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Elections of Abbesses and Notions of Identity in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Italy, with Special Reference to Venice*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Kate Lowe
Kate Lowe*
Affiliation:
Goldsmiths' College, University of London
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Abstract

Ceremonies of election to abbess were occasions of great display. Election to this highest of offices was the defining moment of a successful nun's life, and thereafter self-identity became crucial. This article examines an anatomy of an election of 1509 by a nun from San Zaccaria in Venice; the illustrated chronicle of Santa Maria delle Vergini in Venice dated 1523, written by an anonymous nun; and the visual representation (in a range of media) of various abbesses from Florence, Pavia, and Venice. Success in election conferred the possibility of personality and consequently legitimated personalized representation.

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Type
Studies
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , Summer 2001 , pp. 389 - 429
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 2001

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