Other Sister thanks André Vauchez for his generous participation. This session made many links between Vauchez’s and The Other Sister’s work and pointed to many interesting areas of research that remain regarding female spirituality in the Middle Ages.

Les passionées de Dieu will be translated into English by Sean Field for Cornell University Press, who are publishing in 2026 Vauchez’ Shrines, Relics, and Saints: Christian Sanctuaries from Late Antiquity Through the Middle Ages, translated to English by Michael F. Cusato.

Research Seminars, Uncategorized

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women’s Writing in the Global Middle Ages

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The Other Sister Research Group met on November 14th, 2025, to discuss The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Medieval Women’s Writing in the Global Middle Ages, edited by Liz Herbert McAvoy, Michelle M. Sauer, and Diane Watt.

Joseph George Akl chaired the session, beginning by introducing the editors, Liz Herbert McAvoy, Michelle M. Sauer, and Diane Watt, and the authors of some of the encyclopedia’s entries on non-cloistered religious women: Michael Hahn, Tanya Stabler Miller, Laura Moncion, and Delfi Nieto-Isabel.

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Diane began by describing how the editors were approached by Palgrave about the project, which originally was pitched as an encyclopedia of women’s writing in medieval Britain or medieval England. She recounted the editors’ attempts to broaden the scope of the project to consider global perspectives, a process that led to the encyclopedia’s current form, which has been in an ongoing course of publication over the past three years. The editors are continuing to commission and accept suggestions for new entries.

Next, Liz discussed the challenges that the editors faced. The project has changed radically over time via discussion between the editors, with the inclusion of more associate editors, and with suggestions for entries sent independently over the past few years. New knowledge sets are constantly being included in the publication, massively expanding its subject area. Liz also noted that the encyclopedia does not claim to be comprehensive but should instead be perceived as a foundation for continued work.

Michelle discussed her own teaching experience and connected it to the development of the project: as a new professor, when asked to teach women’s writing, she had to write her own textbook because one didn’t exist, somewhat mirroring the purpose of the current publication. She emphasized the importance of global medieval studies and the “redefinition” of writing, broadening its domain to include book collecting and commissioning, libraries, and scribal houses to encompass the breadth of women included in these processes. She mentioned the first named author, Enheduanna, who was a Mesopotamian woman, emphasizing the historical, integral role of women in writing.

Michael began the discussion of specific entries with his contribution on Angela of Foligno, whose position as a non-cloistered woman he described as “central and pervasive” in respect to her life and the production and content of her texts as related to what it meant to be a Franciscan tertiary at the end of the thirteenth century. He suggested that Angela’s texts were collaborative productions, written together with her confessor and her wider circle of followers in “layered authorship,” connecting this perspective to research by Pablo Acosta-García, Racha Kirakosian, Carolyn Muessig, and Patricia Stroop on complex co-writing relationships, including layered, communal, and collaborative authorship. Although Angela’s male contemporaries are more readily categorized as theologians than she and other women, who are described as visionaries, spiritual writers, or mystics, are, Michael emphasized Angela’s important contributions to theology and explained that he purposefully constructed his entry to situate her within the theological conversations of her day, taking also into account a range of intellectual, pastoral, and devotional contexts. He also attended to the afterlives of her texts, important to better understand alternative theological voices. Several ecological, trauma-focused, and Black theological interpretations of Angela’s writings have appeared in recent years, for example. Michael concluded by providing examples of students’ interactions with the encyclopedia. Modelling it by being asked to write short, encyclopedia-style entries on a chosen medieval text strengthened students’ skills in conciseness and taught them to integrate complex information as academic writers.

Tanya, who wrote on Beguines, echoed Michelle and Michael’s sentiment that the encyclopedia has been helpful for teaching students about medieval women as well as appropriate for a general audience, with up-to-date bibliographies. She wrote her entry on Beguines with these points in mind and purposefully engaged with the Beguines’ roles in the production of vernacular literature. Tanya then mentioned the complications related to terms and categorizations of Beguines, a topic that has previously been discussed in the edited volume Labels and Libels: Naming Beguines in Northern Medieval Europe (Jennifer Kolpacoff Deane, Letha Böhringer, and Hildo van Engen, eds., Brepols, 2014). Tanya also provided insight into the usefulness of writing this article, as it enabled her to revisit the broader significance of the Beguines and synthesize much of the recent research on them.

The next speaker, Delfi, who wrote on “Heresies, Women, and Social Networks”, mentioned that she appreciated the opportunity to reference important scholars in the field in her entry and expressed how difficult it was for her to summarize her research into such a short text. She explained that her major emphases were women’s networks and women’s literacy, echoing Michelle’s comment on the expansion of the concept of medieval literacy, but she noted that women’s presence in texts often isn’t apparent at first glance. Delfi therefore had to expand her view of literacy, including multiple methods of interacting and impacting a text-based society. She suggested that texts were central to women’s lives, despite that they are underrepresented as authors of written works.

Laura then discussed one of her three entries in the encyclopedia, on Lady Gertrude Rickeldey, a non-cloistered, fourteenth-century noblewoman religious who lived in the Upper Rhine region, and her nontraditional hagiography. Laura raised the question of whether one of Gertrude’s female relatives, Heilke, another non-cloistered woman religious, wrote the text. This question is based on the presence of a single feminine pronoun in the Middle High German spiritual biography. Laura emphasized a few scenes in the text that highlighted vivid descriptions of self-defined, non-cloistered religious life for women that are not from an explicitly male perspective: Heilke’s re-preaching of a sermon she had heard to Gertrude, who was living in semi-reclusion, Heilke’s protection of Gertrude from outsiders, and Gertrude’s ongoing negotiation of humility and property ownership. The text’s translation by Anneke Mulder-Bakker, Gertrud Jaron Lewis, and Tilman Lewis is available digitally, but the manuscript itself is not. One of the major questions for future research might be: how can we know definitively that Heilke (or another woman) wrote this?

Next, Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, who also contributed two entries to the encyclopedia (on Colette of Corbie and Perrine de Baume), reiterated the importance of the editors’ redefinition of what the term “author” encapsulates to include letter writers and other collaborative authors, roles which both Colette and Perrine fill. Renate referenced her recent collaborative article, “Les Vies de Colette de Corbie par Perrine de Baume et Pierre de Vaux. Propositions pour une nouvelle chronologie” (with Ludovic Viallet, Bernard Hodel, Anna Campbell, Sean Field, in Etudes franciscaines n.s. 18.1 (2025): 137-73), which reversed the idea that Perrine had re-copied Pierre de Vaux’s original biography of Colette, instead finding that Perrine’s text was the original and that Perrine and Pierre had collaborated. One of the benefits of the encyclopedia’s current format, Renate suggested, is the opportunity to frequently revise entries as research uncovers new information.

Michelle commented that the editors are considering and accepting entries for the second volume and encouraged researchers to contact any of the editors with suggestions (see below for their emails).

Joseph began the question period by asking the editors how they formulated their approach and how they decided what kinds of entries to include. Furthermore, how had they decided upon the definitions given in the introduction? Regarding challenges, Diane considered the periodization used, which, she acknowledged, is Eurocentric. Another issue was how to structure the entries; the editors decided upon alphabetical order by first name, given that, during most of the Middle Ages, surnames did not exist. Many decisions included significant compromise, necessary to overcome challenges. Diane explained that they wanted to include writing that was important for women, but also attempted to control the number of entries on texts by men.

Liz added that the current publication maintains significant potential for updates, meaning that the introduction can be revised. She also emphasized the encyclopedia’s ease of consultation for lay persons and students, which the editors purposefully prioritized.

Michelle briefly discussed the varied usages of the term “medieval,” acknowledging that the encyclopedia’s use of it might be anachronistic given differing periodizations in different areas. She then specified that practicality was a significant consideration since many academic courses run the full millennium.

Next, Isabelle Cochelin asked what the editors learned from their chosen global perspective. Liz answered that she learned about different approaches to a variety of topics and that studying women, their associates, and their networks often provided new perspectives. Some problems inherent in reading and comparing people from vastly different geographical and cultural backgrounds were uncovered, but Liz emphasized that there is often a sense of vernacularity and certain modes of expression that appear in parallel, making comparison possible.

The next question was from Sarah Carruthers, who asked the editors and contributors to expand on how they approach the “hidden” presence of women in sources. Delfi answered that she uses historical network analysis in inquisitorial records to determine the presence of women and bypass the fact that sources often prioritize the perspectives of male inquisitors. It is also important to look past quantitative data and observe qualitative connections of women with others. Thus, Delfi can consider the quality and depth of women’s social connections and the connections of their connections over how many times they are mentioned in the records. Laura, in contrast, explained that her approach to reading “traditional” texts is to consistently question their authorship. Laura emphasized that approaching texts with an open and inquisitive mind helps in this sense. In her primary research on women recluses in Alsace, she found that she was much more successful in finding women in the sources when specifically looking for them.

Laura asked how the editors have questioned or broadened the category of “women.” Michelle answered that they included transwomen, such as Eleanor Rykener, who lived as a seamstress, bartender, and sex worker in medieval England; Diane also added that the editors are still committed to maintaining and strengthening the encyclopedia’s geographical focus.

