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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. ______________________________ ‘Neither In the World Nor Out’: Space and Gender in Latin Saints’ Vitae from the Thirteenth-Century Low Countries ________________________________________ Hannah Shepherd PhD University of Edinburgh 2017 Declaration This thesis is my own work and my own composition. It has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. NB: A small amount of material expands on work I produced for my MSc dissertation in Medieval History (The University of Edinburgh, 2012). The text is different from any work submitted toward the MSc qualification. Abstract This thesis explores space and gender in twenty-three Latin saints’ vitae from the thirteenth-century Low Countries. In the midst of urbanisation and rejuvenating apostolic zeal, the vitae emerged from a milieu in which groups of women who were unable or unwilling to pursue a traditional religious vocation chose to live a vita mixta, a combination of the contemplative and active life, while remaining in the world. Recent scholarship has moved away from viewing the women through the lens of institutionalisation. However, continued focus on the women’s ecclesiastical status and the labels used to describe them has implicitly maintained a lay/monastic binary, in which the women are compared against the monastic paradigm. The twenty-three vitae under examination detail the lives of both women and men (whose vitae offer a comparison) from different backgrounds and vocations. This wide-ranging selection of texts allows for a broad comparative textual analysis in order to consider where and how the women and men enacted solitary piety and communal devotion. Taking geometric space as its organising principle the thesis considers the dominant cultural configurations of space and its fluidity, noting how space could be transformed to suit the spiritual needs of individuals and groups. Solitude could be achieved in a variety of different settings from the bedchamber to wilderness while spaces such as streets, windows and cells could facilitate communal devotion. This connected women and men from different religious backgrounds. There are some surprising finds: in the vitae entry points such as windows and doors were fundamental to womens’ communal piety and women sought solitude in the wilderness more frequently than their male counterparts. Uncovering women from the shadows of male-authored texts remains a pertinent issue in histories of medieval women. Ultimately, this thesis’ adoption of a spatial framework provides a different avenue to explore the vitae and primarily the women described within. Lay Summary This thesis explores twenty-three Latin saints’ biographies from the thirteenth- century Low Countries. The biographies detail the lives of women and men who lived in different religious settings. In order to identify shared religious behaviour and textual similarities, this thesis examines how the women and men described in the biographies achieved solitude and enacted communal piety in different spaces. The saints’ biographies emerged from an environment in which groups of women who were unable or unwilling to pursue a traditional religious vocation chose to live a mixed life of active devotion and contemplative piety. Recent scholarship has continued to focus on the women’s ecclesiastical status, thereby implicitly maintaining a division between holy laywomen and monastic women. The twenty- three saints’ biographies under examination detail the lives of both women and men (whose vitae offer a comparison) from different backgrounds and vocations. This wide-ranging selection of texts allows for a broad comparative textual analysis in order to consider where and how the women and men enacted solitary piety and communal devotion. Contents Acknowledgements i List of Maps, Images and Plans ii Abbreviations iii Introduction 1 Terminology 24 Translations 26 Chapter One Texts and Contexts 27 The Saints and their Vitae 51 Summary of the Vitae 76 Chapter Two Space for Solitude 78 The Church 83 The Cell 106 The Bed and Bedchamber 115 Wilderness 134 The Refectory and Hearth 141 Conclusion 144 Chapter Three Space for Communality 146 The Domestic Household 149 The Church 161 The Dormitory 164 The Grange 168 Hospitals and the Leprosarium 179 The Cell 185 Windows, Gates and Doorways 193 Streets and Open Space 202 Journeys and Pilgrimage 209 Burial Grounds and Tombs 217 Conclusion 220 Conclusion 222 Appendices Appendix I 228 Appendix II 229 Appendix III 230 Bibliography 231 Acknowledgements The roots of this thesis stretch back to my time as an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, when