Communities of Medieval Women Religious: Re-assessing definitions of gendered landscapes in Scotland

In wider landscape studies, especially monastic landscapes, medieval women religious are still left undervalued and under-studied for their contribution to settlement and shaping the landscapes and places. They have been viewed through the lens of gender difference—too often—which can create blinders in how we perceive monastic landscapes. Elizabeth Freeman called this the paradox of ‘gendering geographic marginalisation’. For medieval Scottish houses of women religious, they are doubly marginalised as they often do not fit into narratives of the making of the Scottish nation or Scottish identity. The background and context of gendering landscapes of medieval women religious and how these communities are normally studied in relation to this perspective are highlighted. Using example of women's religious communities from the SE and SW of Scotland, the idea of 'gendering landscapes' is questioned.  The focus turns to how landscape studies allow women religious to be considered a part of the making of sacred and spiritual landscape in the medieval period but also how these places have continued to play a large role in the shaping the landscapes today.  Landscape and place become the tools for ‘uniting’ multiple dimensions of how women religious are interpreted.