In 1694, Mary Astell proposed the establishment of Protestant nunneries in England; in 1809, Helena Whitford reiterated the theme; yet, it was Lady Isabella King in 1816 who sought to put this radical idea into effect. A single, Irish, evangelically influenced gentlewoman, a younger daughter of the Earl of Kingston, she established the Ladies’ Association, a ‘conventual’ home for eighteen distressed gentlewomen at Bailbrook House in Bath in 1816, securing support for it from such influential figures as Queen Charlotte, William Wilberforce and Robert Southey. When Bailbrook House was sold in 1821, she relocated the Ladies’ Association to Clifton in Bristol, where its eventual failure in 1835 shattered her vision of establishing a national scheme of conventual homes that would benefit future generations of women. Limited attention has yet been paid by historians to the role elite women played in creating and managing philanthropic institutions in the early nineteenth century, particularly those aimed at assisting other women in an urban setting. Some historians of philanthropy, such as Frank Prochaska, have identified an ‘explosion’ of early nineteenth-century female activity; however, elite women’s charitable contributions have tended to be understood as rural, concentrating on family estates. Kim Reynolds, who has addressed Victorian elite women’s philanthropy in an urban setting, maintains it functioned simply as a strand of elite women’s work. This dissertation draws upon a previously unstudied collection of papers compiled and annotated by Lady Isabella King, which span the existence of the Ladies’ Association, in order to explore the nature of Lady Isabella’s involvement in this philanthropic venture and her understanding of her role. Thus it not only seeks to recover Lady Isabella as an important historical figure in the development of early nineteenth-century philanthropic ventures, something for which she was recognised by her contemporaries, but also to examine the structure of her unique experimental institution and cast some light on the sorts of women who became its residents. By doing so, it provides a case study in the development and practical application of a philanthropic ideal. It examines the ways that Lady Isabella, quite a conventional elite single woman, used her status, her location and her networks to create and maintain the institution for nearly twenty years. It provides a valuable opportunity to examine a number of the problems she faced in establishing and running the institution, given the social and gendered milieu in which she was operating, and the strategies she employed to achieve her ends. I argue that Lady Isabella’s elite status provided her with the wealth and access to influential social circles to make a difference, that her single status added independence to devote time to her cause and while she was initially beset with self-doubts about her competence to author and manage the project, she gradually gained confidence as she developed ways to implement and manage the institution. At the same time the groundbreaking nature of the Ladies’ Association, the consequent public criticism and a growing discordant atmosphere among the residents of the institution lead to its closure in 1835.

This thesis is an exploration of what the monk, Thomas Merton OCSO, (1915-68) called his "theology of resistance". Its purpose is to establish that this theology was a politically as well as a spiritually inspired critique of America in the modem era, and to illustrate the coherent development of Merton's contemplative spirituality and political commitment. As an extension of this discussion I have argued in this thesis that Thomas Merton should be seen as a politically active contemplative as opposed to a social critic and a somewhat passive critic at that. It is the aim of this thesis to argue that the full implications of Merton's "theology of resistance" have not been fully understood; and that Merton commentators and scholars have overlooked the core issues of marginality and protest in his work. Central to this thesis, then, is the suggestion that Merton's "theology of resistance" was a "revolutionary" synthesis of monastic protest and contemplative marginality. A synthesis which enabled the contemplative to place himself on the margins of society, but in solidarity with all other marginal groups and people. What I am suggesting is that Merton's "theology of resistance" was the culmination of a contemplatively inspired political consciousness, an attempt to grapple with the radical and transformative potential of the marginal, the dispossessed, the peripheral, the monk.

The development of the canons regular in England has generally been assumed, in part due to J. C. Dickinson's Augustinian history, to be an aspect of the eleventh and twelfth century papal reform movement's attempt to create a new priestly order, living a quasi-monastic life under Rome's direction. The following study suggests that linking the English development with the Augustinian continental emergence as a 'monastic' order is incorrect. The more than sixty Augustinian houses established during Henry l's reign (1100-11 35) were rather a result of a variety of factors. This study examines the establishment and distribution of Augustinian houses during Henry's reign noting how they form a communications network, are often placed along the main roads and at river crossings, offer staging posts for travellers, and often hospital or hostel accommodation, as well as, stimulate town growth. It discusses the fact that a number of houses were founded where once had been Anglo-Saxon minsters and explores their connection to numerous churches placed in the care of the Augustinians. By reviving the minsters as 'mother' churches to a vast number of local churches, the Augustinians provided a new framework for the operational and pastoral function of the parish church. It investigates the founders and patrons of these houses, many of whom were members of the King's familia and suggests a range of motives for their founding work and patronage. It analyzes the various foundation myths and assesses the place of hermits in the establishment of new Augustinian houses. Maps illustrate Augustinian foundations in relation to the Roman road system, the expansion network of houses, and the proximity of churches beneficed to three typical houses. Tables show houses as 'minor' and 'major' colonizers and as Augustinian settlement groupings during four time periods. Figures depict bridges at four main crossings in relation to exemplar priories. Appendices provide useful lists pertaining to these foundations.

