God's warriors : Port-Royal - the construction of a powerful sisterhood (1609-1709)

Abstract

This thesis offers a new interpretation of the community of Port-Royal from its reform in 1609 to its destruction in 1709, focusing on the active development by its members of a distinctive religious space, rather than on the community's eventual destruction. It explores the nuns' religious beliefs, attitudes to their bodies, relationships of sisterhood and interaction with elite society, using the tools of women's history to identify the cultural influences informing their actions. The argument is put forward that the sincerity critical to the community's religious vision, as examined in chapter II, forged a cohort of women with a deep sense of commitment to Port-Royal's religious mission. Chapters I to V examine, in this regard, the persistent tensions between the restrictive role available to women in the religious sphere and the determination of the women of Port-Royal to pursue their religious goals energetically and uncompromisingly.