A multi-disciplinary re-evaluation of the role of women religious in the Middle Ages, both inside and outside the cloister.

Medieval women found diverse ways of expressing their religious aspirations: within the cloister as members of monastic and religious orders, within the world as vowesses, or between the two as anchorites. Via a range of disciplinary approaches, from history, archaeology, literature, and the visual arts, the essays in this volume challenge received scholarly narratives and re-examine the roles of women religious: their authority and agency within their own communities and the wider world; their learning and literacy; place in the landscape; and visual culture. Overall, they highlight the impact of women on the world around them, the significance of their presence in communities, and the experiences and legacies they left behind.

Contributions by: Kimm Curran, Janet Burton, Steven Vanderputten, Katharine Sykes, Alison More, Cate Gunn, Laura Richmond, Elizabeth Lehfeldt, Rachel Delman, Diana Denissen, Sara Charles, Yvonne Seale, Tracy Collins, Mercedes Perez Vidal