New approaches to understanding religious women's involvement in monastic reform, demonstrating how women's experiences were more ambiguous and multi-layered than previously assumed. Over the last two decades, scholarship has presented a more nuanced view of women's attitude to and agency in medieval monastic reform, challenging the idea that they were, by and large, unwilling to accept or were necessarily hostile towards reform initiatives. Rather, it has shown that they actively participated in debates about the ideas and structures that shaped their religious lives, whether rejecting,...
New approaches to understanding religious women's involvement in monastic reform, demonstrating how women's experiences were more ambiguous and multi-...
An indispensable guide to the earliest contemporary account of the Franciscan Order in England. Known as Friars Minor, Franciscans or Greyfriars, the followers of St Francis of Assisi pioneered a new type of religious life, moving beyond the monastic cloister. Their ministry was to bring the Gospel to life through example, preaching, gesture, drama, music and poetry. Founded in 1209, the movement became rapidly popular and spread widely across Europe. By around 1257 there were 49 communities In England, housing some 1,242 friars. The story of the Franciscans' arrival, and the growth of the...
An indispensable guide to the earliest contemporary account of the Franciscan Order in England. Known as Friars Minor, Franciscans or Greyfriars, the...