Gitta Windt commented that the mental shifts discussed by Delfi and Tanya will encourage the rethinking of literacy in its current framework, particularly as related to women in religious life. Gitta made the point that women were integral to both dissident and orthodox religious communities at a local level; whether or not they were “literate,” they were present in textual communities. She concluded by emphasizing how instructive the encyclopedia entries are.

In response to Gitta, Delfi suggested that dissident communities were structured to imitate non-dissident realities and that they existed in parallel, taking a critical perspective on the current narrative that women were not generally present within these communities, despite their significant impact on community connections. She also suggested that smaller, dissident communities may have provided women with better access, but that opportunities often decreased when these communities expanded, causing women to fade into the historical background.

Diane asked those who have access to the encyclopedia whether the entries might change the way that they teach or do research. Kirsten Schutt answered that the encyclopedia is an excellent source from which to mine sources for classroom use. Delfi responded that one of her new courses on heresy will find good use of the encyclopedia. Short entries are an appropriate format for teaching undergrads, especially with the current state of undergraduate learning, wherein many students struggle with attention span. Laura liked Michael’s idea of having students base assignments on the entries, and she mentioned that writing for large groups of scholars and for the general public has been an important step in her academic writing process. She also agreed with Tanya’s earlier statement that providing students with encyclopedia articles for background reading might save time during class.

Michael added that his students appear to have benefited greatly from the encyclopedia-centred assignment. He also mentioned that “zooming out” from a topic often helps to present new perspectives on one’s original interpretations and conclusions. Joseph mentioned that short entries are important for undergrads who are not specialized in history or do not have certain historical contextual information.

Michael discussed his assignment in greater detail, encouraging others to use this format, which he believes is essential in helping students present information in a concise way and become aware of a variety of academic outputs.

Isabelle asked if anyone had ideas about women that might be added in the future. Laura suggested considering archival deposits and charters, and Rebecca Pawloski suggested Frata Jacopa de’ Settesoli, Francesca Romana, and Paula of Rome. Diane responded to Laura’s comment on legal documentation, agreeing that the editors have been trying to broaden their concept of written sources, mentioning the example of musical notation.

Anne Ibos-Augé asked if women composers are included. Diane answered that they are, but the editors would like to consider additional examples. Anne pointed out that the question of anonymous authors can be complex. Diane responded that they include all cases with strong arguments for a woman’s authorship, even if no scholarly consensus has yet been reached.

Greti Dinvoka-Bruun asked if women writing poetry are included. Michelle answered that they are. Greti specified that women writing biblical poetry and versifications are often considered minor figures, but that they are important to the genre.

Brenna Duperron asked if women’s roles in pre-colonial Indigenous (Turtle Island) oral history traditions might be included in the encyclopedia. Michelle said that the editors are still looking for someone to address this question and that they are hoping to include it in the second printed volume. Certain entries on broader topics might be quite large, up to 5000 words.

Diane added that the editors have included women who were known to have written but whose writing has not survived. Bruce Venarde asked her to expand on this question: how is it decided which women to include? Is this decision based primarily on biographical information or existing texts? Diane answered that biography and evidence are both considered, providing a few examples, including Muriel of Wilton, who was a famous poet in the context of Wilton Abbey, and Elizabeth Barton of Kent, whose writings were seized but some of their contents recorded in the trial records for her execution.

Delfi asked (on behalf of Lorena Garri-Catchot) whether there is an entry about the complexity of issues inherent to the study of medieval women’s authorship. Diane answered no, but that that would be a great addition to the encyclopedia.

The editors have provided their emails for those interested in getting in touch about ideas for new entries. Please remove the space before the @ symbol in each of the emails provided, should you write to them:

d.watt @surrey.ac.uk

michelle.m.sauer @und.edu

e.mcavoy @swansea.ac.uk

Uncategorized, Work in Progress

The Ram in the Thicket: A New Novel of Julian’s Norwich

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by David Townsend

Book cover

“This book is begun… but not yet performed, as to my sight,” observes Julian of Norwich very near the end of the Long Text. The distillation of twenty years’ additional reflection on her vision of 1373 remains, she thus tells us, work in progress: to be completed not in her own further writing, but in the continuous unfolding of its meaning for those who take it up and read. Those multiple unfoldings will in turn, inexhaustibly, remain work in progress. Julian is grounded in absolute certainty that imagination is an essential mode of human cognition. There is no room in her theology for epistemological mistrust of subjective response. Her model of imagination is furthermore intersubjective: the Long Text is shot through with evidence of her interlocutors’ participation in the working out of her understanding.

     Despite her nearly total reticence about the details of her own life, the longing to know Julian herself, amidst the thick texture of her world both before and after her enclosure, is often enough one locus of imagination toward which her readers are drawn. One of the most vivid incitements to such an imagining comes not from Julian’s own writing, but from the chapter early in the Book of Margery Kempe in which Margery is recommended to Julian, after which they spend signfiicant time, we’re told, in “holy dalliance.”
     What, in God’s name, might that have been like, in the year 1413 when it appears to have occurred? In the middle of a prosperous and complex medieval city, where we know that rival factions were actively struggling for political and economic control? Where a thriving Jewish community had disappeared 120 years earlier, but its memory remained inscribed both in urban geography and in the local cult of Europe’s earliest blood libel “saint?” Where the stakes over accusations of heresy carried increasingly deadly potential consequences, especially in the wake of Arundel’s Constitutions of 1409?
     The enterprise of history is inevitably also the enterprise of disciplined imagination. I find it hard to think of a medieval author who gives a fuller warrant for disciplined imagination than Julian herself. And historical fiction is arguably a genre in which knowledge is not merely reflected, but in some important phenomenological sense actively created.
     I first became obsessed with the dynamics of Julian’s encounter with Margery over twenty-five years ago. I set out to imagine it for myself in the first draft of a novel. The end result of my impossibly protracted process has now appeared as The Ram in the Thicket: A Novel of Medieval Norwich, and in a Substack (@davidrtownsend) that offers short notes on the book’s background.
     Recovery of the lives of uncloistered religious women entails resistance to overly literal credence of severe ascetic restrictions that (male-authored) medieval sources set out to impose on anchoresses. Modern representations have often espoused a kind of reverse romaticism about their circumstances: literally bricked up, isolated, and unwavering in an intense devotion that keeps them from going crazy. It’s easy for the popular (and/or pious)  imagination to make Julian into a two-dimensional cutout of mystical fervour. Since I began work on this project, at least two other fictional narratives have appeared–each of which, to my taste, falls victim to insuffiiciently interrogated stereotypes.
     The Julian I’ve imagined has a grainy practical side. She’s unafraid of the life of the body, and she’s used to talking to women trapped in bad marriages. She knows what it’s like to doubt her own vocation, and occasionally to long desperately for the wider world she’s renounced. She’s survived trauma, and grieved the family she lost in the second wave of the Plague when she was eighteen. She has no use for religious austerity for its own sake. Her maid Alice has been her companion since long before she entered the cell. She dearly loves the wealthy merchant whose life she saved as a newborn orphan who needed a wetnurse to survive. She loves his feisty eleven-year-old daughter like her own. She banters back and forth with Alice about what’s happening in Norwich. She knows the stakes of running afoul of religious authorities. She finds Margery a handful. And needless to say, there’s a cat.
     The book is begun, but not yet performed, as to my sight.
Research Seminars

Jeanne-Marie de Maillé

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The Other Sister Research Group met on May 16th, 2025, to discuss the noblewoman Jeanne-Marie de Maillé who, after a chaste marriage, lived an intriguing religious life in widowhood, never entering a religious order. Her vita and canonization inquest are currently being compiled, translated, and commented on by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Bruce Venarde, and Edmund (Ed) van der Molen for their forthcoming volume, Jeanne-Marie de Maillé (1331-1414): Searching for Sainthood in Late Medieval France.

The circulated readings included the introduction and four chapters, one with an extract from the vita, “Chapter 3: A Pious Young Widow in the City,” and the others with extracts from the inquest: “Chapter 13: The Articles of Interrogation” “Chapter 20: The Testimony of Pierre des Aubuis,” and “Chapter 25: The Testimony of Jeanne la Carrée.” Each extract is followed by a commentary.

Renate started the presentations by explaining how she came across Jeanne-Marie while working on the political visions of other medieval women religious, such as Constance de Rabastens, and thanks to the work of André Vauchez: Jeanne-Marie had had a vision about the papal schism. Renate then suggested to Bruce that they work together on her vita by the Franciscan Martin of Boisgaultier and her inquest. After they started their collaboration, they came across Ed’s name, through A.J. Langley’s podcast “My Favorite Mystic,” as someone also working on Jeanne-Marie; they contacted him and all three decided to work together. The group’s three-part collaboration functions through a tripartite division of the vita and inquest texts. Each translates their sections of the primary sources and writes commentaries for them, but also comments on the others’ translations and commentaries with a colour-coded schema. They are in the later stages of the process, and Renate noted that their work on the texts has already begun to establish multiple additional projects, such as her current work on Jacques II de Bourbon (d. 1438), Comte de La Marche, who possibly sponsored Jeanne-Marie’s canonization inquest. Bruce added that their chosen structure for the book, which incorporates a commentary at the end of each chapter, has been influenced by the example of the recent publication A Female Apostle in Medieval Italy: The Life of Clare of Rimini, by Jacques Dalarun, Sean L. Field, and Valerio Cappozzo (2023).

