I didn't finish writing it today, so I'm sorry for changing it tomorrow morning.

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  The convent was a place where the daughters of the nobility were educated. In medieval Western Europe, the church had a monopoly on education, and monasteries were centers for the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. In 789, Charlemagne wrote the Admonition to the Public, which stipulated that every monastery should have a school attached to it and a textbook [10] (p76). So entering a convent was a wise choice for a noble girl to receive a good education. It was there that they acquired not only the ability to read and write, the study of ancient patristic writings and classical literature, the art of painting and music, but also the social etiquette of high society that aristocratic women had to master. So the educational function of the convent was quite attractive to the daughters of the nobility. Heloris, a famous Parisian woman in the 12th century, was educated in a convent at an early age. But if aristocratic girls were attracted only by the educational function of the monastery, they would not really become monks. The Sisters of Wierich in the early Middle Ages are a good example of this. The house was built by a local couple of counts for their daughter Adheide, who made her rector, and because it was mainly for education, Adhead was not required to vow to be poor or swear of chastity for the rest of her life, and wore a long skirt with a soft texture under her nun's gown. Such a monastery was more like a school for aristocratic girls, a place of study for the daughters of the nobility[2](p157).

  There were many other reasons why noble virgins entered the convent. For example, parents may choose a convent as a solution if they consider their disabled child to be an unbearable burden, and a girl who does not want to marry or cannot find a suitable marriage may also choose to attend a convent.

  Wife

  The wife is a person who is legally protected by her husband, so the monastic must be approved by the husband. Research has shown that many nuns in medieval monasteries were aristocratic wives. For example, in the 8 writs of the convent of the Sisters of Monvafurs in Poitou, it is recorded that from 1140 to 1205 about 42 women entered the convent, of whom at least 15 were married[6](p100). Does the fact that choosing monasticism as a wife means leaving the worldly married life means that the wife has actively chosen the religious life? It is certain that some wives do practice for the sake of faith, but in most cases they leave the home for the following reasons:

  First, the husband abandons his wife. There are two main reasons for this, one is that the wife cannot have a male heir. The aristocratic families of Western Europe in the Middle Ages paid great attention to the maintenance and expansion of hereditary property, so they implemented the primogeniture system, hoping that the eldest son would inherit all the property, so as to maintain the integrity of the family's hereditary property. If the wife gives birth to all daughters, the property will be divided among the daughters, and the daughter's marriage will bring the property into other families, which no noble family would want to see. Therefore, for the sake of the integrity and expansion of property, husbands abandon their wives and remarry, and there are many wives who cannot give birth to boys who take the initiative to go out. These abandoned women generally chose monasteries as their home. The second is that the husband is empathetic and don't fall in love. The medieval society of Western Europe was different from that of ancient China, where polygamy was prevalent in the upper classes, while the Christian churches in medieval Western Europe preached monogamy. If a noble husband has another lover and intends to marry him, he can only find a way to abandon his wife and let her enter the monastery. Normally, he would not make his intentions public, but would praise his wife's ideals of chastity. Although canon law states that if a wife enters a monastery, the husband cannot marry again. But that's not the case. For example, in the 8th century, when the wife of Rochel II of Theutbergalothargia was unable to bear children, he had a new love, and he divorced his wife and then imprisoned her in a convent, thus removing the obstacle to marrying his new love, Waldra[9](p281). In addition, if the wives are unable to conceive or no longer have desires, the husband may also forcibly send these "unwanted" wives to the convent

  Second, the wife runs away from marriage. In medieval Western Europe, marriage was often used as a means of transaction, and the political and economic interests of the family were usually taken into account for both men and women. Women's marriages were arranged by the family, with the participation of the lord and the king, and the parties had no rights. As a result, a large number of women have to accept "forced marriage". This can bring great psychological pain to women, coupled with the fear of childbirth after marriage, the worry of her husband's affair, the boredom of the internal struggle of the aristocratic family, etc., which leads many aristocratic wives to wear the nun veil. For example, a noble lady named Ayheude, with her husband's consent, gave her house in La Rochelle to the abbey of Notre-da, while she herself embraced the convent lifestyle. She claimed that she did it for the salvation of her soul, but she also admitted that it was also done to get rid of an unbearable marriage[4](p32).

