Goring Priory was a medieval monastery of Augustinian Canonesses regular in

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, established before 1181. When

Burnham Abbey Burnham Abbey was a house of Canons regular#Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, Augustinian canonesses regular near Burnham, Buckinghamshire, Burnham in Buckinghamshire, England. It was founded in 1266 by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. The abbey ...

was established in 1265/6 by

Richard, Earl of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of ...

, an entire community of nuns was sent from Goring. Moreover,

Lacock Abbey Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order. The abbey remained a nunnery until the Dissolution of the monasteries in ...

was founded in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury and the initial group of nuns took the veil in 1232, the very first of the nuns was Alicia Garinges, who was probably previously a nun of Goring. The seal of Goring Priory depicted the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

in the pose of the

Seat of Wisdom Seat of Wisdom or Throne of Wisdom (Latin: ''sedes sapientiae'') is one of many titles of Mary, devotional titles for Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary in Roman Catholic tradition. In Seat of Wisdom icons and sculptures, Mary is seated on a throne wit ...

(''Sedes sapientiae''), which was a common motif for seals of nunneries in medieval England, though not the majority choice.Roberta Gilchrist, ''Gender and Material Culture: The Archaeology of Religious Women'', Routledge, London, 1994, p. 145. The motif entails a depiction of the Blessed Virgin seated and facing forward, presenting or holding the

Christ Child The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...

on her lap.

References

Monasteries in Oxfordshire {{UK-Christian-monastery-stub

See also

References