a course on gender and society in the Middle Ages first stirred my curiosity in women in the medieval past. For this, I am indebted to my supervisor Dr Cordelia Beattie. Without Dr Beattie’s continued patience, encouragement and guidance, this project would not only have been impossible, but inconceivable. I am also obliged to Dr Bill Aird, particularly for reading and commenting on my earliest chapter drafts and reminding me not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Throughout the course of this project, I have been lucky to receive support and advice from a number of kind-hearted souls. Thanks must be extended to Dr Steve Boardman and Dr Rick Sowerby for commenting on chapter drafts and to Dr Zubin Mistry and Dr Kirsty Day for their generous words and advice. In my first year of postgraduate study I was fortunate to meet Anne Harrison and Christoph Otte, whose continued friendship has made university life far more enjoyable. I am also appreciative to all those involved in the Medieval Worlds undergraduate course: Bill, Rick, Zubin, Kirsty, Malin Sandell, Rachel Davis, Jeremy Piercy, Dr Stephen McDowell and Annabel Stobie. I had the pleasure of tutoring on this course during the difficult time of writing up. I was reminded, at a crucial point, why I am so fascinated by the medieval past. This project is indebted to Dr Alison More, whose support has ranged from clarifying points, recommending beguinages to visit and sharing work. Likewise, I am grateful to Martinus Cawley for kindly sharing his edited notes on several Latin vitae. Thanks must also be extended to the HCA postgraduate administration staff at Edinburgh, who responded with kindness to even my most tedious of questions. The Arts and Historical Research Council funded this thesis. I, like many, am grateful for their continued support of academic research. Thank you to the staff at Edinburgh University Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Bristol University Special Collection and the British Library, who have made researching this thesis so much easier. The vast bulk of this thesis was written on an 11-inch laptop. Over the course of four years, my small laptop and I moved house more than half a dozen times. While life has been disruptive, there have been some things that were constant. My deepest love goes to my family, Sandra Shepherd, Mick Allchin, Duncan Shepherd and Kerri Maltby. Without your love, support, friendship and humour this thesis would not have been written. Thank you to Gregory Williams for your support and love, particularly in the last few months. I am incredibly lucky to have Jonathan Anderson, Clarissa Bee, Jake Bee, Malcolm Benzie, Gerard Black, Neil Cammock, Katie Chapple, Laura Doherty, Anna Jenner, Colin Kirby, Sharon Kirby, Kate Lazda, Alex Livingstone, Rose McConnachie, Chris McGarry, David MacGregor, Bart Owl, Emily Roff, Alun Scurlock, Johanna Scurlock, Leah Weare, Nina Weare, and Owen Curtis Williams in my life. Now that this project is as complete as it can be, I am looking forward to spending more time with you. Further and final thanks must go to Sandra Shepherd. From walking round beguinages with me in Belgium, assisting with French translations, proof reading and helping with formatting, your support knows no bounds. To you this thesis is lovingly dedicated. i List of Maps, Images and Plans Map 1.1 The thirteenth-century Low Countries Map 1.2 Dioceses in the southern Low Countries c.1150- c.1550 Map 1.3 The abbey of Villers, with principality borders from c.1150-1200 Map 3.1 The landscape surrounding Villers abbey Image 2.1 Villers abbey church Image 2.2 Wijngaard beguinage founded by the Countesses Margaret and Joan of Flanders in 1245 Plan 2.1 Claustral plan of Villers abbey in the thirteenth century Plan 3.1 Reconstruction of Villers abbey in the thirteenth century ii Abbreviations AASS Acta Sanctorum (Antwerp, 1643-) BHL Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, 2 vols (Brussels, 1949) BHL NS Bibliotheca hagiographica latina antiquae et mediae aetatis, Novum supplementem (Brussels, 1986) BR (Brussel/Bruxelles, Koninklijke Bibliotheek/Bibliothèque royal) Cîteaux Cîteaux: Comentarii Cisterciensis CV Chronica Villariensis monasterii, in MGH SS, 25, ed. Édouard Martène and Ursin Durand (Leipzig, 1925), pp. 192-219 DM Caesarius of Heisterbach, The Dialogue on Miracles, trans. H. von E. Scott and C.C. Swinton Bland, 2 vols, (London, 1929) GSV Gesta Sanctorum Villariensium, in MGH SS, 25, ed. Édouard Martène and Ursin Durand (Leipzig, 1925), pp. 220-35 Henriquez Chrysostomos Henriquez, Quinque prudentes virgines (Antwerp, 1630) LAH Goswin of Bossut, The Life of Abundus of Huy, trans.