Knights of Christ: a comparative analysis of the resistance in the Poor Clare convents of Nuremberg and Geneva

Chaney, Kimrey Elizabeth (2021). Knights of Christ: a comparative analysis of the resistance in the Poor Clare convents of Nuremberg and Geneva. University of Birmingham. M.A.

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Abstract

Knights of Christ compares two convents in Reformation Europe to understand the role and impact of resistance on communal identity. These two convents are the very well-known and well researched Poor Clares of Nuremberg, and the lesser known Poor Clares of Geneva. This convent, unlike the Nuremberg sisters, has not received the same amount of scholarly attention. To bring these two convents, one well researched and the other not, into a conversation to understand the impacts of resistance, is a key part of the genesis of this thesis. The historiography of religious women often discusses resistance and its role in a convent’s survival, but there has never been a study of resistance in its own right. This thesis uses a social and theological approach to argue that there was a set system of themes in the convent’s resistance that these women used to their advantage and that they relied on a unique aspect of Christian identity to bolster their resistance, and their survival. The aspect of their identity is Knights of Christ. This thesis addresses the questions of how these women carried out their resistance and its effectiveness. These women became Knights of Christ, and in both their cities were major bulwarks to the Reformation. Their resistance was an avenue for them to use their agency and maintain control of their lives.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.A.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.A.

Supervisor(s):