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The Medieval Church · c. 1140–1160
The Life of Christina of Markyate
Anonymous
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What it is
A young Englishwoman refuses the marriage her parents arranged, escapes disguised as a man, and lives hidden in a tiny cell for years before founding her own community.
Why it lasted
An unusually novelistic biography, and remarkable evidence of a woman resisting family, bishop, and law to keep a vow of virginity.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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