The Decline and Dissolution of the Gilbertine Order

The Gilbertine order was unusual in that it was founded for both men and women who
lived in adjacent enclosures. The order had its origins in the Lincolnshire village of
Sempringham where St Gilbert founded the order in the 1130s. The canons followed
the rule of St Augustine and the nuns the rule of St Benedict. The history of the order
has been extensively researched by Brian Golding from its foundation until the
beginning of the fourteenth century. However, there has been little substantial
research on the order in the period from the fourteenth century until its dissolution in
1539. This dissertation continues the work carried out by Golding and examines the
later years of the order’s history and its dissolution. The main themes of this work are
the recruitment of men and women into the order during the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, the spiritual lives of the nuns, the impact of the dissolution on the lives of
the men and women of the order, and their careers after the dissolution. The study will
show that in common with other religious orders there was a decline in the popularity
of the Gilbertines in the later Middle Ages, and also a relaxation of the rules the nuns
followed. In the period after the dissolution, the thesis will demonstrate that the social
and economic position of former Gilbertine canons was much better than that of
former nuns.