Alice Henley
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Alice Henley (died 1470) was an English
abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
at the
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Godstow Nunnery,
Godstow Godstow is a hamlet about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
.


Life

Henley was a senior nun of Godstow Nunnery in 1445. She was elected abbess in 1446 and ruled until she died in 1470. During her rule, a royal confirmation of Godstow's foundation charters was obtained in 1462. Her tenure as abbess was during a time when religious women's lack of education in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
was beginning to cause administrative developments to meet their needs. She commissioned a summarised
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
translation of her abbey's Latin charters by a "poor brother and admirer" of Henley and her convert. He created the
English Register
which allowed the nuns to better understand their
muniment A muniment or muniment of title is a legal term for a document, title deed or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from the Latin noun ''munimentum'', meaning a "fortification, bulwark, defence or protection". ...
s and instruct their servants without having to consult an outsider. According to medieval historian Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis, the
cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...
is the only one that has survived intact and is also more extensive and covers a longer time period than other cartularies of the time.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley Alice 1470 deaths 15th-century English women Benedictine abbesses Medieval abbesses