Women and the Religious Life in Premodern Europe - Hardcover

Ranft, Patricia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312124341 ISBN 13: 9780312124342

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1996

Synopsis

In chronological order from the fourth century to the 17th, synthesizes the considerable research done over the past few years on the important contributions of women to the development of western culture and the Catholic church. Considers women in and out of religious orders, visionaries, The Reformation, and other aspects. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

About the Author

Patricia Ranft is professor of history at Central Michigan University.

Reviews

This concise and accessible history of religious women from the fourth through the seventeenth century will prove an invaluable resource for students of European history. Though Ranft does not set out to be comprehensive, she offers ample evidence of the central role played by women in the formation of the religious life of Europe and in the history of premodern Europe. With an introductory audience in mind, she keeps references as unobtrusive as possible but offers pointers for those who wish to pursue the subject further. Of particular interest is Ranft's contribution to historical documentation of opportunities for leadership afforded European women by the religious life (and created by European women in the religious life) before the modern era, as well as resistance to those opportunities within the ecclesiastical hierarchy. This is not a supplement to the history of religious men so often offered as "standard" ; it is an integral contribution to the history of religious life in Europe and tells a story that should be read as indispensable to that history. Steve Schroeder

Calling this narrative history, Ranft (history, Central Michigan Univ.) walks chronologically through the lives of religious women from Marcella in fourth-century Rome to Mary Ward's Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 17th-century England. Intent upon whatever is unusual and distinctive to each era, she notes, "[I]t is evident by now that the history of women religious is not an echo or mirror image of that of men religious." She disdains overly academic verbiage and succeeds in making accessible a mountain of useful and diverse information. However, a critical apparatus is noticeably lacking. Ranft never fully engages the issue of authorship or voice regarding female narratives. Nor does she suggest in more than a cursory way why women in different eras chose the religious path, other than through a sense of vocation. Still, she has done women's historical scholarship an immense service in collecting such a wealth of introductory information into a single volume. Recommended for women's history and religious collections.?Sandra Collins, SLIS, Univ. of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312124341
• ISBN 13: 9780312124342
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 159