ABSTRACT
The nineteenth-century Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni was arguably the first to draw popular attention to the plight of young women forced into convents, and to the potentially unfortunate consequences of having to take religious vows unwillingly. Only very recently, however, have historians begun to look more closely at a phenomenon that, although well known in general terms, remains unexplored in detail. The practice of compelling unmarriageable daughters into the religious life has yet to be fully related to its contemporary social and economic context, whilst the evidence for its widespread use remains to be analysed. The Florentine chancellor's negative response to Caterina di Messer Vieri's plea is interesting for the light it sheds upon the general attitude of the time to the problem of enclosing young women against their will, and for its adherence to canon law. Evidence of an awareness of these problems is found in contemporary records. The sixteenth-century Bolognese notary Giovanni Boccadiferro offers a particularly lucid analysis.
