Skip to Main Content

The Basque Seroras: Local Religion, Gender, and Power in Northern Iberia, 1550-1800

Online ISBN:
9781501747519
Print ISBN:
9781501747496
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
Book

The Basque Seroras: Local Religion, Gender, and Power in Northern Iberia, 1550-1800

Amanda L. Scott
Amanda L. Scott
Pennsylvania State University
Find on
Published online:
17 September 2020
Published in print:
15 March 2020
Online ISBN:
9781501747519
Print ISBN:
9781501747496
Publisher:
Cornell University Press

Abstract

This book explores the intersections between local community, women's work, and religious reform in early modern northern Spain. The book illuminates the lives of these uncloistered religious women, who took no vows and were free to leave the religious life if they chose. Their vocation afforded them considerably more autonomy and, in some ways, liberty, than nuns or wives. The book recovers the surprising ubiquity of seroras, with every Basque parish church employing at least one. Their central position in local religious life revises how we think about the social and religious limitations placed on early modern women. By situating the seroras within the social dynamics and devotional life of their communities, the book reconceives of female religious life and the opportunities it could provide. It also shows how these devout laywomen were instrumental in the process of negotiated reform during the Counter-Reformation.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close