Canon Law and Cloistered Women: Periculoso and Its Commentators, 1298-1545 (Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Canon Law) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Makowski (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 081320884X | ISBN-13: 978-0813208848 | Publication Date: November 1997

Pope Boniface VIII published a decree in 1298 that transformed long-standing attitudes toward nuns into universal Church law. Referred to as Periculoso, the decree announced that all nuns were to be perpetually cloistered. This volume provides an in-depth study of the watershed legislation. Elizabeth Makowski surveys precedents for Periculoso as well as some of the problems Boniface VIII hoped to solve with his ruling. She further analyzes the commentary on Periculoso and the attempts to enforce the legislation.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The clearly written survey of legal commentary on Periculoso is this book's greatest contribution. Even technical points of law are explained with sufficient clarity, so that the matters at issue can be understood even by one who is not a specialist in mediaeval canon law. -- Ecclesiastical Law Journal

[The] work is well-written, contains helpful information on the topic in context, and should be a useful resource for those interested in this historical era as well as for those intrigued by the institutional Church's less than even-handed treatment of cloistered contemplative women through the centuries. -- Studia Canonica --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Latin (translation)
Original Language: Latin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 149 pages
• Publisher: Catholic Univ of Amer Pr (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081320884X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813208848
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,288,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear and readable account of a turbulent period, July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Canon Law and Cloistered Women: Periculoso and Its Commentators, 1298-1545 (Paperback)

Elizabeth Makowski has written a superb account of a crucial but little-known Church edict, the 1298 papal decretal of Pope Boniface VIII that is known as "Periculoso" (perilous) after the first word of the document; the decretal ruled on the status of women religious and proved quite controversial. As Makowski shows, the papal ruling was enforced in widely different ways, and sometimes not enforced at all, with both the enforcers and the non-enforcers claiming to have the force of canon law behind their arguments, and leaving many devoted women religious stranded somewhere in between. Makowski's research has clearly been extensive, and her writing is blessedly jargon-free.