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IMC 2012: Sessions

Session 710: Women and Religion in the British Isles

Tuesday 10 July 2012, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Monastic Wales Project / H-WRBI - History of Women Religous of Britain & Ireland
Organiser:Karen Stöber, Departament d'Història, Universitat de Lleida
Moderator/Chair:Janet Burton, School of Archaeology, History & Anthropology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Paper 710-aThe Middle Welsh Life of St Ursula and the 11 000 Virgins
(Language: English)
Jane Cartwright, School of Welsh & Bilingual Studies, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Hagiography, Monasticism, Women's Studies
Paper 710-bThe Exception Proves the Rule: Female Monasticism in Medieval Ireland - An Archaeological Perspective
(Language: English)
Tracy Collins, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork
Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Monasticism, Women's Studies
Paper 710-cWhat's Left Behind?: The Material Remains of Scotland's Medieval Nunneries
(Language: English)
Kimm Curran, History Lab+, Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Ecclesiastical History, Monasticism, Women's Studies
Abstract

This session considers different aspects of female religiosity in the British Isles. The first paper will focus on one internationally popular saint who turned native – St Ursula of Llangwyryfon and her 11,000 virgins- and consider the popularity of her cult in west Wales. The second paper will discuss certain aspects of the archaeological record of medieval nunneries in Ireland and highlight where the archaeological evidence does not seem to conform to the received wisdom of past monastic scholarship. The third paper will attempt to compare the diverse evidence of Scotland's medieval nunneries with those of its neighbours, highlighting the importance of including Scotland's nunneries into wider studies of female religious more generally.