Female monasticism in Italy in the Early Middle Ages: new questions, new debates

This introductory essay consists of two parts. The fi rst is a contextualisation of the overall purpose of the monographic section, as well as a general summary of the questions, issues and themes which we were proposing to debate. The second part is an Appendix, which sets out the guidelines of the database MedItaNunC, which supported some of the research, and now provides not only a large percentage of the source material, but also a methodology about the connections which can be made through the information brought together. The essay looks at the historiography of the subject, including the recent wealth of research published from the perspective of gender studies in this area, and the way in which the Italian material fi ts into it. It also explains the chosen chronology, and the geographical spread used in the volume, and the important input of archaeology, which has helped propose new questions. Lastly, it sets out the three core themes which run through the other papers in the volume: the links between female monasteries and the city elites, the history of the monasteries concerned in the light of both their foundation and hagiographical myths, their material culture, and their ideological place in the cityscape, and fi nally, the attempt to identify the diff erence, if any, between female and male monastic houses. It is hoped that the collection will provide a fi rst panorama of female monasticism across the multiplicity of Italian political and cultural landscape.