Ed, the second speaker, explained that he discovered Jeanne-Marie through his doctoral research on the construction of saints’ identities. He is especially interested in exploring the disagreements that could develop over what kind of saints could emerge from canonization processes. His initial fascination with Jeanne-Marie was due to her liminal position between religious and lay. He considers the texts of the vita and the inquest to represent the first stages of saint-making, and, using the methodology of value theory, he emphasizes the differences in values that are apparent among the different proponents of Jeanne-Marie’s canonization. The initial stages of the canonization process invited people to negotiate, transform, and appropriate value of different kinds, encouraged the exercise of social creativity, and defined the values of the community. In general, Ed said, during the development of a saint’s cult, community consensus was important to the construction of saintly identity, yet multiple identities emerge from Jeanne-Marie’s dossier. As he pointed out, the two texts present additional questions: since there is no known surviving manuscript of the vita (only a seventeenth-century printed edition), the sources provide few answers to queries about the intended audience, purpose, and dissemination. Jeanne-Marie’s name does appear in a fifteenth-century breviary now in Besançon, suggesting her cult spread beyond her native region.

Next, Ed explained that Jeanne-Marie’s hagiographer extrapolated a make-shift set of religious vows for her in the vita encompassing poverty, chastity, and obedience through the mechanism of mystical visions of Mary and Christ and demonstrated, for example, by her refusal to remarry after the death of her husband. Within the vita, there is some effort to cloister her and to regularize her identity.

Bruce, the final speaker, discussed his entry into the project through an invitation by Renate. He also praised the group’s work process, which he emphasized is heavily collaborative in all aspects. This project was particularly attractive, he said, due to the manageable length of the inquest and its potential usefulness for both teaching and research. So far, only canonization inquests in partibus (organized from Rome) have been edited and translated. This will be the first translation into English (or any modern language) of the preceding stage, the diocesan inquest.

During the Q&A period, moderated by Joseph George Akl, Isabelle Cochelin asked how Jeanne-Marie’s hymen could have been inspected after her death (as mentioned in the inquest) to prove her virginity. Renate and Bruce suggested that there is no information about this in the text and mentioned the unique character of the expression used: claustrum virgineum integrum, incorruptum, atque intactum (“a whole, pure, and intact hymen”, Ch. 25). Such an expression does not appear to have been used elsewhere. Lori Walters provided the example of Joan of Arc, whose virginity was also checked, and she suggested that this was a fairly normalized practice. Isabelle clarified that her astonishment was related to Jeanne-Marie being dead when the examination occurred.

Laura Moncion suggested that Jeanne-Marie perfectly fits the description of an “other sister,” owing particularly to her interactions with lay society (taking care of pregnant women, attending baptisms, etc.). Laura asked whether Jeanne-Marie was performing midwife duties and whether she shared a spiritual or worldly relationship with the children whose baptisms she attended or those of the pregnant women she helped. She also asked who set the articles of interrogation in the inquest: a confessor, a court employee, or the community. In response to the latter question, Bruce answered that the hagiographer, local members of the clergy, and perhaps Jacques de Bourbon, the possible funder of the project, each had roles in the process. Renate added that it was most likely a joint project, although the preliminary inquest would have come from the diocese. Jacques de Bourbon’s procurator seems to have acted in his stead since he himself was not physically there: he was about to be married to Queen Joanna II of Naples. Despite these clues, there is no clear indication of who funded the project. There were only 16 witness across the course of a year, most of them from in or near Tours, so funding may simply have been piecemeal.

In response to Laura’s question about midwifery and godparentage, Ed answered that Jeanne-Marie did not necessarily act as a midwife, but she did act as godmother to at least one child, a son of Duke Louis I d’Anjou. While married, she also acted as a foster mother to three orphaned children, who vanish from the narrative after they are mentioned. She is, however, portrayed as a maternal figure. The narrative includes several miracles related to childbirth. In one example, Jeanne-Marie convinces a knight who is skilled in surgery to intervene in a successful caesarian birth. There are also examples of long-distance miracles related to childbirth, which are formulaic: the pregnancy seems doomed, Jeanne-Marie intervenes, and both mother and child survive. Ed added that she is viewed as both a spiritual and worldly maternal figure and godparent and perhaps even as a godparent to the wider community. This appears to have been a significant and purposeful theme in the texts provided through multiple examples of her nurturing of children’s spiritual development.

Lucy Barnhouse responded to Ed,s comments on maternal characteristics, suggesting connections to Laura Kalas’ theory that Margery Kempe did spiritual work that paralleled the roles of mothering and care that she would otherwise have fulfilled within a more traditional life path. Lucy then proposed that some of Jeanne-Marie’s activities complemented the work of hospital sisters. Some hospital records from France excluded pregnant women and foundlings from the hospital, perhaps due to concerns about noise. Thus, Jeanne-Marie was engaging in work that hospitals were not doing for various reasons; her embedment in her community might parallel some phenomena discussed in Ruth Salter’s “cure seekers.” Lucy then asked whether the three speakers have considered Jeanne-Marie’s potential relation to hospital work. Renate answered that Jeanne-Marie did work at a hospital at one point, but an unfortunate incident with an ill man, related to grapes and diarrhea, ended her employment there. Indeed, she was a “gig worker” and did not work in hospitals or the medical field in any consistent way.

Ed added that Jeanne-Marie’s hagiographer struggled to fit her into a box: almost a mystic, almost a recluse, almost a hospital worker, but none of them completely. She often shifted what she was doing, which led to issues crafting a distinct narrative and identity, further emphasizing the code-switching and liminality inherent in her narrative. Renate added that she wants to compare the vita and the inquest at some point in the future since many aspects of the inquest, such as Jeanne-Marie’s visions, are excluded from the vita. Some other aspects of Jeanne-Marie’s life, however, appear to have been over-emphasized and dramatized by the hagiographer. Her liberation of prisoners, for example, mentioned briefly in a written testimony, became a multiple-paragraph section in the vita. Within this context, determining how the hagiographer selected information to include in the vita is a matter of great interest.

Next, Adam Davis asked, related to Ed’s comments on the competing versions of identity, how intensely Jeanne-Marie’s identities differed. He also asked how the ambition of female saints was discussed and represented, extending this question to the ambition of the hagiographer. How did writers stretch the boundaries of what was acceptable for women? Adam offered a comparison between Jeanne-Marie and Clare of Rimini, who both wished to drink from the chalice at Communion. While Clare did drink the wine, Jeanne-Marie’s mouth filled with blood in its place. In response to the first question, Ed answered that there are at least three or four versions of Jeanne-Marie that emerge from the narratives of different witnesses: worldly mystic, efficient healer, and St Martin-like character. The vita is meant to synthesize these different versions and produce a cohesive portrait. He added that her relationship with the Franciscans is emphasized in the vita through mutual support.  She also interacts with a lot of aristocratic networks connected to the Franciscans, which is emphasized in the vita but not by the witnesses, demonstrating significant value differences between different communities. Thus, the identities that emerge include Jeanne-Marie as a traditional healing saint, an idealized Franciscan saint, an otherworldly mystic, and a corporate civic saint. At the point in the process that is revealed by the two source documents, no significant synthesis between these perspectives has yet been achieved.

Bruce added that many aspects of sainthood were comprised in the two texts and that this seems to have been purposeful on the part of the hagiographer. Ed said that they seemed to be “ticking boxes” for different aspects of sainthood. Renate emphasized that no writings directly from Jeanne-Marie survive, unlike for some of her contemporaries such as St Colette of Corbie; we only have second-hand accounts of Jeanne-Marie’s religious philosophy.

Delfi Nieto-Isabel then asked how much we know about Jeanne-Marie.s “devotees” – the people who were behind the inquest and vita – especially about their social connections to Jeanne-Marie and to each other. She also asked what Jeanne-Marie’s exact relationship was to the Franciscans. How was she both reclusive and staying with them? Finally, she inquired about the language used to refer to Jeanne-Marie in the sources. Since Jeanne-Marie fulfilled so many different roles and appeared to have been buried in a Franciscan habit, how did people refer to her? To this last question, Renate answered that the description “hermitesse” was insulting to Jeanne-Marie. She compared Jeanne-Marie to Colette of Corbie, citing her forthcoming article (“La recluse et l’‘Hermitesse’: La place et la fonction de la réclusion et de l’érémitisme dans les vies de Sainte Colette de Corbie (1381-1447) et de la bienheureuse Jeanne-Marie de Maillé (1331-1414)” in Une autre Cité des dames: Hommage à Yasmina Foehr-Janssens, edited by Hélène Bellon-Méguelle, Camille Carnaille, Philippe Frieden, and Marion Uhlig, forthcoming): Colette was enclosed in a church for multiple years, but Jeanne-Marie had a retreat outside of Tours, at Notre-Dame de Planche-de-Vaux, where she stayed from time to time. She lived in a variety of places in and around Tours. Bruce added that she is not referred to as either a recluse or a beguine and that she seems to have been called a “hermitesse” because she used to dress in very simple clothing. Ed clarified that the texts describe her as a “holy woman,” “holy lady,” or “saint.”

Ed also answered Delfi’s question about networks around Jeanne-Marie. The bourgeois of Tours, for example, are demonstrated to have known each other, and their narratives suggest interaction among them. There is also an aristocratic support network, with a prominent Angevin element. There is not much connection in between these two networks, however. Bruce mentioned that there is also a local clerical network, not associated with Franciscans, but with St Martin’s Basilica.  Ed added that there are no Franciscan witnesses included in the inquest. Why? This seems odd, considering the vita’s emphasis on Jeanne-Marie’s Franciscan connection, apparent in both her relationships with individual Franciscans and with the order in a broader sense.

