To defend themselves from monarchical persecution, the nuns of Port-Royal revealed and relied upon gender paradoxes found in Louis XIV and the church’s policies. In the 1660s, Louis XIV required all clergy to sign a formulary which required them to condemn Jansen’s five propositions with both “heart and mouth.” The nuns of Port-Royal resisted the king by invoking the Pauline interdictions, which “prohibited them from taking an oath on a theological matter that they were not allowed to study or discuss,” even though there was a small, but influential group of nuns who had read and understood the texts of the Jansenist debates. Scholars have criticized the nuns’ resistance because their opposition reflected the ideals of a “second generation” …show more content…
Like Jacqueline Pascal, Jansenist sympathizers used the nuns’ female ignorance as the basis of their defense of Port-Royal. In opposition to the “guerre contre Port-Roïal,” Pasquier Quesnel, a Jansenist supporter, portrayed the nuns as poor, innocent victims, who were only following their pious, Christian consciences. In a letter defending the nuns of Port-Royal to those of the Visitation, he wrote:
Elles étoient donc, d’un coté, assurées qu’en agissant ainsi elles ne blessoient point la foi ; mais elles étoient aussi assurées d’une autre part qu’elles auroient péché contre la vérité, contre la Religion des sermens, contre la sainteté du Nom de Dieu, contre la charité, contre la justice, en affimant avec ferment une chose qu’elles ne connoissoient pas, & qu’elles n’étoient pas capables de connoître : & aimer mieux mourir sans Sacremens, que d’offender Dieu par un mensonge & un faux serment, c’est assurement une action héroïque & digne de la générosité Chrétienne, qui aime mieux s’exposer à tous les maux de cette vie, que de manquer de fidélité à
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He also admonished the nuns of the Visitation, criticizing in particular their abbess, Mère Eugenie, for her blind opposition to a Jansenist text when she, so as to not contradict the church doctrine, maintained that she was not familiar with it. Quesnel defended the Port-Royal nuns’ disobedience against men because their actions were so that they could remain obedient to God. The Port-Royal nuns justified their actions with a similar argument; a vestige of Angélique Arnauld’s teachings, the nuns of Port-Royal believed that all they could do in the face of persecution was rely on God’s grace and that it was honorable to be persecuted for their belief in the truth. Angélique de Saint-Jean wrote to her uncle, “. . . il [Jesus-Christ] se trouve joint a celui de la persecution pour la justice, & qu’en même tems qu’on nous demande les Titres de tout le bien de nôtre Abbaye, on nous met entre les mains les deux Titres les plus assurez de la possession du Royaume des Cieux, qui est promis aux pauvres d’esprit & a ceux qui souffrent pour la justice.” Despite its widespread use, the defense of female ignorance weighed on the minds of certain nuns at Port-Royal. In a letter to Antoine Arnauld asking for guidance during the crisis of the signature, Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly
The women of the priory also live a highly ascetic life, believing that the hard work performed and simple living conditions in themselves alone can give rise to an experience that is greater than anything achievable through other worldly goals. Mariette herself writes prayerfully, “Were it necessary to give up all the worldly pleasures of my life to gain one instant of happiness for you, I would do it without hesitation.” (Page 135).
Although the Catholic Church kept nuns enclosed in convents in order to regulate their sexualities, Jeanne de Jussie’s writings highlight some of her own experiences with violence, in addition to offering examples of the stories that Catholics circulated (Crawford 87). In the chronicle, Jeanne de Jussie mentioned issues of domestic conflict incurred by the Reformation; many women were caught between their husband’s wrath and their Catholic faith (de Jussie 95). She also described some of the violence committed by heretics against Catholics; for example, before the heretics locked away the Lords of Bern in an inhumanely small cell, they “villainously grabbed him and pulled him from the pulpit and treated him harshly, so that he almost died there and then” (de Jussie 94). According to Jeanne de Jussie’s accounts, religious people from both sides of the conflict went to war with each other; she described that “good fathers went to battle with many other monks because it was for the religion but they did not bear arms” (de Jussie 79). Women and children also instigated Catholic violence against the heretics; “many of the women . . . carried rocks in their bodices to throw at the Lutherans. Along with the women there were at least seven hundred children between twelve and fifteen who were determined to do their duty with their mothers” (de
The Edict of Nantes had given Protestants, or Huguenots, in France the ability to practice their religion without fear of violence or persecution. Enacted in the late 1500s in an effort to resemble France after the destruction of the French Wars of Religion, the Edict of Nantes served as a means to unite the French population and end the violence that often accompanied religious persecution. Louis’ decision to revoke such a peace-promoting edict, in an effort to homogenize his country and align his subjects with his own beliefs, clearly illustrates his giving of priority to his own agenda, as opposed to that which would best benefit his country. However, while the claim that the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes was detrimental to French society, seems to be disproven by Doc 6, which essentially asserts that the king’s revocation has resulted in the rapid conversion of “whole towns” and describes the king as “the invincible hero destined to… destroy the terrible monster of heresy”, the author’s inherently biased point of view must be addressed. This description, which could be used as evidence to support the fact that Louis did act in interest of the state, must be taken with a grain of salt as the author himself, a member of the Assembly of the Clergy, does not even have the best interest of the state in mind; rather, he is
Through their superstitious beliefs, devout religious convictions, and established customs the severity of the collective conventionality of the inhabitants of Valle del Sole in Nino Ricci’s Lives of the Saints is evident and crucial to the ruination of Cristina Innocente. The people of the town have proven themselves to be incredibly superstitious, irrationally believing in things such as the “evil eye” to prove ________________. In addition to their superstitions, their exceedingly pious beliefs further their condemnation of Cristina, casting her out in the eyes of God. The citizens of Valle del Sole also denounce Cristina for her lack of regard to the very specific roles and responsibilities within their
The “beautiful young woman” began to show her stubborn ways early. According to the reading, Bertrande was concerned more about putting aside her wifely duties than to ruin her reputation and independence (27-28). When Martin abandoned Bertrande, she was left without a defined position in the village social structure. Being the honest women that Coras said she was, Bertrande would not separate from Martin, and under Catholic law she could not remarry unless there was strong proof of death. The values that Bertrande grew up with showed that she never saw herself leaving village customs (32). Though the devastating experience of Martin leaving left her weak and yearning for a husband, she lived “virtuously and honorably” through her “stiff-necked sense of herself and her reputation” (34).
