Medieval English Nunneries

A fascinating study of medieval English convents, showing their ideals, lifestyle, organisation, relationships inside and outside the cloister, and failings.

This 1922 study of medieval English convents broke new ground by examining an aspect of medieval life that had been largely ignored, owing to the relative lack of sources. Power shows that most nuns were of upper and middle class, living under light discipline and not immune to scandals.Eileen Power, best known for her posthumously published Medieval Women, was one of the foremost scholars of medieval economic and social history in the first half of the twentieth century. This 1922 work is a substantial study of medieval English nunneries between 1275 and 1535. Power examines in depth who entered the convents, how they were organised, their finances, activities and problems. Although medieval nunneries were significantly poorer and less well documented than the monastic houses, Power uses the available sources to build up a multifaceted picture of medieval life. Her arguments are firmly rooted in documentary evidence, but are presented in an extremely accessible and engaging style. The book reveals that convent life was not particularly ascetic or learned, and that in poorer houses the nuns had to find additional sources of income. Power's account of their methods of coping makes fascinating reading.