Renate suggested that Jeanne-Marie had at last one direct international connection, as demonstrated by a letter from the King of Cyprus included in the inquest. The king was part of this aristocratic international network, demonstrating its far reach and the circulation of Jeanne-Marie’s reputation.

Alison More asked how useful it was (and is) to fit Jeanne-Marie into a specific box given the diversity of her identities. She suggested that women religious perceived their multiple identities as irregular and extra-regular ways of “life,” and not necessarily as distinct labels. She also asked about the definition of Jeanne-Marie’s tertiary identity and requested additional clarification about the absence of Franciscans among the witnesses. Renate answered that Jeanne-Marie was not officially called a tertiary but that such terminology has been applied in the source texts for other cases, such as that of St Colette, who took tertiary vows, as a recluse before becoming a Poor Clare. It appears that the Franciscans were trying to keep Jeanne-Marie safe throughout her life and that they eventually took her in on their land in Tours, though there was never an official affiliation. Ed suggested that Jeanne-Marie emphasized the Franciscan relationship when it was particularly helpful to her. Her chosen confessor was not a Franciscan, but, later in her life, she decided that Franciscans would provide permanence. Overall, she picked and chose based on differing circumstances. She was buried in the habit of St Clare. Thus, her burial garb was a statement of intent and not a reflection of reality. Bruce said that the relationship between the Franciscans and Jeanne-Marie appears to have been a mutually beneficial arrangement. Although Jeanne-Marie was most likely looking for stability with the Franciscans, the Franciscans would have benefitted from her reputation as a holy woman and significant figure in the region.

Renate added that there are some questions about Jeanne-Marie’s poverty since she donated many relics and riches to churches but still begged on the streets and took a vow of poverty. She also went on pilgrimages, which were expensive. These examples provide a contradiction regarding her financial means. Alison suggested that poverty might have been an identity marker, particularly for Franciscans, but was not necessarily a reality. Delfi added that, within her sources, there are many examples of tertiaries begging while also donating much – voluntary poverty was only possible with funding.

Next, Lori asked where the information about Jeanne-Marie’s connection to and criticisms of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria came from. Renate answered that this connection is mentioned in the vita and had been established because Jeanne-Marie was from the aristocracy. Lori asked as well about the dates of Jeanne-Marie’s interactions with the king and queen as related to the timing of Charles’ mental illness, and Renate responded that they occurred after 1392 and the onset of illness, providing context for Jeanne-Marie’s more significant interactions with Isabeau. Lori then asked whether the information in the vita might have been glossed during the writing process. Renate answered that this is unlikely, since Martin of Boisgaultier, her hagiographer, was simply trying to piece her identity together and did not include allegorical interpretation in his text. Bruce agreed that the dossier was not theological, and Ed suggested that the hagiographer’s sources were other vitae and that he was piecing his vita together from these examples.

Next, Lucy added to the discussion of the flexibility of Jeanne-Marie’s poverty, suggesting that this fluidity reflects the relationships of “other sisters” to the categorization of “poor” since they embraced the identities of service to the poor by being poor themselves (pauperes). Lucy suggested that such identification is related to a rhetorical construction of the poor and the identity of the poor within the Christian community, which hinges upon the distinction between deserving and undeserving poor.

Renate added that they do not know what happened to the canonization dossier later on. To whom was it delivered given that it was written during the Council of Constance and the tri-papacy? The manuscript of the vita no longer exists. Unlike the continued efforts to canonize St Colette, there were no other inquests related to Jeanne-Marie. Why? Renate said that André Vauchez has demonstrated that there was an early modern cult related to the hermitage of Notre-Dame de Planche-de-Vaux, but all of this appears to have had no continued impact.

Isabelle suggested that the nobility was occupied by other events, such as the end of the Hundred Years’ War and Charles VI’s illness, and that there was no religious order to help develop a sustained, devoted cult. She also followed up on Adam’s question about ambition. Renate answered that we do not have much information about Jeanne-Marie’s ambition, since we do not have access to her thoughts in her own words, only her actions as seen through a secondary lens. She does not appear to have been ambitious in terms of pursuing a singular goal, but she was possibly ambitious in the number of things she tried to do and in her liminality and refusal to adhere to a single identity. She also generally refrained from overstepping the boundaries of social acceptability, though she was attacked in Paris and accused of witchcraft.

Bruce added that, once, someone threw a stone at her, but she was never pursued by the inquisition. Renate mentioned that she only appears to have been accused of witchcraft by one person, but this never happened in Tours, where she was very well known. Bruce and Renate also discussed small incidents where she was mistreated or rejected for her clothing and poor appearance and one incident in which her brother acted as if he did not recognize her. Ed added that the question of ambition might be applied to the intention to achieve sainthood, which was unacceptable since a large part of holiness relates to humility. We do not know if Jeanne-Marie attempted to present herself as a saint. How much of her action was deliberate? The hagiographer was also attempting to create this persona for Jeanne-Marie, ticking many of the boxes of sainthood on her behalf: how much of this construction was the agency of the hagiographer and how much of it was the agency of Jeanne-Marie?

Bruce concluded that Jeanne-Marie was very old at the time of her death and that much of the vita reflects her early life. Thus, much of the information in the vita must have been provided by Jeanne-Marie herself.

Research Seminars

Clerics’ Wives and Women in the Latin West (800-1200) – Thematic Meeting

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The Other Sister – Thematic Meeting 11/04/2025

The members of The Other Sister met on the 11th of April 2025 to discuss three chapters and the introduction of the forthcoming book Clerics’ Wives and Women in the Latin West (800-1200) co-edited by Fiona J. Griffiths and Émilie Kurdziel and published at Cambridge University Press.

This subject was very much of interest to The Other Sister not only due to its subject matter, which presents non cloistered women fulfilling religious roles, but also due to its methodology. This book promotes reading or rereading sources to find these women that others have overlooked and doing so in collaboration with other researchers, something that resonates with The Other Sister’s mission. Furthermore, this pushes The Other Sister’s timeline (1100-1800) back 300 years (800-1200), allowing us to find continuities throughout the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period.

The three chapters read for this meeting were:

  • Fiona J. Griffiths. “Surrendering Huza: A Clerical Wife and Mother as Gift in the Eleventh Century,”
  • Margot Laprade. “Clerical Dynasties and Marriage Strategies in Eleventh-century Brittany”
  • Émilie Kurdziel. “Gerberga, the Erased Wife of Bishop Willelmus of Arezzo (1011-1013)”

As an introduction, Fiona J. Griffiths explained that this book began from a desire to go beyond the caricatures of clerical wives. She noted that the historiography has sided with the rhetoric of Church reformers and with the idea that reform produces a “better” Church, thusly painting married clerics as inherently corrupt. Much of the historiography on the subject also focus on the legislation regarding clerical marriage, some on the married clerics, and very few on the wives and women living with the clerics. The co-edited book aims to specifically speak to the women’s experiences and lives.

Furthermore, there was a general view that there were no sources on these women. However, Fiona insisted that collaborative work made this possible as many people had found some information to fit into the puzzle.

Fiona finished her presentation thinking through the question as to what role these women might have had in their church. Finding this role is very difficult, but what is clear is that there is a pre and a post-ordination life for these wives. Their virtue prior to ordination is of importance and she often had to agree to the ordination of her husband. Additionally, there is evidence that her clothing would have changed after the ordination of her husband or gained a title, such as ancilla Dei.

Next, Margot Laprade presented her chapter, which deals with two episcopal dynasties in the 10th and 11th century, in which bishops are succeeded by their sons from post ordination marriages. Through examining these families, Margot could see that clerics’ wives were referred to with titles that are closely related to power and function such as sacerdotissa and used the space of the cathedral as spaces in which they had power.

Margot also stressed that there are in fact many clerics’ wives in Merovingian sources from the 5th to 7th centuries, where we see women consenting to their husband’s ordination, continuing to live together, and even having a role in the liturgy. She cited an example of a letter from Licinius of Tours, Mélaine of Rennes and Eustochius of Angers to Lovocat and Catihern who celebrated mass alongside women who had given the blood of Christ during the Eucharist.

Margot also cited the example of an engraving in a fifth- or sixth-century column in France that reads: Martia presbyteria ferit obblata oledbrio par et nepote, thusly showing that she was a cleric’s wife. The “ferit obblata” could mean that she made a one-off offering but also could have the meaning that she offered the Holy Host during mass.

Lastly, Émilie Kurdziel, began by offering the interesting example of the status of a clerical wife from the Ordines romani, which in the 36th ordo, describes the priest’s ordination. It says that once ordained and having received the vestments and vessels, the priest would leave St Peter’s and ride on a white horse to their church, escorted by the faithful who carried candles. The text adds that roman women did the same for deaconesses and priestesses who were blessed on the same day. The women would sing lauds for these wives. This shows that these wives would also be blessed and given a title and receiving the same praise as their priest husbands. It also demonstrates a dignity and status linked to status of men. Interestingly, the manuscript is continued to be copied into the 10th century.

