Isabelle of France : Capetian sanctity and Franciscan identity in the thirteenth century / Sean L. Field.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Field, Sean L. (Sean Linscott), 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Isabelle, Princess of France, 1225-1270.

Isabelle.

Louis IX, King of France, 1214-1270.

Princesses--France--Biography.

Princesses.

Families.

Blessed.

France.

Blessed--France--Biography.

Louis IX, King of France, 1214-1270--Family.

Louis.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 288 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame Press, [2006]

Summary:

As the only daughter of Blanche of Castile, one of France's most powerful queens, and as the sister of the Capetian saint Louis IX, Isabelle of France (1225-1270) was situated at the nexus of sanctity and power during a significant era of French culture and medieval history. In this ground-breaking examination of Isabelle's career, Sean Field uses a wealth of previously unstudied material to address significant issues in medieval religious history, including the possibilities for women's religious authority, the creation and impact of royal sanctity, and the relationship between men and women within the mendicant orders. Field reinterprets Isabelle's career as a Capetian princess. Isabelle was remarkable for choosing a life of holy virginity and for founding and co-authoring a rule for the Franciscan abbey of Longchamp. Isabelle did not become a nun there, but remained a powerful lay patron, living in a modest residence on the abbey grounds. Field maintains that Isabelle was a key actor in creating the aura of sanctity that surrounded the French royal family in the thirteenth century, underscoring the link between the growth of Capetian prestige and power and the idea of a divinely ordained, virtuous, and holy royal family. Her contemporary reputation for sanctity emerges from a careful analysis of the Life of Isabelle of France written by the third abbess of Longchamp, Agnes of Harcourt, and from papal bulls, letters, and other contemporary sources that have only recently come to light. Isabelle of France explores the life of a remarkable figure in French and Franciscan history.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Princess and the Queen: Negotiating Virginity 13

Chapter 2 Virgo regia: Fashioning a Royal Reputation 37

Chapter 3 House Rules: Isabelle of France and Longchamp's Rule of 1259 61

Chapter 4 A Minor Triumph: The Revised Rule of 1263 and Its Impact 95

Chapter 5 Between Court and Cloister: Life and Death at Longchamp 121

Chapter 6 Notre Sainte Mere: Making a Capetian Saint 139.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-278) and index.

ISBN:

026802880X

OCLC:

70045976

Publisher Number:

9780268028800