Inside and Outside the Convent Walls: The Norm and Practice of Enclosure in the Reformed Nunneries of Late Medieval Germany

Abstract

Research on the enclosure of medieval nunneries has mainly analysed nor mative sources. The practice of enclosure, and nuns' perceptions of space and enclosure within the cloister remain neglected questions. This essay will compare the norms of enclosure of religious women during the late medieval period with chronicles written by nuns in reformed convents during the fifteenth century. Monastic reformers advocated that the sisters live together in poverty and chastity, renew the liturgy of the orders and, above all, abide by the regulations of enclosure. Historical chronicles and account books between 1480 and 1520 document the renovations of monastries in the wake of reform, and show how inextricably the reform of a female convent was tied to strict enclosure. The essay examines how the newly ordered space within the confines of the convents structured the nuns' perceptions, oriented their gaze and thereby acted upon their literary productions.