These Naughty Nuns Created A Lot Of Scandals Back In Medieval England
What do you picture when you think of nuns? I typically think of the nuns from The Sound of Music or, in general, sweet ladies in habits.
Nuns have a reputation for being conservative and the utmost pious. But do you know the story of the nuns that lived in what was considered one of the worst nunneries on record?
In 2015, an archaeological dig led to the discovery of 92 human bodies buried at the site of what used to be a priory.
The bodies were believed to be nuns, patrons, children, etc., who were affiliated with the Littlemore Priory, located in Oxfordshire, England. A priory is a term for a small nunnery run by a prioress. The priory had been dissolved under Henry VII’s reign.
The Littlemore Priory was founded in the 12th century. The small home went through tough times and had tricky relationships with bishops.
Yet the real scandals that came out of the priory started popping up from the mid-1400s into the 1510s. What these nuns did was shocking!
Around 1445, agents of Bishop William Alnwick would visit the priory to inspect things. During one of the first visits, it was discovered that only about seven nuns were actually living in the priory.
In addition, the building’s dormer was in such bad shape that many of the nuns had to sleep in the same bed together.
Additionally, the agents were shocked to find that the nuns were not fasting and were eating meat every day. It was also revealed that the nuns often entertained men in the priory. Men would arrive to drink and even spend the night on occasion. Naughty nuns!
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The bishop ordered the nuns to resolve their issues and gave them a warning. However, as the years went by, things only seemed to get worse, and the nuns even started to feud with one another violently.
Finally, after Bishop William Atwater witnessed evidence of more bad behavior on his personal visit to the priory in 1518, the acting prioress at the time, Katherine Wells, was charged with multiple offenses, including incontinence.
Afterward, there was no replacement prioress to take over at Littlemore. In 1525, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey needed funds for his school in Oxford, so he was granted permission to dissolve decaying monasteries. Littlemore was one of them. The nuns weren’t punished any further.
Have you ever heard the tale of these nuns before?
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