Description
Book SynopsisThe Power of Religious Societies in Shaping Early Modern Society and Identities studies the value system of the French Catholic community the Filles de la Charité, or the Daughters of Charity, in the first half of the seventeenth century. An analysis of the activities aimed at edifying morality in the different strata of society revealed a Christian anthropology with strong links to medieval traditions. The book argues that this was an important survival strategy for the Company with a disconcerting religious identity: the non-cloistered lifestyle of its members engaged in charity work had been made unlawful in the Council of Trent. Moreover, the directors Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul also had to find ways to curtail internal resistance as the sisters rebelled in quest of a more contemplative and enclosed vocation.
Trade Review"[...] Peake’s work offers fresh perspective on the history of the Daughters of Charity and, more broadly, female spirituality in early modern France."
- Sarah Loose,
Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 2
"[...] this is a thoughtful essay on the 'culture' of the Daughters of Charity and is a useful companion to the works of Barbara Diefendorf, Elizabeth Rapley, and other authors on seventeenth century French female spirituality."
- Elizabeth Tingle,
Church History, Vol. 89, Iss. 4
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Three Worlds, Three Portraits: Introduction
-Studying the moral management of the Daughters of Charity: methods and sources
-Study in scholarly context
Chapter I: At the cradle: gender and power in seventeenth-century Parisian society
1. The elitist facelift of Paris
2. The dévotes and the spiritual facelift of Paris
3. Social problems and the reorganization of nursing
Chapter II: Portrait of Louise de Marillac: ensuring resources for moral management
1. The credible head: Louise de Marillac and the elite networks of the Company
2. The living saint: managing spiritual authority
3. The passive penitent: portraying orthodox power relations
Chapter III: Portrait of the Daughter of Charity: safeguarding the execution of moral management
1. Martha and Mary: conflict and reconciliation
2. Cloistered outside the cloister: managing spiritual position
3. Moderate Magdalene: devotional practices and social status
4. Superior saint of Jerome - justifying the mixed vocation
Chapter IV: Portrait of the underprivileged: managing the ignorant substitute of Christ
1. Ignorant soul to be saved: motivation through prejudice
2. Jesus nursed: motivation through love
3. Creating the ideal underprivileged to protect the Company: substance of the moral management
From conservative moral management to survival: conclusions
Sources
Note on vocabulary
Index