Émilie went on to specify that we must be meticulous when looking for women in sources, as they can be erased for a variety of reasons, just as Dyan Elliott had shown in hagiography. In this case, Gerberga, bishop’s wife from Arezzo, had her name included in some charters, but erased in others. By following her children, Émilie was able to continue to find information about Gerberga. Émilie also urged the group to look and think beyond the reformer and the Gregorian Reform. These women are still there, even if certain people try to erase them.

After such interesting articles and presentations, The Other Sister’s members were eager to start the discussion. Michelle Armstrong-Partida began by asking about the daughters born of clerical marriages and if they were more difficulty traced in the sources. Émilie answered that in fact, daughters appear in the sources and have no issue being recognized by their clerical fathers. There is also evidence of endogamic marriages between the children of clerics. In fact, sons might appear more often in sources as it is more difficult for them to be ordained. Clerical sons required papal dispensation to become priests, as they were technically barred from priesthood, therefore we have many letters asking for this dispensation. Margot added that clerics’ daughters appear relatively often in Merovingian sources and that daughters were allowed to live with their fathers to help with the household.

Next, Bruce Venarde pointed out that in one of the breve that Émilie had presented, Gerberga, the bishop’s wife, had her name omitted, yet her son is named as the bishop’s son. This struck as odd to omit the wife (replacing her name with ***) yet be open to admitting the bishop had children. How is this dynamic working? Émilie suggests that there were two groups. The first were the reformers who believed clerical marriages were not acceptable. This group was related to Arezzo’s cathedral chapter. The second group believed in clerical marriages and within this group was the bishop’s daughter-in-law. This breve was drafted in Santa Fiora, whereas the ones which erase all traces of Gerberga were from the cathedral archives, demonstrating a difference in attitudes. Isabelle Cochelin added that those reading the *** in the breve would surely know this meant the wife of the bishop, with which Émilie agreed saying that they were erasing something which everyone knew.

Meghan Lescault continued by asking if there was any evidence that clerics’ wives ever had legal status conferred on them due to their status as wives? Did they benefit from any privileges or were they viewed the same as a lay women under the law? Émilie answered that clerics were meant to be living according to Roman law, at least in Italy. Therefore, a cleric who was born as a Lombard or a Frank, once he became a cleric, he needed to start using Roman law and this was the same for his wife. This did not apply to lay women. Margot stated that she had not come across this in Frankish sources.

Next, Roisin Cossar asked if clerics’ wives would have had a religious identity and if there was evidence of them being in contact with each other, to which Fiona answered that she feels that they surely must have a role in running the parish. There are sources speaking of them making vestments and decorating the church, which requires theological knowledge. They would also have been patrons of arts in their own right. Émilie added that they also would have a role in raising and educating the future clerics in the household.

Nicole Shulman then spoke of how there are two aspects for concern regarding clerical marriage, the sexual and the property. She asked what was happening the Church property and if there was any concern or examples of clerics’ children inheriting Church property. Margot responded by stating that in canon law, everything the priest acquires after ordination belongs to the Church, but they can keep possessions acquired prior to ordination and thusly bequeath these items. However, for a cleric’s wife, Margot did not see why she would not be able to leave any of her goods or property to her inheritors. However, Fiona stressed that although reformers speak a lot about the sexual aspect of clerical marriage and that reform is required for this reason, property seems to be the real heart of reform. It is a major issue for them. Focusing too much on the sexual aspect of reformer’s opposition to clerical marriage is missing the target.

This concluded the very interesting and fruitful discussion surrounding the new publication and clerical wives. Another example for how we must not be afraid to look for women and their roles in the texts and histories we study.

Research Seminars

Mapping Non-Cloistered Religious Women

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The Other Sister Research Group met on March 7, 2025 to discuss the topic of “Mapping Non-Cloistered Religious Women”. It was organized by Delfi Nieto-Isabel and Tanya Stabler-Miller, and chaired by the latter. Tanya introduced the four projects which explore the experiences of pre-modern women outside of the cloister.

  • Tracy Chapman Hamilton (Sweet Briar College), working with Mariah Proctor-Tiffany (California State University, Long Beach): Mapping Medieval Women

Using material and textual archival sources, mappingthemedievalwoman.com makes visible women’s foundations, rituals, residences, convents, and work in the cityscape of Paris c. 1300.

  • Michelle M. Sauer (University of North Dakota) and Justin Wigard (University of North Dakota): Mapping Anchorholds of the Northwest Atlantic

In this project, sacred space of the medieval past comes alive with the tools of modern geomapping. The project creates a digital map of extant anchorholds along with the sites of textual production of anchoritic and anchoritic-affiliated texts (including sites of their original composition, places where copying occurs, and maps of dialectal features). This has not been done before in any form despite the importance of space to this religious life.

  • Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel (Queen Mary University of London): ILLITTERATAE – Digital Cataloguing and Historical Network Analysis of Dissident Beguines in the Western Mediterranean

Using social network analysis, geographic information systems, and other digital tools, ILLITTERATAE locates and maps the activity of groups of beguins and beguines associated with the reforming branch of the Franciscan order in western Mediterranean cities.

  • Eleonora Rava (University of St Andrews) and Frances Andrews (University of St Andrews): Recluses Mapping Project

The project was initially part of, “InSpeCo. Inside Speaker’s Corner. Late Medieval Italian Anchoresses in European Context” funded by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship in 2016-2018 (https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/inspeco/map/). The map, which is automatically generated by a relational database of recluses, illuminates the presence of recluses throughout Italy.

Tracy Chapman began with an overview of the project mappingthemedievalwoman.com. It started in 2014, when Tracy and Mariah Proctor-Tiffany learned how to use ArcGIS in their work as art historians. Using ArcGIS, they marked the same sites on both a historic and modern map of Paris in order to ‘geo-rectify’ it, to then use the map to represent information about several women who became queens of France. They also traced these queens’ actions in the city to see how they honored both their natal land and their marital land. They did so through founding chapels, supervising the creation of specific objects, and more, therefore forging their own identity through those actions. The project maps networks of exchange for these queens, specifically their networks in Paris. Other locations were also mapped, such as burial sites and religious and educational foundations. The project works to display how visible these elite women were. The team next investigated tax rolls which led to the discovery of other women, especially those who worked in the arts, who were very wealthy and successful and had a strong presence in the tax rolls as significant businesswomen. These women were added to the map, with specifications about their trade, parish, and street. The project brings together many maps, sources, and data points, to show how visible women were in Paris c. 1300. While Paris might have been thought to be mainly a domain of men, this project challenges that notion, and locates women participating in society fully, even in jobs which are typically coded as masculine (carpenters, gravelmakers, masons). One of the joys of the project, Tracy shared, is the collaboration with other scholars on this project to expand it and include more women.

Tracy handed things back to Tanya (Stabler Miller), who is also involved in the project. Tanya briefly shared more information about beguines living outside of the beguinage in Paris. Many of these women worked, holding highly skilled jobs and paying significant taxes. They can be followed through tax rolls over time. Tanya highlighted the importance of mapping to understand how beguines lived, for example clustered around a specific parish church, and how their networks functioned in the city.

The next project was ‘Mapping Anchorholds of the Northwest Atlantic’ introduced by Michelle M. Sauer (University of North Dakota) and Justin Wigard (University of North Dakota). It is worth underlining that Justin is not a medievalist but specializes in twentieth- and twenty-first century literature, comic studies, and popular culture, but brought technical expertise to the project. Their project is an interactive ArcGIS map of known anchorholds in the northwest Atlantic region, showing each site with known information and photographs. Michelle shared that for 25 years she has explored the Northwest Atlantic looking for anchorholds, leading to an understanding of how recluses were highly integrated into their communities and to urban networks (such as roads and bridges). Justin shared how the mapping of the project worked, which includes over 300 sites of anchorholds. By mapping the sites, clusters of anchorholds can be identified and better understood. Each site includes the associated church, anchorite title, patrons, dates, and other information if known. There are also photographs and primary source documents. Michelle and Justin gave an example of how the project works by using a Sussex case. Justin highlighted how much content there is and how much more information there is to continue adding to the project. This could include hermitages, holy wells, and other related sites. The project is not yet available but with some additions Justin and Michelle are hopeful that it will be accessible to the public shortly.

Next, Tanya introduced Delfi I. Nieto-Isabel (Queen Mary University of London), a co-organizer of The Other Sister, and her project, ILLITTERATAE – Digital Cataloguing and Historical Network Analysis of Dissident Beguines in the Western Mediterranean. Using social network analysis, geographic information systems, and other digital tools, ILLITTERATAE locates and maps the activity of groups of beguins and beguines associated with the reforming branch of the Franciscan order in western Mediterranean cities. Delfi explained that while she does mapping, she is less concerned with geographic mapping and more with other forms of mapping. The project is based on the question of what roles illiterate women (those who didn’t understand Latin) played in religious dissidence movements, focusing on beguines and their male counterparts, beguins. These groups were based in different areas of the western Mediterranean and were increasingly suspected of heretical beliefs. They were strongly associated with radical Franciscans. After May 7, 1314, when Franciscan friars were burned at the stake for the first time, the movement spiralled out of control. Delfi consulted a multitude of sources in many archives and libraries, including inquisition manuals and other materials which discuss these women; the coordinates of where to find these sources is included in the project. The ‘actors’ interface’ shows where we can find each woman (with her age, religious status, marital status, and in which sources she is mentioned) and her social network.  From here, the maps allow researchers to find gaps in sources and ask new questions.