  Third, choose a place for the elderly. In medieval Western Europe, many elderly aristocratic wives preferred to use sacred monasteries as retirement homes. The tranquil, quiet and comfortable environment of the monastery was attractive to them, where they could live with their family members, especially their sisters and daughters, where they could pray for the rest of their lives to increase the chances of saving their souls and those of their families, and where they could be buried in the monastery after death, where their souls would be saved forever through the prayers of their descendants. Normally, they go to the monasteries founded and donated by their families, or to the monasteries they donated to in their early years. For example, in the thirties of the 11th century, Viscount Jocelyn and his wife Emiline (ele) founded the abbey of Saint-Catherine for the Benedict friars and the Abbey of Saint-Amante for the nuns in the Rouen region, and gave generous donations to each of them. In their old age, they each entered a monastic life[6](pp38~39).

  Fourth, the wife follows her husband, who leads a religious life. Many of the monks and priests of the Middle Ages were married men. After the reform of the Christian church, the system of non-marriage was introduced, and the priests were required to be celibate, and the monasteries also required the monks to renounce marriage. The rules of the Church and monasteries forced the wives of priests and monks who had renounced their marriages to enter the monasteries. Many of them were influenced by their husbands to practice with religious fervor and in most cases, but in most cases their husbands persuaded, demanded or forced their wives to practice for the sake of their great ideals and bright future. At the request of her husband Abelard, she entered the monastery of Argendu twice, but she said that it was not out of love for God or her own will, but because of Abelal's order that she wore the veil of a nun!

  3. Widows

  The word "widow" comes from the Latin word vidua, which means "deprived"[11] (p25). Etymologically, the meaning of "widow" is not personal or emotional, but social; In medieval Western Europe, a man was able to control his economy after losing his spouse, maintain his legal and social status[11](p26), and still be able to live as he was. This is not the case for women, who often have no choice but to live in a convent when faced with the situation of "deprivation".

  First of all, it is to get rid of the claims of family relatives and lords for their property. In medieval Western Europe, the widowhood phase is often considered to be the most powerful period for the aristocratic woman, not only because she began to be given legal autonomy at this time, but also because she could own a large amount of property. The property they own is mainly dos and dory. The wedding money is the property designated by the husband to be inherited by the wife on the morning after the wedding. In a way, she kept the property for the benefit of widowhood in the future. The more the wife married, the greater the amount of this property[12](p161). The dowry is the property designated by the maiden family to the bride at the time of marriage. In addition, the wife may receive some inheritance in varying degrees. In short, as heirs, noble widows were given a large amount of property, including cultivated land, houses, storerooms, estates, mills, etc. Many church writings and laws in the Middle Ages dealt with the disposition of widows' property. As recorded in Bede's History of the Church of England in the 8th century, if a wife remarried, the inherited land should be returned to her husband's family. Articles 73 and 73a of the 11th-century Canute Law of the Laity stipulate that if a widow remarries after being widowed for less than a year, the property and wedding money obtained from the former husband shall be confiscated, and the land and other property shall be inherited by the nearest clansman (of the former husband)[13](pp40~41). However, even if the widow does not remarry, others will still covet her property, and relatives or lords have often defrauded the widow of her property, and the most common tactic used by them is to advise the widow to remarry. For example, in the 12th century, when the wife of Claremont's vassal Evral became a widow, Evral's stepmother attempted to take possession of her property by suggesting her remarry[6](p99). But if the widow donated her property to the monastery, she could get rid of these pretenders. If they founded a monastery and became their own abbot, they would not only manage their inherited property themselves, but also receive large donations.

