Eli5: How did nunneries protect themselves?

786 views

So this question might be a little morbid, but it seems like nunneries would be easy /attractive targets for thieves, roaming hordes and rapists. A place filled with women, no men around, a lot of them old/frail. How were these places and the nuns themselves protected throughout more brutal time periods?

Was it simply isolation and dressing as nonsexual as possible? Seems like it had to be more.

EDIT: Thanks for all the comments. Convent was the word I was looking for, I just kept thinking of the “get thee to a nunnery” line in Hamlet. Everything I know about life in a convent is pretty much from Sound of Music and a handful of shows.

In: 413

28 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

To add to others’ comments, nunneries are by definition associated with the Catholic Church, and in the period of time OP is referencing it was generally a very bad idea to get on the Church’s bad side.

You are viewing 1 out of 28 answers, click here to view all answers.