Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis, The Care of Nuns: The Ministries of Benedictine Women in England During the Central Middle Ages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019, xx, 365 pp., 18 fig., 10 tables, 2 maps.

It is a standard assumption that women have never played a significant role within the Catholic Church. Until today, virtually all administrative posts are held by male clerics, which has regularly been explained and justified by theological/biblical arguments. But reality might be quite different, as Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis is now trying to demonstrate through an extensive analysis of relevant documents pertaining to Benedictine nuns in England during the central (or high) Middle Ages. These documents include chronicles, saints’ lives, letters, charters, and others. The issue focuses on the range of possibilities granted to nuns to exercise their own authority in terms of pastoral care, including confessions and ministry.