Benedetta Carlini
Encyclopedia
Benedetta Carlini was a Catholic mystic
and lesbian
nun
, who lived in Counter-Reformation
Italy
during the 16th and seventeenth century. Judith C. Brown
chronicled her life in Immodest Acts (1986), which discussed the events that led to her archival significance for historians of women's spirituality and lesbianism. Canadian playwright and director Rosemary Rowe has written a play about her affair with Sister Bartolomea, "Benedetta Carlini: Lesbian Nun of Renaissance Italy".
. When she was thirty, Benedetta was made abbess
of the convent, but then reported a disturbing series of visions in which men were trying to kill her. Fearful that Sister Benedetta was being harassed by demonic entities, the other sisters assigned Sister Bartolemea to her cell. Thereafter, Sister Benedetta's more disturbing visions ceased, but she still encountered alleged supernatural visitations.
These came to the attention of the Counter-Reformation Papacy, determined to subordinate potentially troublesome mystics if they showed any signs of independent or 'heretical
' spirituality
. Although they paid three to four visits to the nunnery, it wasn't until they interrogated Sister Bartolemea that they found that Benedetta and Bartolemea were lovers. According to Bartolemea, Sister Benedetta would make love to her, and both would experience the mystical epiphanies that Sister Benedetta described.
According to Brown, it may not have been Benedetta's lesbianism that led to her ultimate downfall and imprisonment, as much as her egotism
. However, Bartolemea's admission was enough to ensure that Benedetta was stripped of her primacy as abbess and then held under guard for the remaining 35 years of her life. She died in 1661, while her former lover, Sister Bartolomea, predeceased her by one year, dying in 1660.
, a feminist
religious scholar, has an alternative perspective on the case of Benedetta Carlini, and wrote about it in the Journal of Homosexuality in 1990. She compared and contrasted two autobiographical accounts from Benedetta Carlini and another seventeenth century Italian Catholic mystic, Maria Domitilla Galluzzi
of Pavia. Carlini and Galluzi were both self-designated visionaries and highly regarded by their religious and secular communities, but each was subject to suspicion and close scrutiny by church hierarchy. Benedetta Carlini's trial records related the aforementioned series of sexual contacts with Bartolomea, while Maria Domitilla Galluzzi seems to have had no sexual experiences within her own mystical framework. Matter's article questioned whether scholars might have succumbed to the temptation to simply transpose the sexual self-understanding of figures in their own historical context to past historical environments. "Lesbian nun" might be viewed as too simplistic a description, and alongside Maria Galluzzi, Benedetta Carlini's sexuality might be viewed as organised around an elaborate organic connection between the spiritual and the sensual.
However, it might be noted that Matter has written extensively on Galluzzi in other contexts, and Brown's study of Carlini occurs in greater depth than that of her counterpart.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, who lived in Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the 16th and seventeenth century. Judith C. Brown
Judith C. Brown
Judith C. Brown is an American author and historian.She is Professor of History at Wesleyan University.-Publications:* Immodest Acts - The life of a lesbian nun in Renaissance Italy, Oxford University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-19-504225-5...
chronicled her life in Immodest Acts (1986), which discussed the events that led to her archival significance for historians of women's spirituality and lesbianism. Canadian playwright and director Rosemary Rowe has written a play about her affair with Sister Bartolomea, "Benedetta Carlini: Lesbian Nun of Renaissance Italy".
Life
Benedetta Carlini was born to a middle-class Italian family, which was able to buy her a place in a reasonably comfortable convent, the Convent of the Mother of God, at PesciaPescia
Pescia is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy.It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the homonymous river.-History:...
. When she was thirty, Benedetta was made abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
of the convent, but then reported a disturbing series of visions in which men were trying to kill her. Fearful that Sister Benedetta was being harassed by demonic entities, the other sisters assigned Sister Bartolemea to her cell. Thereafter, Sister Benedetta's more disturbing visions ceased, but she still encountered alleged supernatural visitations.
These came to the attention of the Counter-Reformation Papacy, determined to subordinate potentially troublesome mystics if they showed any signs of independent or 'heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
' spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
. Although they paid three to four visits to the nunnery, it wasn't until they interrogated Sister Bartolemea that they found that Benedetta and Bartolemea were lovers. According to Bartolemea, Sister Benedetta would make love to her, and both would experience the mystical epiphanies that Sister Benedetta described.
According to Brown, it may not have been Benedetta's lesbianism that led to her ultimate downfall and imprisonment, as much as her egotism
Egotism
Egotism is "characterized by an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics" – the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself....
. However, Bartolemea's admission was enough to ensure that Benedetta was stripped of her primacy as abbess and then held under guard for the remaining 35 years of her life. She died in 1661, while her former lover, Sister Bartolomea, predeceased her by one year, dying in 1660.
Alternative interpretations of Carlini
E. Ann MatterE. Ann Matter
E. Ann Matter, Ph.D is Associate Dean for Arts & Letters and Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in Medieval Christianity, including mysticism, women and religion, sexuality and religion, manuscript and textual studies and sacred music...
, a feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
religious scholar, has an alternative perspective on the case of Benedetta Carlini, and wrote about it in the Journal of Homosexuality in 1990. She compared and contrasted two autobiographical accounts from Benedetta Carlini and another seventeenth century Italian Catholic mystic, Maria Domitilla Galluzzi
Maria Domitilla Galluzzi
Maria Domitilla Galluzzi was a Catholic mystic, never canonized. According to E. Ann Matter, her foremost chronicler, Galluzzi entered her convent at Pavia, and after some time, began to experience ecstatic visions of Christ's Passion...
of Pavia. Carlini and Galluzi were both self-designated visionaries and highly regarded by their religious and secular communities, but each was subject to suspicion and close scrutiny by church hierarchy. Benedetta Carlini's trial records related the aforementioned series of sexual contacts with Bartolomea, while Maria Domitilla Galluzzi seems to have had no sexual experiences within her own mystical framework. Matter's article questioned whether scholars might have succumbed to the temptation to simply transpose the sexual self-understanding of figures in their own historical context to past historical environments. "Lesbian nun" might be viewed as too simplistic a description, and alongside Maria Galluzzi, Benedetta Carlini's sexuality might be viewed as organised around an elaborate organic connection between the spiritual and the sensual.
However, it might be noted that Matter has written extensively on Galluzzi in other contexts, and Brown's study of Carlini occurs in greater depth than that of her counterpart.