{"product_id":"nuns-priests-tales-men-and-salvation-in-medieval-womens-monastic-life-9780812249750","title":"Nuns' Priests' Tales: Men and Salvation in Medieval Women's Monastic Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring the Middle Ages, female monasteries relied on priests to provide for their spiritual care, chiefly to celebrate Mass in their chapels but also to hear the confessions of their nuns and give last rites to their sick and dying. These men were essential to the flourishing of female monasticism during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, yet they rarely appear in scholarly accounts of the period. Medieval sources are hardly more forthcoming. Although medieval churchmen consistently acknowledged the necessity of male spiritual supervision in female monasteries, they also warned against the dangers to men of association with women. \u003ci\u003eNuns' Priests' Tales\u003c\/i\u003e investigates gendered spiritual hierarchies from the perspective of nuns' priests--ordained men (often local monks) who served the spiritual needs of monastic women. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCelibacy, misogyny, and the presumption of men's withdrawal from women within the religious life have often been seen as markers of male spirituality during the period of church reform. Yet, as Fiona J. Griffiths illustrates, men's support and care for religious women could be central to male spirituality and pious practice. Nuns' priests frequently turned to women for prayer and intercession, viewing women's prayers as superior to their own, since they were the prayers of Christ's brides. Casting nuns as the brides of Christ and adopting for themselves the role of \u003ci\u003eparanymphus\u003c\/i\u003e (bridesman, or friend of the bridegroom), these men constructed a triangular spiritual relationship in which service to nuns was part of their dedication to Christ. Focusing on men's spiritual ideas about women and their spiritual service to them, \u003ci\u003eNuns' Priests' Tales\u003c\/i\u003e reveals a clerical counter-discourse in which spiritual care for women was depicted as a holy service and an act of devotion and obedience to Christ.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Fiona J. Griffiths\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Pennsylvania Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/20\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 360\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.10w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780812249750\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFiona J. Griffiths is Professor of Medieval History at Stanford University. She is author of The Garden of Delights: Reform and Renaissance for Women in the Twelfth Century, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40177441734771,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":64.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_c974e16f-0211-429e-8e49-f0a7bb3c855c.jpg?v=1655384675","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/nuns-priests-tales-men-and-salvation-in-medieval-womens-monastic-life-9780812249750","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}