The Charism of Care of the Order of St John and Female Monasticism: The Convent of Bargota (Kingdom of Navarre) in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Abstract

The charism of care inspired the foundation of various medieval religious orders, the Order of St John of Jerusalem being the most renowned of these. This article uses a case study of a female Hospitaller convent in Bargota in the kingdom of Navarre, to examine to what extent the charism of hospitality influenced the Order’s decision-making. By identifying the factors lying behind the foundation of the convent in the early fourteenth century and its dissolution a century later, it contributes to the discussion on the relevance of female Hospitaller monasticism in the Late Middle Ages and argues that the Order sustained the convent as long as the women’s care-worthiness outweighed the burden of cura monialium.