Page:Medieval English nunneries c. 1275 to 1535.djvu/66

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CHAPTER II

THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE

"My lady Prioresse, by your leve
So that I wiste I sholde you not greve,
I wolde demen that ye tellen sholde
A tale next, if so were that ye wolde.
Now wol ye vouche-sauf, my lady dere?"
"Gladly" quod she, and seyde as ye shal here.
Chaucer.

It usually happened that the head of a nunnery was a ⟨woman⟩ of some social standing in her own right. All nuns were ⟨Christ⟩ brides, but an earthly father in the neighbourhood, with ⟨broad⟩ acres and loose purse strings, was not to be despised. ⟨If a⟩ great lady retired to a nunnery she was very like to end as ⟨its⟩ head; Barking Abbey in Essex had a long line of well-⟨born⟩ abbesses, including three queens and two princesses; and ⟨when⟩ Katherine de la Pole (the youngest daughter of that ⟨earl of⟩ Suffolk who was slain at Agincourt) is found holding the ⟨position⟩ of abbess at the tender age of twenty-two, it is an ⟨irresistable⟩ inference that her birth was a factor in the choice^[1]. The ⟨advantage⟩ in having a woman of local influence and rich connections ⟨as⟩ prioress is illustrated in the history of Crabhouse nunnery ⟨under⟩ Joan Wiggenhall^[2]; how she worked and built "be the ⟨grace of⟩

↑ V.C.H. Essex, ii, pp. 120-2. Margaret Botetourt became ⟨Abbess⟩ of Polesworth in 1362, by episcopal dispensation, when under the ⟨age of⟩ twenty. "This early promotion was not the only mark of favour which ⟨the⟩ prioress obtained. In 1390 the Pope granted her exemption from the ⟨jurisdiction⟩ of the Archbishop or Bishop of Lichfield." V.C.H. ⟨Warwickshire⟩, p. 63.
↑ "I take it that Prioress Joan was an heiress, and, in fact, the (illegible text) representative of the elder line of her family, and the nuns knew ⟨perfectly⟩ well what they were about when they chose a lady of birth and wealth ⟨and⟩ highly connected to boot, to rule over them. They certainly were not ⟨disappointed⟩ in any expectations they may have formed. The new ⟨prioress⟩ set to work in earnest to make the nunnery into quite a new and ⟨improved⟩ place and her friends and kinsfolk rallied round her nobly." Jessopp, ⟨Ups⟩ and Downs of an Old Nunnery in Frivola, pp. 59-60.

[1] V.C.H. Essex, ii, pp. 120-2. Margaret Botetourt became ⟨Abbess⟩ of Polesworth in 1362, by episcopal dispensation, when under the ⟨age of⟩ twenty. "This early promotion was not the only mark of favour which ⟨the⟩ prioress obtained. In 1390 the Pope granted her exemption from the ⟨jurisdiction⟩ of the Archbishop or Bishop of Lichfield." V.C.H. ⟨Warwickshire⟩, p. 63.

[2] "I take it that Prioress Joan was an heiress, and, in fact, the (illegible text) representative of the elder line of her family, and the nuns knew ⟨perfectly⟩ well what they were about when they chose a lady of birth and wealth ⟨and⟩ highly connected to boot, to rule over them. They certainly were not ⟨disappointed⟩ in any expectations they may have formed. The new ⟨prioress⟩ set to work in earnest to make the nunnery into quite a new and ⟨improved⟩ place and her friends and kinsfolk rallied round her nobly." Jessopp, ⟨Ups⟩ and Downs of an Old Nunnery in Frivola, pp. 59-60.

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