Beton, Judith (2024) The Royal Nunneries in the Landscape of Anglo-Saxon Wessex 871–1066. Masters thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
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Abstract
This dissertation explores the Anglo-Saxon landscape of the six royal nunneries of Wessex, from the reign of King Alfred to the Norman Conquest. By examining the nunneries within their changing physical, political and ecclesiastical settings, it attempts to assess the extent to which the nunneries were inward-looking, insular communities and the extent to which they were products of ideas and events beyond their walls. It asks whether the nunneries were themselves influential in shaping their Anglo-Saxon landscapes. Chapter 1 examines the physical landscape of the nunneries, looking at their estates, patterns of endowment and how patronage changed through the period. It also assesses their material, economic and cultural wealth, with particular reference to evidence given in Domesday Book, enabling comparison of the wealth held by the nunneries. The political landscape is explored in Chapter 2. Here the importance of the nunneries as a royal status symbol is explored, as well as the importance of kin group allegiances to particular nunneries. An assessment is made of the role of the nunneries in the disputed succession following King Edgar’s death, and of the political impact of the saints’ cults which were nurtured within some of the houses, particularly the cults of Saints Edward the Martyr and Edith. Chapter 3 focuses on ecclesiastical reform within the period and looks for evidence of its impact on the nunneries. It explores whether any changes are discernible following the production of the Regularis Concordia, making the nunneries more recognisably ‘Benedictine’.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain |
| Divisions: | Theses and Dissertations > Masters Dissertations |
| Depositing User: | Victoria Hankinson |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jan 2025 12:34 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jan 2025 12:34 |
| URI: | https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3322 |
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