NUNS:HISTORY OF CONVENT LIFE PAPER: A History of Convent Life

by Silvia Evangelisti

Praised in The Atlantic Monthly as an "engrossing narrative," Nuns tells the fascinating stories of the women who have lived in religious communities during some of the most tumultuous years in European history. Drawing particularly on the nuns' own words, Silvia Evangelisti reveals their ideals and achievements, frustrations and failures, and their attempts to reach out to the society around them. She explores how they came to the cloister, how they responded to monastic discipline, and how they pursued their spiritual, intellectual, and missionary activities. Indeed, nuns often found a way to contribute to their communities by creating charities and schools, while a few exceptional women made names for themselves for their artistic talents or for establishing new convents. This book features the individual stories of some of the most outstanding historical figures, including Teresa of Avila, who set up over seventeen new convents. Evangelisti shows how these women were able to
overcome some of the restrictions placed on women in their societies at large. In doing so, she provides a fascinating and rarely seen glimpse into their intriguing world.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, European History, Spirituality, Christianity

301 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2007

Reviews

[Booksrock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably like most, and not being Catholic, I have always been fascinated by nuns. This book is a true history, so if one were looking for a bunch of sensationalism, wrong place. Evangelisti's thesis is thought provoking, at least to me: For most of the last 1500 years, nuns were about the only people who could somewhat self direct and even hone their talents. As wives and daughters, women were chattel, but in the cloister, many came into their own as writers, musicians, poets, as well as theologians.

[J.T.K. Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, in-depth study of the life and history of nuns and the convent. A must-read for any women's history study or for those who treasure women's and Church history.

[Sherry J. Machemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

I enjoyed reading and learning the history of convent life. It was very interesting how orders were started and spread.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good information.

[Allen Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

[Francine Marie Cortese · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read indeed! I recommend it to my fellow Catholic sisters.

[Kristján Hannesson]

Great for a social history of convents in the Renaissance.

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This examines the lives of nuns in the 16th to 18th century mostly with occasional coments on the continuing traditions and some of the reasons that somethings are the way they are today. It was interesting to see how the council of Trent completely changed things from where Nuns could have interaction with the outside world. Before it they could go out into the world and retreat to their cloister but after it they couldn't go out. Their influence and interaction with other people was utterly changed.

It was also interesting to see the rise and fall of certain orders and the changes that the reformation wrought on them. Occasionally changes that restricted the choices some women had.

During this period women really only had two choices; marry or join the cloister. In some instances they didn't really have those choices, they were imposed upon them by the men in their lives (usually brothers or fathers); dowries were expensive commodities and while many convents also wanted a dowry this wasn't as high as a marriage dowry making it a less expensive proposition for families, particularly if they had several daughters to apportion.

It's quite readable, and if you know anything of nuns (I am a convent school alumnus and I have an aunt a nun) you can see the echoes of the past in the present. An interesting book that deserves a sequel dealing with more modern issues and a prequel dealing with medieval issues.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers a LOT - it looks at several centuries, across not only Western Europe but Canada and Mexico. The chapters are divided by theme - nuns and writing! nuns and economics! nuns and theater! etc - so it's a bit hard to get a sense of the timeline, or changes across any one region or community. It might have benefited from a more detailed introduction that gave a bit more background into the period and what convent life was like before jumping into the topics.

So I didn't exactly walk away feeling like I understood convents from 1450 to 1700. But the book did a good job of giving snapshots of different kinds of convent life and drawing out the common experience of nuns throughout Europe in both ways I was familiar with (entering convents based on economics, family politics, etc, and writing mystical biographies) and ways that were more surprising (putting on plays for audiences both within and outside of teh convent, for example.) The non-European convents are woven in with a bit more difficulty - Evangelisti tries to fit her discussion of missionary work, colonialism, and its impact on religious life into like a third of a chapter and it is just not enough.

The last chapter, about nuns who resisted cloistering, is probably the best - you can tell Evangelisti is rooting for them to get out there in the world.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing in that I got no sense at all of what life was like for most nuns in their day-to-day lives. Evanelisti focuses on other things--nuns' roles in cultural productions(theater, music, the visual arts, etc.) and then missionary activity. She discusses the debates over enclosure. She mentions tantalizing facts like the difference between upper-class "choir" nuns and lower-class "servant" nuns. I read the book hoping for an understanding of the life from their perspective but little of this is provided.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the history of nuns, with a focus on the early modern/Reformation period. The book discusses life in the typical convent, women's motivations for becoming nuns, and literary and artistic nuns and their work. It finishes with a chapter on convents in the New World and in the European colonies of the 18th and 19th centuries.

[Lu]

Interesting;

[Hoyadaisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely academic.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

good overall history. very enlightening. cleared up some questions I had after reading sacred hearts