Breaking Old Habits: Recent Research on Women, Spirituality, and the Arts in the Middle Ages¹

Abstract

The study of women, spirituality, and the arts has progressed considerably over the past twenty‐five years, becoming both more nuanced and sophisticated as well as more conflicted. Recent scholarship on this subject reflects the adoption of broader definitions of the arts and of female religiosity in addition to a weakening of both conceptual and disciplinary boundaries. Current research further demonstrates a greater democratization in the types of women and pious activities studied. Researchers are increasingly re‐conceptualizing piety in terms of grouped or interrelated actions tied to the visual and material culture of medieval Christianity, thereby highlighting the importance of performance within female devotion. While issues of essentialism and agency continue to stimulate debate, researchers have uncovered considerable evidence of the influence medieval women exerted upon religious drama, music, art, literature, and theology. Nevertheless, substantial areas for further research remain.