Noble & Lazy? The Nuns of St George’s Abbey in Prague Castle

CEU Podcasts

In this interview, Karel Pacovský discusses his on-going research into the daily lives of the Benedictine nuns of St George’s Monastery in Prague Castle. The monastery, founded around 970 exclusively for women, was the earliest monastic institution in Bohemia. It held an important position within the Bohemian state due to its physical location and the status and learning of its abbesses. Karel’s research is based on a range of sources, including a book written for the nuns by their confessor, a monk from a near-by Benedictine Abbey of Ostrov, in the early 15th century. This book contains the rule of St Benedict, and the confessor's advice on various aspects of their life – how to manage their library, educate the young novice nuns, and how to conduct their daily life in accordance with their monastic vows. The book also contains reprimands which offer delightful insights into where and how the nuns were taking short-cuts in their religious life. This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.