One such question concerns the leadership of men and women in these movements. Delfi shared that the project reveals that the leadership of men can be seen as circumstantial – disappearing when the man in question was arrested –, while that of women is generally charismatic and community-based. Indeed, usually, women’s groups had formed even before persecution began and were able to survive the arrest of a given woman. Delfi hopes to make a better history using these networks.

Next, Tanya introduced Eleonora Rava (University of St Andrews) and Frances Andrews (University of St Andrews), who joined to share their ‘Recluses Mapping Project’ for Italy. It was one of the outputs of the project “InSpeCo (Inside Speaker’s Corner): Late Medieval Italian Anchoresses in European Context” funded by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship in 2016-2018 (https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/inspeco/map/). It tracks known and anonymous recluses from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. The map is automatically generated by a relational database of recluses hosted on Research Computing technical infrastructure maintained by St Andrews IT Services. This type of project has not been undertaken in Italy before and is important because of the idea that urban reclusion relied on local context and therefore varied highly between locations. The map ties together sites which otherwise appear unrelated, showing new connections and a better understanding of recluse networks and how they interacted with the urban and natural environment. The website includes registers, chronicles, and many other sources. The project uses a multidisciplinary approach. The database is available to the public online, except for the transcript of the documents, which will be made available once Eleonora’s monograph on recluses is published. Currently, the project includes 1068 entries, providing researchers with extensive information. The mapping project can be adapted to the needs of researchers by altering the period, sorting recluses by gender, specific location, etc. It illustrates how extensive the instance of male and female reclusion was, where it occurred, its distribution, etc. This can show how far recluses were at times from towns, political borders, and more.

Next, Tanya opened the discussion up to questions. Isabelle Cochelin asked both presenters about the gender of their recluses; she specifically cited an article (Clare M. Dowding, “’A Certain Tourelle on London Wall… Was Granted…. For Him to Inhabit the Same’: London Anchorites and the City Wall,” Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures, 41/2 [2016] 44-55) which seemed to refer to as many male recluses as female recluses in late medieval London. She asked; how much was it representative of what was to be found in England compared to the situation on the continent? Eleonora answered that in Italy, female recluses were much more common. Male recluses were often priests or friars when they did occur. Justin answered that in their project, recluses also appear to be mainly women, though there are examples of men.

Tracy asked Michelle and Justin if they built their project starting with a simpler map or keeping true to modern maps. Justin answered that so far, they have used the default map but have been working to rectify it to consider the historic spaces. Michelle agreed that it is a challenge to balance historic landmarks with modern factors like modern administrative divisions.

Next, Renate Blumenfield-Kosinski asked about the technology that Delfi used. She answered that Kumu was the software, which had superior analysis capabilities but less comprehensive mapping capacity. Renate also asked Tracy and Tanya if the women listed in the Paris project worked independently, or if they shared a workshop, and if they seem to have been completely independent from men. Tanya explained that the tax rolls listed only a limited number of actors; in most cases married women are obscured from the sources by reference to their husband. She shared that sometimes married women showed up in the tax rolls, but it was rare. Singlewomen and beguines show up as long as they make a significant enough income. She added that the clusters of beguines are treated as distinct working groups within the rolls.  Tracy added that widows offer a striking example of women’s work. She finds the networks between all these women, widowed, singlewomen and beguines, especially fascinating.

Delfi added that she finds many unnamed women in her sources and includes them in her project to include them in the record, with names like ‘woman from Avignon’. Excluding women for not having a name was one of the issues that Delfi identified in projects like this. She stated that problem-solving this kind of issue is important.

Laura Moncion asked Tracy, Tanya, and Justin if their maps cover one moment or a period and how they express time in their projects. Tanya answered that the tax rolls cover about a decade around the year 1300. Other added data points also surround this period, but she hopes to expand the capabilities of the project to increase the data and other capabilities. Justin answered for their project that each map point has its own date but that he has gained new ideas for how to sort by chronological date in their project.

Next, Meghan Lescault asked how those who are interested can start adding digital humanities projects to their repertoire and how this can work alongside their other responsibilities when they want to obtain an academic position and, later, tenure. Delfi answered that there has been a movement asking for time and support to create digital humanities, especially in European funding schemes. Medievalists, she shared, are especially active in developing digital projects. Tracy added that discipline also matters in this, sharing that art historians have been working to convince departments to start including digital humanities materials in their criteria for hiring and granting tenure, and taking them as seriously as publications. Delfi also offered advice to those who wish to make a project like this, that databases have downloadable materials with a doi, so that these contributions can be viewed as a publication and the author given credit. Justin added via the chat that he agreed with the comments from Delfi and Tracy, adding that he has had positive experiences with departments who are receptive to Digital Humanities projects. He also suggested referencing the MLA guidelines for evaluating these types of projects.

Eleonora Cappuccilli asked if a shift can be seen over the centuries or in relation to certain events (for example, the Reformation) in the evolution of recluses in Eleonora’s project. Eleonora answered that reclusion in Italy expanded especially during the 13th and 14th centuries, related to mendicant movements. In particular, it was related to the creation of the Franciscan third order. Recluses, compared to women tertiaries, were less under the influence of authorities like an abbess or bishop. Another important moment was the Black Death, because the type of evidence available changed after this event. Often recluses are found in bequests for the poor in this period, while fifteenth-century sources reveal information about changing ideas of spirituality for recluses and how their confinement informed their piety.

Next, Sarah Carruthers asked Tracy and Tanya about the jobs for women that were related to book making, whether there were separate workshops for bookmaking or if they were connected to households. Tracy answered that both instances occurred, and that there was overlap and collaboration between households and communities but also instances of individual production.

Melissa Moreton asked the final question, highlighting the potential of the Italian Recluse mapping project. She shared that this kind of tool is very useful for her research but noticed that it is not as accessible to a user who is not an expert. She wondered if there is an apparatus to identify the capabilities and uses of the database so that it can be used by more people. Delfi agreed and discussed the uncertainty of medieval sources, and how to translate that into projects that still allows them to be user-friendly. Data must be adjusted to reflect the realities of the sources and incorporate the knowledge of historians so that the information has more context that allows more users to understand it. Tracy added that uncertainty has been reflected in their map using color-coding to identify the level of certainty in a piece of information (a location, for example). She echoed that making sure the viewer knows that uncertainty exists is very important.

Tanya closed the discussion with thanks to the presenters. Isabelle Cochelin highlighted the collaborative work of these kinds of projects and how well it fits into the goals of The Other Sister research group.

Research Seminars

The Other Sister Research Seminar: Images

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By Meghan Lescault

As The Other Sister project examines women who often took religious life in new and interesting directions, it was only fitting that we followed in their footsteps ever so slightly for our most recent online research seminar on December 13, 2024, where we departed from our customary format and ventured into new territory. Prior to the meeting, images that had been sent in by several scholars were disseminated to all participants. During the seminar, these scholars had the opportunity to discuss these images that they had come across in their research of medieval and early modern religious women and to ask all attendees for information, ideas, and points of comparison with their own research. This collaborative exercise, hosted by Mary Doyno and Tanya Stabler Miller, was a great success, as it led to robust discussion and a helpful exchange of ideas.

A close-up from the left panel, taken from the larger image seen here.

Isabelle Cochelin began the conversion with the above image of a woman, who is thought to be St. Monica, from a fifteenth-century Netherlandish triptych depicting scenes from the life of St. Augustine. She discussed her search for representations of non-cloistered religious women in art, of which this painting is a potential example. This search has led to questions as to whether such women can be detected in crowds and as attendees of sermons in pieces of artwork. Cochelin also mentioned the difficulties of determining the identity of women depicted in art on the basis of their habits. For example, how can we tell whether the subject is meant to be dressed in the garb of a widow or of another type of non-cloistered woman? Devon Sherwood offered the comparison of books of hours that did in fact belong to religious women but depict their owners in secular clothing. Ashley Tickle Odebiyi offered the insight that the potential St. Monica is portrayed here in a blue habit, a noteworthy point given that the bizzoche of Rome studied by Odebiyi are associated with a consorority of St. Monica that also had habits of a blue hue.

Meghan Callahan further stirred up a flurry of conversation with an image taken from Francesco da Castiglione’s sixteenth-century biography of Sister Domenica da Paradiso. It can be seen on the second page of Callahan’s 2012 article found here. The unusual image is meant to depict Domenica in the midst of a vision, seemingly having a mystical experience of Christ’s crucifixion. Callahan asked the group if others had encountered any comparable images. Amongst several interested respondents, Kate Bush recalled a description of a similar image portraying Vanna of Orvieto in 1306 as well as the accounts of Margaret of Cortona mystically experiencing the wounds of Christ. Callahan was the recipient of several inquiries, as curious attendees wanted to know more about the intriguing image: Who drew it? Could it have been a female artist? Why the detailed outline of Domenica’s legs? Why the Y-shaped cross? Callahan believes that it was composed by Domenica’s confessor and biographer Francesco and that the details of the image simply represent an attempt to portray the sight of Domenica during her visions accurately.

