' "Virgo becomes Virago": Women in the Accounts of Seventeenth-Century English Catholic Missionaries'
Résumé
Important studies have revealed the multi-faceted nature of female involvement in seventeenth-century English Catholicism. Women were active in traditional activities such as charitable works extended to the poor, the sick, and to prisoners, motherly duties concerning the religious education of children, or housewifely responsibilities for the observing of Catholic practice in the household. Those were universal roles for Catholic lay women everywhere; yet the particular circumstances of the English mission demanded more radical engagement. Because anti-Catholic penalties focused mostly on men, missionaries were shrewd enough to exploit the potential offered by women in England. Through them they could secure dwellings, finance their mission, utilise valuable social networks and be less conspicuous to the pursuivants. Thus female alliances offered unparalleled benefits.
Domaines
Histoire
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
Loading...