Women and the Religious Life in Premodern Europe

Ranft takes on a large time period in her discussion of religious women and their lives. Like her other books, this one is a must read.

Having recently read Her Story, I expected another feminist rendering of Church history. Instead I found a very enlightening account of the repeated rise and fall of women's authority within their own religious communities, the struggle between active and enclosed views of women's roles, the tension between professed religious and committed lay visions of women's appropriate role. The book was most helpful in putting context around stories I already knew: St. Mary of the Desert, St. Catherine of Siena, Hildegaard of Bingen, etc.The book is introductory - often too sparse in detail for my taste. However, it does paint the broad picture in detail interesting enough to make one want to read more.