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Abstract: Max Weber’s description of Western modernity as prioritizing rationality, efficiency, and control reflects the gendered perspective of his era, drawing heavily on his observations of the (male) monastic economy. However, medieval convents—operated and led by women—also had a vital part in shaping medieval society, offering insights that are broadly overlooked in Weber’s account. Beginning in the twelfth century, women’s monasteries proliferated at remarkable rates, particularly in urbanizing regions where wealth accumulation and growing socioeconomic disparities intersected with broader efforts at Church-internal reform. Their geographic concentration in urban spaces, encouraged by the economic and political circumstances of the time, favored locally embedded institutions, close networks, and support relationships, creating zones of female autonomy and accomplishment. Synthesising historical accounts with ecological analyses of a comprehensive database of 8,629 monastery foundings spanning from 1000 to 1900 CE, we reconstruct two basic pathways for the proliferation of women’s convents. We thereby illuminate how these institutions not only empowered women as leaders and economic actors but also contributed to the diversification of pre-capitalist organisational forms. Their legacy endures in contemporary institutions such as hospitals, schools, and NGOs—domains where stakeholder-oriented governance and mission-driven service continue to shape economic and civic life. By integrating female monasticism into a broader sociological framework, our findings challenge conventional narratives of capitalist development and highlight the gendered dimensions of institutional innovation.

The Sociology Seminar Series for Trinity Term is convened by Kasimir Dederichs, Said Hassan and Anica Waldendorf..  For more information about this or any of the seminars in the series, please contact sociology.secretary@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.