  Secondly, it is to ensure that the inheritance rights of children other than the eldest son are not violated. The death of a husband may leave behind a group of children, some of whom may be minors, or even infants. The eldest son does not have to worry about the widow, the higher lord will take custody of him, and even if the mother takes custody, the ultimate control remains in the hands of the higher lord, and the right to marry is exercised or sold by him, so the widow rarely cares about the maintenance of the eldest son. But the other children must be raised by her. If a widow remarries, the husband is likely to encroach on her property, leaving the inheritance rights of other children unsecured. Many husbands were concerned about this before they died, and they made arrangements in advance. For example, in 1442, Sir Gilbert-Rainey gave all his movable property to his wife Margaret, but stipulated that "after my death she must swear chastity, otherwise she will inherit only 13 of them"[14](p49). He did not intend to prevent his wife from remarrying, but was bent on protecting the inheritance rights of his children. As a result, widows often enter convents to protect the inheritance of children other than the firstborn.

  Again, it is in response to Christian propaganda about widowhood chastity. In medieval Western Europe, the life of a chaste widow was considered an ideal second only to virginity, a kind of "second virginity". This idea was strongly promoted and praised by the Christian church, and early church fathers such as Girome and Ambrose strongly promoted widows who were not tempted to remarry. Christianity believes that a chaste widow has a special power to pray, and that the more chaste a widow is, the more people ask her to pray, and the best way to achieve the ideal of chastity is to enter a monastery. It was this form of mind control that the Church used to eventually become the beneficiary of the property of the aristocratic widows. During the Merovingian dynasty, for example, in order to escape the king's plan to remarry the widow Ricotide (Rictrude), Bishop Vaughan of Gaul helped her enter a convent[15](p43). Moreover, the entry of a chaste widow into the monastery would also bring more property donations to the monastery, both to the benefit of the Church and the widow herself. Thus, the mobilization of widows into monasteries was also often a means of amassing wealth for the Church, as exemplified in Anglo-Saxon England, medieval southern Italy, late medieval Florence, and sixteenth-century Spain [16](p20).

  Finally, some noble widows were looking for a safe place to live. In medieval Western Europe, certain laws provided for the domicile of widows. In Sussex, for example, local law allows widows to continue to live in their homes. Under the common law, a widow was only allowed to stay in the dwelling for 40 days, regardless of how much landed property she owned, after which she had to leave[17](p91). Therefore, they had to find another safe place to live, and the monastery was usually their ideal safe place. Living in a monastery not only allowed them to hide from property pretenders and suitors, but like the wives of the nobility who entered the monastery, they could use this safe abode as a retirement place for the rest of their lives.

  Finally, some noble widows were looking for a safe place to live. In medieval Western Europe, certain laws provided for the domicile of widows. In Sussex, for example, local law allows widows to continue to live in their homes. Under the common law, a widow was only allowed to stay in the dwelling for 40 days, regardless of how much landed property she owned, after which she had to leave[17](p91). Therefore, they had to find another safe place to live, and the monastery was usually their ideal safe place. Living in a monastery not only allowed them to hide from property pretenders and suitors, but like the wives of the nobility who entered the monastery, they could use this safe abode as a retirement place for the rest of their lives.

  Finally, some noble widows were looking for a safe place to live. In medieval Western Europe, certain laws provided for the domicile of widows. In Sussex, for example, local law allows widows to continue to live in their homes. Under the common law, a widow was only allowed to stay in the dwelling for 40 days, regardless of how much landed property she owned, after which she had to leave[17](p91). Therefore, they had to find another safe place to live, and the monastery was usually their ideal safe place. Living in a monastery not only allowed them to hide from property pretenders and suitors, but like the wives of the nobility who entered the monastery, they could use this safe abode as a retirement place for the rest of their lives.