The Life of Christina of Markyate

By Samuel Fanous and Anonymous

Book Overview

'I wish to remain single, for I have made a vow of virginity.'

This is the remarkable story of the twelfth-century recluse Christina, who became prioress of Markyate, near St Albans in Hertfordshire. Determined to devote her life to God and to remain a virgin, Christina repulses the sexual advances of the bishop of Durham. In revenge he arranges her betrothal to a young nobleman but Christina steadfastly refuses to consummate the marriage and defies her parents' cruel coercion. Sustained by visions, she finds refuge with the hermit Roger, and lives concealed at Markyate for four years, enduring terrible physical and emotional torment. Although Christina is supported by the abbot of St Albans, she never achieves the recognition that he intended for her.

Written with striking candour by Christina's anonymous biographer, the vividness and compelling detail of this account make it a social document as much as a religious one. Christina's trials of the flesh and spirit exist against a backdrop of scheming and corruption and all-too-human greed.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199556059
• ISBN13: 9780199556052
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Sad paradox in an intriguing work.

Popular belief holds that during the Middle Ages sex was avoided like the plague --another medieval staple-- and all human energies went to glorify God. This "Life of Christina" is able to both support part of the popular belief and, at the same time, undermine it, leaving the reader with a strange sense of wonder at such a talented and resourceful woman who, with her work and example, contributed to the solid establishment of a social paradigm that would become dominant for the next 800 years and that would be so detrimental to women.Christina, whose given name was Theodora, chose many paths in her life. She chose her name, chose to remain a virgin, chose not to marry any man, and chose to stick to her decisions. This is not the story of a girl who is forced into a convent and must sacrifice her terrenal love to obey her family. Christina is literally hounded by her parents because they want her to marry. Her mother will eventually not care if there is a marriage as long as Christina has sex with somebody. Since Christina refuses, such act would have to be rape, but mom is just fine with that, too. The smart girl will prove to be quite a match for Ralph Flambard, a cad who attempts to seduce her; for Burthred, her hapless betrothed; and for mom and dad. Even the prior Fredebertus will not be able to disuade her from remaining a virgin. This story is, then, very much in line with the popular view of the Middle Ages: virginity at all costs and service to God. But Christina is continuosly penalized precisely for wanting those two things. Everybody else around her wants her to marry, and her mother just wants her to have sex and get it over with.Christina triumphs and accomplishes her goals, which is not a surprise after you have read the back cover comment and the excellent, if lengthy, Introduction. What strikes me as sad, though, is that Christina, a very determined and intelligent woman, assists in perpetuating, with her example, the ideas that with the guidance of the Church will become established wisdom and, in many cases, dogma: sex is bad, abstinence is good, God loves virgins, desire is the way to the devil, and the perfect place for women is a cloister where they can be kept safe from the dangers and temptations of the world. Even if Christina's "relationship" with Christ is, for her, a very sexual one, this does not lessen the effect of her overall message: she has chosen to become a recluse, remain a virgin, and thus serve God, as if those options were, by necessity compatible and mutually supportive. True, in her time the options available to women were very limited, but she uses her wits and her resources toward a rebellion that will just contribute to the identification of sex with sin. We may get the nuances and endearing contradictions today, but this hagiography served one purpose in her day, and for centuries after her death: to show Christina as an example for other girls and women to follow. In this way, her book and example he