Margot Fassler’s chosen image, found in the Klarenbuch, Karlsruhe, BLB Cod. Thennenbach 4, continued the theme of women depicted in unusual places that are typically reserved for Christ. In this case, St. Clare is placed at the middle of a Last Supper table—seated between Christ and St. John—in a late-fifteenth- or early-sixteenth-century painting by the Poor Clare Sybilla von Bondorf. In comparing this painting to a similar depiction of St. Francis at the Last Supper, also painted by Bondorf and found in the Life of Francis in German (London, BL 15710, f.168v), Fassler surmised that Bondorf may have been appealing to her viewers’ memories, as she painted Clare as the presider in one painting and Francis in the other. This can also be seen in two depictions of Bonaventure painted by Bondorf. Fassler’s work on music, in which one melody can have multiple settings, led her to the realization that a similar phenomenon may be at play in artwork—highly stylized images with similar themes but slightly different details. Amanda Pullan offered a helpful comparison with seventeenth-century embroidery in which women would embroider angel or biblical stories on the left side of the panel, changing the exact content but maintaining the same location of the images.

Tanya Stabler Miller continued the discussion by presenting sketches of the tomb effigies of three identifiable medieval Parisian beguines—Jeanne Brichard, Agnes d’Orchies, and Marie de Gonesse. Images of the latter two can be found on pages 100 and 51, respectively, in Stabler Miller’s book. She pointed out that such items allow for interesting observations about how the women chose to represent themselves, and she specifically drew attention to the girdle books carried by Brichard and Gonesse in these images, suggesting that such an accessory might have an association with beguines. Their connection with these wearable pouches intended to carry and protect psalters and other books would make sense given their reputation for piety and charitable work as well as their movement between spaces such as the beguinage, workshops, and home. In asking the group for comparisons, Stabler Miller received feedback about similar tomb effigies of women depicted with books. Moreover, Margot Fassler and Siobhan Nelson noted the similarity of these girdle books to chatelaines, which were used by women working in nursing and haberdashery to store their belongings needed for such tasks. Stabler Miller pointed out that beguines could function as caregivers and silk-workers and that the need for a storage device of this kind highlighted their mobility and fluidity between spaces.

Diptych-reliquary depicting Dominican saints, saint Ursula, saint Catherine of Alexandria, the Virgin and donors. Burgos, Monastery of Santa Maria de Las Huelgas. 13.2 x 20.2 x1 cm (both panels). Beginning of the fourteenth century. Reproduced with the permission of Patrimonio Nacional.

Mercedes Pérez Vidal brought the conversation off the page and into the third dimension, as she discussed the above devotional diptych and reliquary that probably originated in or near Cologne but is now housed at the Cistercian monastery of Las Huelgas in Burgos, Spain. She emphasized two especially intriguing, even puzzling aspects of this object. The diptych contains one of the earliest known depictions of Helen of Hungary, a Dominican nun who is styled as a saint here, and at the same time, it is very similar to an object that belonged to Christina von Stommeln, a beguine who lived near Cologne in Jülich. Pérez Vidal noted that this points to a blurring of boundaries between cloistered and non-cloistered women, Dominicans and beguines. Isabelle Cochelin responded by inquiring about the price of such a precious object and who would have had the means to afford it. Pérez Vidal emphasized that the origin of the diptych remains unknown but discussed the possibility that it came out of the context of the circulation of relics, especially those of the 11,000 virgins of Cologne, that occurred in the area between Cologne and the Low Countries.

Barbara R. Walters furthered the discussion with a presentation of an illumination in a Mosan Psalter (The Hague, KB 76 G. 17 f. 82v). She explained that she approaches images in terms of historical sequences, palimpsests, and progressions with particular emphasis on the feast of Corpus Christi. The thirteenth-century women of Liège, especially the recluse Eve of St. Martin and St. Juliana of Mont-Cornillon, are represented here by this image from a Mosan Psalter, as this is part of a group of psalters that likely circulated among laywomen of Liège. Moreover, the image’s depiction of the elevation of the host highlights the Eucharistic devotion among the women of Liège, who were instrumental in instituting the new feast of Corpus Christi in 1246. Thinking about generations of recluses, Walters asked the group if it makes sense to see different generations of recluses in Liège as part of a progression from a friendship network to a more formal set of church roles and relationships. Isabelle Cochelin responded that the notion of recluses as wholly enclosed with a locked door has been debated throughout the centuries. While the rhetoric suggested constant enclosure, there were significant variations in reality.

Katherine Clark Walter brought the session to a fitting close with some perplexing illuminations from a fourteenth-century pontifical of William Durand (Clm 10037, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich). Three images found on folios 80v (page 170 in the above link), 81r, (171), and 233r (475) depict women standing behind a bishop at various consecration ceremonies, an unusual sight in such manuscripts. We especially focused on folio 81r (171), where such an illumination is paired with the text for the benediction of widows. Clark Walter thought that the woman right behind the bishop might be an officiant at the benediction alongside the bishop and asked the group why this might be. In response, Isabelle Cochelin discussed the often-significant roles played by abbesses at the professions of nuns and introduced the question of the potentially diverging roles of the abbess and the bishop, depending on the sources consulted. Margot Fassler and Meghan Callahan both questioned whether the woman was playing an active part as an officiant or rather was serving as a witness. Bruce Venarde drew everyone’s attention to the highly unusual nature of the image, highlighting the strange placements of the virgins to one side, the bishop to the other side, the woman behind the bishop, and a monk front and center.

Mary Doyno noted that ending on the note of oddity was a fitting cap for this meeting, as its goal was to elicit analysis, draw out questions, and illustrate the need for further research. This session did just that, highlighting the potential successes of crowdsourcing and proving that sometimes a picture is worth more than 1000 words.

Research Seminars

The Other Sister Research Seminar: Prophecies and Politics Outside Enclosures: Visionary Women in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe

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By Sarah Carruthers

On Friday, November 22, 2024, The Other Sister Research Group held a thematic meeting on the topic of Prophecies and Politics Outside Enclosures: Visionary Women in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe. 

Our invited scholars and readings were:

  • Frances Kneupper, “Female Prophets Transcending Gender Expectations During the Great Schism – The Revelations of Constance of Rabastens and Marie Robine,” in Mediävistik im kulturgeschichlichen Kontinuum, edited by Gerda Brunnlechner, Nadine Holzmeier, et al. (Niva Mediaevalia), Göttingen: V&R Unipress, 2024. (to appear)
  • Eleonora Cappuccilli, “Domenica da Paradiso and the Prophetic Discipline of the Body and Soul,” in Body, Gender, Senses: Subversive Expressions in Early Modern Art and Literature, edited by Carin Franzén and Johanna Vernqvist, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2024, pp. 11-29.
  • Unn Falkeid. “‘The Most Illustrious and Divine of All the Sibyls.’ Saint Birgitta in the Prophetic Visions of Tommaso Campanella and Queen Cristina of Sweden,” in The Legacy of Birgitta of Sweden, edited by Anna Wainwright and Unn Falkeid, Leiden: Brill, 2023, pp. 277-307.

For the first time we also had a respondent, our co-organizer Delfi Nieto-Isabel. 

Frances Kneupper began by explaining that prophetic authority could be both claimed and dismissed. Men justified their prophetic voices through text, including scripture and reading, whereas women (or at least men who wrote about women) justified their prophetic voices through the body, such as the stigmata and illness. Frances emphasised the differences between these two traditions: the male prophetic tradition was educated and written, while the female prophetic tradition was oral and more bodily. However, Frances stressed that the occasional merging of these two traditions is understudied. She explained that the female and male prophetic traditions at times drew on each other, for instance in the cases of Vincent Ferrer and Marie Robine, regarding concerns about the Antichrist. Moreover, Constance of Rabastens and Marie Robine broke the molds with their prophetic voices. Both were laywomen and illiterate, who used their roles as prophets to participate in the political uncertainty and the papal schism which formed the social background to their prophetic visions and engagement with apocalyptic rhetoric.

Eleonora Cappuccilli spoke next about Domenica da Paradiso, focusing on the questions and paradigms surrounding this prophetic figure. Eleonora notes that scholars have primarily focussed on Domenica’s lived and embodied experience, but Domenica’s body is in dialogue with her intellect. Domenica’s body could be both positive and active, becoming the link to the divine for the prophet. Dominica used extreme ascetism against her body, but Eleonora noted that martyrdom of the body has limits. Nevertheless, Eleonora explained that the earthly body also opens women to the divine and that the imitatio Christi does not have a limit. For hagiographers, prophetic women doubting themselves shows their legitimacy because doubt is answered by God. Domenica and Constance are connected to St Birgitta of Sweden, as Birgitta is authorized as a widow and prophet, and these women used their positions as prophets to influence the political climate that emerged around the fourteenth-century papal schism between Rome and Avignon. Domenica is not as political as Birgitta and Constance, but she calls on the Pope in 1526 to warn him of catastrophe. Eleonora underscored that a prophet could function as a critic even in a supportive capacity for an authority figure, but prophecy could also expose women to public circulation and legal danger. 

Unn Falkeid was the session’s third speaker. Unn began by explaining that this article emerged from her latest book. Because the article does not go into great depth about Birgitta of Sweden, she reminded the group about Birgitta’s life. She was born as an aristocrat, married at thirteen, and had eight children. In the 1340s, she became a widow and started to engage in public political debates while creating her own religious order. Birgitta moved to Rome, established a monastic rule, and traveled widely in Italy, where she produced her Liber celestis. According to scholarship, Birgitta was one of the most influential figures of the visionary tradition in the late Middle Ages. At the end of her life, she is at the height of her authority in Rome. Birgitta had a significant influence throughout Italy and was a key figure in the Italian Renaissance. Unn worked with Anna Wainwright on a research project on Birgitta of Sweden that produced a database and articles. The article presented today is one of the articles that emerged from this research project. Unn and Anna Wainwright’s most surprising discovery was that in the early modern period, long after her death, Birgitta was still invoked as a prophetic authority.

