Artikel

Clerical concubines in Northern Italy during the fourteenth century

Verfasst von: Cossar, Roisin
in:
Bloomington: 2011 , 110 - 131 S.

Weitere Informationen

Einrichtung: Ariadne | Wien
Verfasst von: Cossar, Roisin
In:
Jahr: 2011
Sprache: Englisch
Beschreibung:
This essay reconstructs the lives of a neglected group of women in the Christian church during the later Middle Ages. So-called clerical “concubines” were well-known in their communities, but their lived experience has been largely ignored by modern historians. Yet studying clerical concubines sheds light not only on the women themselves, but also on the social organization of the medieval Christian church. Drawing on information gathered from notarial acts across the northern Italian peninsula, I argue that concubines were not a unitary group. Their experiences varied instead according to their status and the regions they inhabited. For instance, while laywomen who became priests’ concubines moved into their lovers’ homes, nuns retained cells in their religious houses during these relationships. Furthermore, concubines in cities such as Treviso could openly live with their lovers and share their property, while in other places, such as Bergamo, severe legal restrictions on concubines made them a particularly vulnerable group.
Anmerkung:
Literaturangaben
Gesamten Bestand von Ariadne anzeigen
Datensatz im Katalog der Einrichtung anzeigen

Standort

Ariadne