No description available.

Although much work has been done on the disposal of monastic property, and of chantry property insofar as it affected education, and poor relief, this is the first regional attempt to probe the motives and means of those who bought chantry property. The area chosen for the study is rich in material for every aspect of the Dissolution: Chantry Certificates, and Ministers' and Receivers’ Accounts; Particulars for Sale and Lease, and corresponding Letters Patent; records of the Courts of Augmentations, Exchequer and Duchy of Lancaster. Through these and isolated provincial material, it has been possible to compile a reasonably complete picture of the Dissolution, over a wide area of northern England. The thesis surveys the process of sale and lease, central and local administration of the Dissolution, buyers and agents, lands concealed from the crown, and many cases arising in the courts. Its principal conclusion is that by no means all the property was sold, even by the end of the sixteenth century. Much was leased or farmed, especially in the Duchy of Lancaster and in the former collegiate holdings. Although there were some major agents, notably Augmentations officials, everything suggests that few major buyers were interested and that, at this distance from London, purchases were often confined to marginal extension of existing holdings, particularly in the towns, where the decay of much property becomes starkly apparent. Practically nothing was given to favourites. All the worth-while work of the chantries was continued by the crown under stricter control. Contemporary protest was negligible. Moreover, the feasibility of this study is itself testimony to the efficiency of the state under a much maligned government. Tentative explorations among the Ministers' Accounts for other regions suggest that the crown often continued to draw a steady income from the chantries even after 1553.

No description available.

No description available.

The thesis focuses upon the 'spiritual' aspects of Cistercian privileges and exemption meaning those rights which had a direct impact upon the religious life of the community. Initially these privileges sought to facilitate their peace and tranquillity. During the thirteenth century these privileges involved the Cistercians in the religious lives of the laity who came to live on their lands. By the end of the period some English Cistercian houses ran local church courts and gained the right to appoint a member of their community as the local parish priest, ministering directly to the laity living on their lands. The thesis breaks down into three parts. The first part looks at the collections of papal letters which were either held by English Cistercian houses or to which they had easy access and of which they were aware. This evidence comes together to show that most, if not all, Cistercian houses in England had access to large collections of papal letters and that they were familiar with their rights as part of the wider Cistercian Order. The second part of the thesis examines the detail of those papal letter collections, focussing upon their 'spiritual' aspects. Other sources are used to flesh out the detail provided by the papal letters and to seek to show whether those letters were effective on the ground. Finally the third part of the thesis gives a detailed case study of Cistercian involvement in the lives of the laity. It looks at the church court which was administered by the Cistercian monks of Whalley in Lancashire.

No description available.

The twelfth century was a time of rejuvenated interest in the Holy Spirit in western Christendom. Two German theologians, Rupert of Deutz and Anselm of Havelberg, in particular offered new interpretations of the Holy Spirit that have generally been neglected by previous scholarship. Both of them showed a unique interest in salvation history and the renewal of the Church as shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit. This thesis provides a detailed study of the both writers’ works, placing them in a wider historical and theological context. Rupert of Deutz (ca 1075-1129), a Benedictine monk, provided a ground-breaking contribution to the theology of history in the twelfth century through an original conception of the role of the Holy Spirit in Church history. Through a close reading of Rupert’s De operibus Spiritus sancti (1113-1117), this thesis analyses Rupert’s innovative Trinitarian scheme of salvation history, based around the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is also argued that Rupert’s work on salvation history and the Holy Spirit reveals his original (though so far unnoticed) reflections on the changes of the contemporary Church. Anselm of Havelberg (ca 1095-1158), a regular canon, carried on the new direction of salvation history and interpretation of the Holy Spirit as the driving force of the Church as proposed by Rupert. However, in sharp contrast with Rupert, Anselm emphasized the ideas of diversity and development in his major work, Anticimenon (1149). In addition to examining Anselm’s interpretations of the seven seals in the Apocalypse, my work also illuminates how Anselm applied his original understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work within Church history to his debates with the Greeks in terms of Filioque and papal primacy. The thesis closes with a comparison between Rupert and Anselm, in particular focusing on their respective ideas of the Holy Spirit, salvation history and the renewal of the Church. This research not only constitutes the first detailed study on Rupert and Anselm’s understandings of the Holy Spirit in a broad comparative perspective, but also sheds light on important intellectual, theological and ecclesiastical developments in the first half of the twelfth century.