The research project “Books, Rituals, and Spaces in a Cistercian Nunnery: Living, Praying, and Reading in Lorvão, 13th–16th Centuries”, in collaboration with the Institute for Medieval Studies (IEM, NOVA FCSH), is pleased to announce the programme of the International Conference “Women of the Cistercian Order: Unveiling Nunneries and Expanding Horizons”, which will take place via Zoom from 28–31 January 2025.

This conference aims to bring together recent and innovative research on Cistercian nunneries, books, scriptoria, libraries, and the materiality of various aspects of monastic life. It also seeks to delve into the lived experiences of nuns, explore female agency within Cistercian convents, and examine the multifaceted connections between books, devotion, and the intellectual life of nuns within the broader context of medieval monasticism.

Conference Participation Guidelines

  • Participation as an attendee is free of charge, but prior registration is required.
  • To register, please email unveilingnunneries@gmail.com, requesting the link to the sessions.
  • The conference will be held exclusively on Zoom, with all sessions scheduled according to Lisbon Time (GMT+0).
  • Registered participants will receive further details, including the Zoom link and full agenda, upon confirmation of registration.

Scholars will explore the material characteristics of Cistercian liturgical books, particularly focusing on their codicological features, such as unique binding methods that often reveal insights into provenance, and the analysis of pigments used in the creation and blending of coloured inks. Aspects related with the ‘biography’ of the book, evidence of the books care process, as well as its conservation methods along the centuries preserving its identity, will be also considered.

The conference also aims to explore Cistercian liturgy and its ritual enactment within monastic spaces, focusing on the order’s quest for liturgical uniformity. In addition, we will examine how this ideal interacted with local practices, including its adaptation to the specific liturgical traditions of Cistercian convents. In this context, we seek to highlight the role of female agency in cultural and artistic patronage and in liturgical practice.

Further, it is also the conferenced organization’s intention to publish the papers delivered at the Conference in a peer-reviewed volume.

We warmly invite scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in the topic to join us in this engaging academic event.