De la réclusion volontaire. L’Enfermement des religieuses entre Moyen Âge et Epoque moderne

During Modern ages in catholic countries the number of religious women (mainly coming from the upper classes) is very high. They mainly live within strictly enclosed monasteries located inside the cities. This “massive” confinement of non-married women can be explained by the convergence of religious, social and cultural factors towards the definition of a specific female virtue of confinement. This is, in fact, a new proposal for a more ancient virtue, that of virginity. The enclosure of female monasteries is indeed considered as a barrier which protects not only the purity of religious women, but also the morality of the nearby society. The assimilation by women themselves of this virtue of confinement attached to their sex makes possible their “voluntary” reclusion since the end of the Middle Ages, when monastic observant reforms promote strict enclosure for the monasteries. The female “consent” rely also on the recognition of the sacred status of nuns and on the obedience universally due to fathers during the Ancien Régime. The pressure put on young girls lacking religious vocation is however acknowledged and denouced, until the XIXth century, during which this phenomenon progressively disappears.