Tag Archives: Marriage

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

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.