“From Lieutenant Nun,” a memoir written by doña Catalina de Erauso, tells an intriguing story of a young Spanish female and her advantageous journey through Spain and the New World. Her family intends for her to become a nun but, that is not the life she seeks for herself. Therefore, she breaks away from the convent in hopes of finding somewhere to make her fortune by passing as a male. Catalina’s story is noteworthy because it gives readers another perspective of exploration focusing on self-discovery during the seventeenth century emphasizing how passing as a male is the only thing that secured her ability to explore. In the memoir, Catalina repeatedly reminisces about clothing and, whether she consciously or unconsciously does so, she allows the reader to see that this is an important aspect of her exploration. Throughout Catalina’s journey, clothing plays an increasingly important role not only in her travels but, also her personal life because it symbolized ones status, role, gender and privileges.
Little is known of the early life of the Flemish Cistercian nun, Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth. Beatrice of Nazareth was born in the year 1200 in the town of Tienen, Belgium (Lindemann Ph.D n.d.). She was the youngest of six children (Lindemann Ph.D n.d.). De Ganck (1991, xiii) concludes that Beatrice is of middle class, “well-to-do, but not wealthy as has sometimes been asserted.”
Trueman, Chris. “A day in the life of a nun.” historylearningsite.co.uk. Web. 25 March 2011. .
5. Confession of Arnaud Gélis, also called Botheler “The Drunkard” of Mas-Saint-Antonin, <http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/Fournier/agelis.htm> [October 25, 2003]
In Lousie Erdrich short story, “Saint Marie” (1934), she makes a very clear point that even the most loyal and well-disciplined can become corrupt. In this chapter from the book Love Medicine, Marie is young 14 year old girl. The young girl has been born and raised into the Catholic faith. Marie has gone to the convent for Sunday school for several years. With years in the making, she decided to join the Sacred Heart Convent. There were many nuns at the convent but one stood out the most. This nun was Sister Leopolda. Sister Leopolda was a violent, evil, and Satan-obsessed. Many had hatred for her; although, some found her quite pleasant. However, one day, Marie has a vision of the devil that causes her to smile. That smile
- “For not having enough dedication to here duties as religious woman and dedicating too much time to ‘profane literature’”. But the implicit problem was that she did not fulfill the social role created for the women of that moment.
...e a Franciscan can enter the order, they are required to take a vow of poverty. In stealing the jewels, the theft was breaking this religious vow. The Old Woman was the illegitimate daughter of a Pope. He not only broke his vows of celibacy, but he refused to protect his daughter from society. Also, while Candide was in France he met an abbe. The abbe was involved in things such as gambling, extortion, cheating, and stealing. He also promoted loose morals and involved Candide in these practices by introducing him to a seductress. The abbe only showed kindness to Candide because of the jewels and gold he possessed. Finally, Giroflee is introduced as a satire of the church. Friar Giroflee has hired Pacquette for prostitution services. In a monastery, monks are supposed to refrain from participating in any secular activities, especially prostitution.
As we enter the Medieval time, there was a development of Monasticism where the number of monks and nuns increased tremendously among men and women. It resulted as, both a good thing and a bad thing.
Faithful members of the Catholic church such as Desiderius Erasmus criticized the temporal practices of the church and its members. Erasmus took issue with the theologians believing them to be a “race of men...incredibly arrogant and touchy.”1 He was disgusted with the use of power by the e...
The communal values evolve around religious events, having family honor and virginity. Even though the church’s betrayal is versatile, when the bishop arrives, it emphasizes the failure clearer. The people of the town, including the prie...