Medieval Cistercian nuns and reform of and within Monastic life

AS I PRESENT this paper from nipaluna/Hobart I'm reminded of how much I owe the Center for Cistercian and Monastic Studies, its predecessor, the Institute for Cistercian Studies, and the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University. I first attended conference sessions at Kalamazoo in 1998-what an auspicious anniversary year that was for me to be welcomed to the Medieval Institute and to the Cistercians, and to meet Rozanne Elder, Karen McDougall, and some of the many religious and academics who have continued to inspire me with their absolutely patently apparent love of all things Cistercian. Sue Steuer and Liz Teviotdale-my thanks for inviting me to return to this conference for the first time since 2013· The invitation was easy to accept!

The plan of my talk is as follows: I'll intersperse discussion of various forms of reform with discussion of various case studies concerning medieval Cistercian nuns.