Back to the Library
The Medieval Church · c. 1213–1215
The Life of Marie d'Oignies
James of Vitry · c. 1160/70–1240
Read elsewhere
What it is
A married woman who persuaded her husband to live in continence, gave away their goods, and lived a life of extreme penance and eucharistic devotion outside any religious order.
Why it lasted
Written to defend the beguines, it is the founding text of a movement of religious women who took no vows and belonged to no order.
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.
Read next