Women's Biography: Ascelina
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There are letters written to and by Ascelina.
Woman's name:
Ascelina
Woman's title:
nun
Woman's biography:
Ascelina was a nun who had chosen the religious life rather than marriage. She was apparently from an aristocratic background, having been betrothed to a nephew of the duke of Burgundy as an infant. Peter of Blois wrote to her applauding her choice of the religious life over a life of wealth and power. In the PL, the letter is addressed to Anselma, but according to Michael Markowski, the best manuscripts give her name as Ascelina.1
Biographical notes:
1 "Treatment of Women in the Letter Collection of Peter of Blois," article in: Minorities in the Middle Ages, Ed. Susan Ridyard (Univ. of the South, Sewanee Mediaeval Studies #7, 1996), 63-71.
Birth date:
later 12th century