“Get thee to a nunnery” Hamlet declares to Desdemona in Shakespeare’s play, but for women in medieval England, being sent to an abbey or convent was not necessarily a penance. Taking orders could be as advantageous as an arranged marriage, providing women with a good education and positions of power and authority.
In the medieval era Hampshire’s Romsey Abbey was the church of a Benedictine nunnery and Catherine Capel of the University of Winchester tells the gripping stories of five women of royal blood who were connected in different ways with this great religious building.
We are delighted Catherine Capel has joined us again on Hampshire HistBites, you may recall her first podcast on Matilda’s last stand in Winchester. Catherine’s primary research interest focuses upon the participation and motivation of elite Anglo-Norman women in warfare, but she is also interested in notions of female power and reputation.
Rarely mentioned in the history books we read at school, and yet Romsey Abbey was an incredibly important institution in the medieval period. You can learn more about it here
https://www.romseyabbey.org.uk/
Perhaps not surprising this is not the first time Romsey Abbey has appeared either. Last season we discovered the history behind one its wonderful stained glass windows created by local artist Sophie Hacker. The window celebrates Florence Nightingale, and you can listen to the podcast here.