Change and Decay?

The Nunnery and the Secular World in Late Medieval England

Valerie Spear

Abstract

The swift and relatively bloodless Dissolution of the English monasteries between 1536 and 1539 remains a topic of lively debate, with historians still speculating on the reasons for the apparent lack of public resistance to the overthrow of a deeply-rooted system. There is a popular notion, for example, that the public accepted the fall of the religious houses because it considered monasticism to have become too tainted by the secular world to be worthy of defence. My article focuses upon female monasticism, using records from various nunneries to argue that signs of secular influences there, at least, were not necessarily interpreted as evidence of irresponsibility or impiety by the public. It also suggests some possible approaches for further research into the suppressions.

Illustrations

1. The remains of Marrick Priory in their setting in the Yorkshire Dales.

2. Ecclesiastical remnants among the farm and now youth centre of Marrick Priory.

3. A church tower and Gothic doorway in Marrick Priory farm.

4. Marrick Priory farm, with gravestones from its 19th century use as a parish church.

5. The painted reredos of Romsey Abbey.

6. Detail of the abbess on the painted reredos of Romsey Abbey.

7. Closer detail of the abbess and her scroll on the painted reredos of Romsey Abbey.

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Material for Our Medieval Heritage, published by Merton Priory Press ©2002. Web site from the Arts Faculty of the Australian National University.