Ebook: Apostate Nuns in the Later Middle Ages

This book is about women who had taken vows to live as nuns and
who had, without canonical dispensation, abandoned their cloister
to return to secular life. It explores the way in which the developed
canon law, incorporating principles articulated in the earliest monastic
literature, sought to ensure adherence to religious vows, and how
the resulting legal formulations impacted the lives of these female
apostates. It spans the period from about 1300 to 1540, with both dates
being significant.