Présences et dévotions féminines autour des commanderies du Bas-Rhône (XIIe -XIIIe siècle )

Abstract

Presence and Devotion of Women around Lower-Rhone Commanderies (12th and 13th Centuries). Some English-speaking scholars have already put to the fore the fact that military orders were able to integrate women through a system of affiliation which was, incidentally, rather vague. But the overall implication of women within the commanderies of the Orders of the Temple and Hospitallers has never been assessed, taking into account the variety of relationships that could grow between the male religious communities and their lay female neighbours. The profusion of documents gathered dealing with 12th-13th century Lower-Rhone first shows that women were fully involved in the property trade with military orders. Even if they sold more than they gave away, the ladies who came from the lower and middle aristocracy could still often be seen in commanderies which seemed more than ever open to lay people. As a matter of fact, many of them extended the material links with the brothers to a deep devotion towards them. This can be seen through wills as well as affiliations among which elections to a sepulture should be distinguished from consores and donates contracts and, lastly, as regards the Hospitallers, full professions. At a time when the Church was still unable to fulfil entirely the demands of lay pious women, military orders were able to integrate them into new forms of solidarity and to offer them an actual model of Christian life : chastity in widowhood as in marriage, part taking in the prayers and pious deeds organised by commanderies and even supporting the ideal of the chivalry and of the crusades.