Monastic Patronage by Women in Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia

Authors

• Carolyn T. La Rocco, St John's College, University of OxfordFollow

Abstract

This article explores monastic patronage by women in sixth- and seventh-century Iberia. It presents literary (hagiographic, epistolary, poetic) and epigraphic evidence of women exercising various forms of agency—economic or otherwise—in connection to monastic communities. It reflects on the difference between the normative texts regarding “appropriate” behavior for women in the monastic sphere—e.g., Leander of Seville’s De institutione virginum et de contemptu mundi, or Visigothic canon law—and the recorded actions of these women. The article also seeks to expand the perceived scope and form of patronage by these women to include the provision of hospitality or food to guests, much like their counterparts elsewhere in the post-Roman west.

Recommended Citation

La Rocco, Carolyn T. (2026) "Monastic Patronage by Women in Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia," Medieval People: Vol. 40: Iss. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/medpros/vol40/iss1/9