On The Decay Reasons Of The Medieval English Nunneries

The notable characteristic of the late medieval English nunneries is decay. In general, its decay is a result of mutual effect of interior and exterior factors. This paper will explain this problem from three aspects, which is religious factors, institutional factors and economic factors.This paper is divided into three parts, introduction, text and conclusion. It includes four chapters. The first chapter discusses the development of medieval English nunneries. The English nunneries sprang up in the 6th to 7th centuries, and laid an important foundation for the following rapid development. The 10th to 13th centuries constitutes the golden period of its development. However, signs of decline gradually appeared after 13th century. The environment of English nunneries is full of crisis and stress between 14th and 15th centuries. Finally, along with the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry viii period, the English nunneries died out. The second chapter discusses the religious factors of its decay. For Most British women, secular motivation is greater than the religious motivation when they entered the convents in the late medieval ages. What's more, The monasticism emphasizes abstinence and penance, and the monks and nuns should follow the principle of virginity, poverty and obedience. The late medieval England nuns repeatedly violated these principles. This greatly damaged the system of traditional monasticism and further corrupted the purity and discipline of monastic life. The third chapter discusses the financial factors of its decay. The medieval English nunneries faced serious economic difficulties in the late Middle Ages. Most nunneries'economic erosion was serious, while the source of revenues reducing day by day. Poverty has become the prominent characteristic of the late medieval England convents, also become the important cause of their decline. The fourth chapter discusses the political factors of its decay. With the spread of the Lutheran reformation thoughts, the attacks to the monasticism of protestant reformers and the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry viii period, a series of religious reform speeded up the process of the decline of the convents.In the part of conclusion, we can come to an conclusion that both inside and outside factors lesd to the decline of medieval English Nunneries.