'Neither in the world nor out' : space and gender in Latin saints' vitae from the thirteenth-century Low Countries
This thesis explores space and gender in twenty-three Latin saintsâ vitae from the thirteenth-century Low Countries. In the midst of urbanisation and rejuvenating apostolic zeal, the vitae emerged from a milieu in which groups of women who were unable or unwilling to pursue a traditional religious vocation chose to live a vita mixta, a combination of the contemplative and active life, while remaining in the world. Recent scholarship has moved away from viewing the women through the lens of institutionalisation. However, continued focus on the womenâs ecclesiastical status and the labels used to describe them has implicitly maintained a lay/monastic binary, in which the women are compared against the monastic paradigm. The twenty-three vitae under examination detail the lives of both women and men (whose vitae offer a comparison) from different backgrounds and vocations. This wide-ranging selection of texts allows for a broad comparative textual analysis in order to consider where and how the women and men enacted solitary piety and communal devotion. Taking geometric space as its organising principle the thesis considers the dominant cultural configurations of space and its fluidity, noting how space could
Shepherd, Hannah
medieval ; gender ; women ; space ; Low Countries ; hagiography
'Neither in the world nor out' : space and gender in Latin saints' vitae from the thirteenth-century Low Countries. This thesis explores space and gender in twenty-three Latin saintsâ vitae from the thirteenth-century Low Countries. In the midst of urbanisation and rejuvenating apostolic zeal, the vitae emerged from a milieu in which groups of women who were unable or unwilling to pursue a traditional religious vocation chose to live a vita mixta, a combination of the contemplative and active life, while remaining in the world. Recent scholarship has moved away from viewing the women through the lens of institutionalisation. However, continued focus on the womenâs ecclesiastical status and the labels used to describe them has implicitly maintained a lay/monastic binary, in which the women are compared against the monastic paradigm. The twenty-three vitae under examination detail the lives of both women and men (whose vitae offer a comparison) from different backgrounds and vocations. This wide-ranging selection of texts allows for a broad comparative textual analysis in order to consider where and how the women and men enacted solitary piety and communal devotion. Taking geometric space as its organising principle the thesis considers the dominant cultural configurations of space and its fluidity, noting how space could
neither world space gender latin saint vitae thirteenth_century low_countries explores space gender twenty_three latin saint vitae thirteenth_century low_countries midst urbanisation rejuvenate apostolic vitae emerge milieu group woman unable unwilling pursue traditional_religious vocation choose live vita combination contemplative active life remain world recent_scholarship move_away view woman lens institutionalisation however_continue focus woman ecclesiastical status label use_describe implicitly maintain lay monastic binary woman compare monastic paradigm twenty_three vitae examination detail live woman_men whose vitae offer comparison_different background vocation wide_ranging selection text allow broad comparative textual_analysis order_consider woman_men enact piety communal devotion taking geometric space organise principle considers dominant cultural configuration space fluidity note space could