In 1648, a nun named Margaret Smulders died inside the convent in
the Spanish Netherlands (the area roughly corresponding to modern
Belgium) where she had lived since 1604. She was 65 at the time of
her death, which followed a long illness, and there was little
remarkable about her life, except for the body of letters that she
left, detailing the minutiae of her life inside the convent and her
struggle to influence the way the convent was run, in line with the
wider issues of the Reformation. The life of a sister in a
cloistered order in the 17th century was far removed from the
experience of nuns today. Although many, like Margaret were drawn
to religious life because they wanted to serve God, rich women
simply bought their way into the convent, where their money would
ensure that they enjoyed undue privilege. As Margaret's letters to
the church bureaucracy complain, a system of favouritism was
prevalent, and the women whom Mater Adriana Truis liked and trusted
most exerted undue influence and encouraged lax practices. Ranged
against the Mater and her allies were Margaret, the Vicaress
Catharina Rijkeboer and other sisters who felt that the convent
should be devoted far less to showy display, gossip and feasting
and rather to the service of God. To the modern eye, the
comparatively easy and decadent lifestyle of some of the nuns is
surprising. Margaret writes disapprovingly of the recreation days
on which her colleagues would sit at the refectory table late into
the night, 'howling and banging the table like drunkards on a beer
bench'. She describes undue attention paid to men who visited the
convent sisters who would use the convent's money to buy gifts for
their relatives; and festival days where the nuns would dress up in
costumes and play the fool, shrieking and laughing so that their
noise could be heard far beyond the convent walls. Needless to say,
Margaret's piety and her correspondence with Archbishop Boonen, who
as a result began to institute some changes in the running of the
convent, won her few friends. She was expelled from the convent
twice during her life - the second time for a period of twelve
years - ostensibly because she was supposed to have suffered from
demonic possession. However, it is probable that she was sexually
assaulted by a powerful male priest at about the time of the
alleged possession, adding to her misery. As with all good history
books, this brings vividly to life the characters involved,
provides a unique insight into another age and manages to entertain
without compromising the author's academic integrity. (Kirkus UK)
Based on a treasure trove of letters, this fascinating book tells
the history of a seventeenth-century nun in a convent in Leuven and
how her complaints-of sexual harassment, fears of demonic
possession, alliances among the other sisters against her-led to
her banishment from the convent on two occasions. Highly acclaimed
when it was first published as a revealing look at female religious
life in early modern Europe, the book is now available in an
abridged paperbound version with a new preface by the author.
Reviews of the clothbound edition: "A window to the past. . . . I
loved, just loved, this book."-Carolyn See, Washington Post "The
world Mr. Harline uncovers is a fascinating one. . . . The story of
Sister Margaret gives an extra dimension of humanity to a turning
point in the history of ideas."-Sonia Gernes, Wall Street Journal
"Better-than-fiction social history. . . . This is a glimpse into
diaries, letters, hearts, minds, hatreds, and hopes; it will
enthrall."-Christian Century "Harline's graceful writing allows the
women and men in this religious community to breathe, gossip, pray
with tears. . . . The Burdens of Sister Margaret helps us see the
familiar Reformation in a fresh way."-Kevin A. Miller, Christianity
Today "Microhistory at its best."-Larissa Taylor, Renaissance
Quarterly
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