Delfi Nieto-Isabel was the session’s respondent. She indicated that she would first discuss how the papers work together, then turn to how her own work on prophetic women fits in, and then bring the key themes of the session’s prophetic women together. Delfi emphasised that prophecy is never about good things: it has an aura of negativity and catastrophe surrounding it. Although there were prophetic religious women before, the fourteenth century was a turning point. Drawing on the Book of Revelations, such women were concerned with the Antichrist and criticized the Pope, as the fourteenth century was a time of papal schism, leading to an increase of apocalypse rhetoric based on the Book of Revelation. On the other hand, Delfi stressed that in this session’s papers the relationship between intellectual and emotional authority is mediated for women. In the early fourteenth century, female prophets could respond to and draw on scripture in their writing and prophecies directly. By the late fourteenth century, male theologians drew on scripture, while women needed to negotiate the way in which they approached scripture, using a male figure to record their oral prophecies, claiming ignorance of the scripture draw on in the prophecy, and presenting their prophecies as embodied rather than intellectual. Delfi emphasised that earlier women paved the way for these later prophetic women. She then noted that another theme in this session is illiteracy, which is sometimes a trope and sometimes real. Prophetic women were able to participate intellectually, as the somatic body and reason interact in prophetic writing. Delfi stressed that there is both a turning point and a tension present here. For instance, the fourteenth-century beguine Na Prous is much more focused on her intellect and is less bodily, but the source that provides us with Na Prous’ visions is a legal source based on her testimony, not a source based on the tradition of affective piety associated with women, such as Catherine of Siena’s Dialogue or Birgitta of Sweden’s Liber celestis. Delfi indicated that this tension comes from women moving away from the aesthetics of the body in the fourteenth century. Delfi gave temporality as another reason for this tension, as the coming of the apocalypse is a concern in Franciscan circles at the time. 

Frances then responded to Delfi, saying that she is curious about the Franciscan prophetic circles. How did this tradition continue and change throughout time? And how was the tradition disseminated and continued?

Next, Eleonora responded to Delfi, mentioning the relationship between literacy and intellectual production. Birgitta’s pen was moved by God. Yet, women had to justify their non-traditional way of life. Eleonora stresses that orality is connected to the collective production of prophetic writing, and that women used orality to justify their tertiary lifestyles to their audiences. Eleonora stressed that prophetic women called on authority figures to pray, act immediately, take power, and interact with God. She also remarked that the mortification of the body filtered in and out. Prophetic women drew on the imitatio Christi, as Christ died for everyone. Christ touches everyone as equals, but in some moments the Passion becomes a political message. Eleonora said that a key theme is the relationship between the prophetic message and self-doubt. Eleonora then drew on Unn’s thinking, saying that Birgitta was sometimes misinterpreted, saying that theologians, systematised and challenged living saints. How should they use someone’s joy? Joy for prophetic women was divine, not diabolic. Eleonora said that doubt is always present, but women could not be deluded by the devil if they knew their hearts were clear. Prophetic women placed reform on themselves; it is true and from God.

Next, Unn responded to Delfi and Eleonora, explaining that Birgitta turned into a figure who became part of the language of prophecy. Unn argued that prophecy was way for women to enter politics, differentiating prophetic and mystical language. Unn also said that Birgitta’s language was vague, making it easy to re-use. Thus, her revelations gained popularity in the early seventeenth-century, and her Liber celestis turned into a tough document for the Church to grapple with. 

Delfi then asked a question to all three speakers about heresy: “What is the connection between prophecy and heresy? How does it play out?” 

Unn responded that prophecy was a powerful assistant to women, as drawing on Birgitta could increase the authority of other women. Birgitta of Sweden’s legacy is full of tensions between the tradition of the classical saint and the prophetic figure, as she became a figure that bridges the lines between a saint and a rebel.

Frances then responded that Birgitta of Sweden’s prophetic writing was taken out of context by theologians but not substantially so, especially at the Council of Basel. Constance and Marie questioned authority, but they were disobedient, not heretical. Disobedience and heresy are not the same. Frances stressed that heresy and the rejection of authority were different.

Eleonora responded that the reason for prophecy was clear, everything is coming directly from God. Divine authority sent by God is instrumental for a prophetic woman, so her prophecies are authorised by God and she is not mistaken for a preacher, a role Biblically forbidden to women. Eleonora mentioned that the church authorities tried to exclude Domenica, who became a pawn within this system, but Domenica wanted to be autonomous. The Dominicans considered that to be an issue. Domenica’s trial revealed the detention of another prophet. Dominica took responsibility for this woman, taking spiritual care of her.

The question-and-answer period then began.

Isabelle Cochelin asked a question about the social status of prophets. Birgitta of Sweden had no issues with writing because of her high status, and her disobedience was accepted. How does this change for lower-status women?

Unn responded that Birgitta’s high status and literacy matters here. The Virgin Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Birgitta speaks with the Virgin Mary in her visions. High status does lead to acceptance. Nevertheless, Birgitta faced resistance during her life and her canonization process was challenging.

Frances responded that there are two models at play here. Birgitta acts as an inspiration for everyone, but no one else has her status. Yet, illiterate lowly women also said that God had chosen them because of their simple status, as humility was a trope used by women and their hagiographers to authorise women’s speech.

Eleonora weighed in that Birgitta took a vow of poverty at one point, making Birgitta of Sweden an unusual model as a higher-status woman.

Bob Sweetman then asked if there were any allusions to the prophet Amos in Dominica’s visions and sermons as Amos was himself a farmer prophet. Frances responded that many women connected their authority to male prophets, not female prophets. Women also drew on John the Baptist, and Domenica also acted as “a New Age Mary.”

Jane Tylus then inquired about the Virgin Mary as an example of a prophetic figure whose body is crucial. Eleonora responded that the body anchored the Virgin Mary to the earth, but the body also opened her to the birth of Christ. Unn then responded that in Birgitta’s world, the Virgin Mary functions as a sister, mother, and friend, explaining that Birgitta also experienced many of the same social roles as the Virgin Mary. The late Middle Ages is the height of Marian devotion, as the Virgin Mary was simultaneously an inspiring figure and fountain head, and the imitation of Birgitta followed in the tradition of the imitatio Mariae.

Margot Fassler then asked Unn if she can say more about the oratorio of St Birgitta composed by Decio Azzolino (d. 1689), if it had been transcribed and ever performed and recorded: if not, “these things should happen.” Unn replied to Margot that she did not know if the oratorio had been performed, but the piece would be sung. She added that the oratorio still needed to be transcribed.

Next, Devon Sherwood asked Eleonora if a permeability is present between secular and religious works. Is corporality and intercessory language present regarding Queenship? Was the political undertones of these religious works meant to be an attempt to claim secular authority? Eleanora responded to Devon that as Birgitta is noble, she is a bearer of secular authority and power. The more classical image of this type of authority is the procession of queens in a religious ritual.

Lydia Walker asked Unn and Eleonora about Campanella’s love and Domenica’s doubt. Does the relationship between gender and emotion provide authorization? Is the authentication of doubt also gendered? Unn responded to Lydia, bringing in the history of emotions, saying that love is a strong word and can be an uncertain word due to translation issues. Eleonora said that doubt is gendered. Doubt for women is a formal form of authorization, as scripture is for theologians. Eleonora stressed that human intellect cannot have complete knowledge. Doubt needed to be reflected in action. This opens a space for women as prophets. Eleonora stressed that for Domenica, the garden and the virtues of the Virgin Mary are clear influences on her imagery.

News and Events

The Other Sister at the 2025 MAA

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We are happy to announce that several members and friends of The Other Sister will be participating in sessions at the 2025 Centennial Meeting of the MAA to be held March 20–22 at Harvard University.

A panel entitled “Liminal Figures: Non-Cloistered Religious Women and Canon Law” will occur on Friday, March 21 from 1:30–3:15 pm in Sever Hall 103.

Anne E. Lester (Johns Hopkins University) will serve as chair, and the following papers will be presented:

John H. Van Engen (University of Notre Dame): “Women Hearth-Mates, Master Geert Grote, and Canon Law”

Tanya Stabler Miller (Loyola University Chicago): “‘By No Means Considered Religious’: Beguines, Canons, and Canon Law”

Meghan Lescault (University of Toronto): “Canon-ess Law: Secular Canonesses and Legal Status”

Immediately afterwards on Friday, March 21 from 3:30–5:15 pm, there will be a roundtable session entitled “Women’s Religious Communities: A Roundtable Discussion of Past Scholarship and New Directions” in Emerson Hall 101.

Fiona Griffiths (Stanford University) will serve as chair, and the following will speak as participants:

Margot Fassler (University of Notre Dame)

Eva Schlotheuber (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

Susan Boynton (Columbia University)

Isabelle Cochelin (University of Toronto)

Joshua O’Driscoll (Morgan Library and Museum)

Information about the conference and registration can be found here.