Editing Nun (section)

==== Early modern Spain ====

Prior to women becoming nuns during early modern Spain, aspired nuns underwent a process. The process was ensured by the [[Council of Trent]], which [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]] (1556–1598) adopted within Spain.<ref name="Schmitz 375–399">{{Cite journal|last=Schmitz|first=Timothy J.|date=2006-01-01|title=The Spanish Hieronymites and the Reformed Texts of the Council of Trent|journal=The Sixteenth Century Journal|volume=37|issue=2|pages=375–399|doi=10.2307/20477841|jstor=20477841}}</ref> King Phillip II acquired the aid of the [[Hieronymites|Hieronymite order]] to ensure that monasteries abided by the decrees of the Council of Trent.<ref name="Schmitz 375–399" /> This changed the way in which nuns would live.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030">{{Cite journal|last=Lehfeldt|first=Elizabeth A.|date=1999-01-01|title=Discipline, Vocation, and Patronage: Spanish Religious Women in a Tridentine Microclimate|journal=The Sixteenth Century Journal|volume=30|issue=4|pages=1009–1030|doi=10.2307/2544609|jstor=2544609}}</ref> One edict of the Council of Trent was that female monasteries be enclosed in order to limit nuns' relationship with the secular world.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> Enclosure of monasteries during this time was associated with chastity.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> Another decree issued by the Council of Trent was that religious devotion be "true and voluntary".<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" /> A male clergy member would ask the aspiring nuns if whether or not their vocation was "true and voluntary" in order to ensure no enforced conversion.<ref name="Lehfeldt 1009–1030" />

To be considered as a nun, one must have the economic means to afford the convent dowry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lehfeldt|first=Elizabeth A.|date=2000-01-01|title=Convents as Litigants: Dowry and Inheritance Disputes in Early-Modern Spain|url=https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub/3|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=33|issue=3|pages=645–664|doi=10.1353/jsh.2000.0027|jstor=3789215|s2cid=144464752|access-date=2019-12-14|archive-date=2020-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809071204/https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub/3/|url-status=live}}</ref> During this time convent dowries were affordable, compared to secular marriages between a man and a woman.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Evangelisti|first=Silvia|title=Nuns: A history of convent life, 1450–1700|publisher=Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press|year=2007}}</ref> Typically during early modern Spain many nuns were from elite families who had the means to afford the convent dowry and "maintenance allowances", which were annual fees.<ref name=":0" /> Monasteries were economically supported through convent dowries.<ref name=":0" /> Convent dowries could be waived if the aspiring nun had an artistic ability benefiting the monastery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Taggard|first=Mindy Nancarrow|date=2000-01-01|title=Art and Alienation in Early Modern Spanish Convents|journal=South Atlantic Review|volume=65|issue=1|pages=24–40|doi=10.2307/3201923|jstor=3201923}}</ref>

Once an aspiring nun has entered the convent and has the economic means to afford the dowry, she undergoes the process of apprenticeship known as the novitiate period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lavrin|first=Asuncion|title=Brides of Christ: Conventual life in colonial Mexico|publisher=Stanford University Press, 2008.|year=2008|location=Stanford, Calif.|pages=49}}</ref> The novitiate period typically lasts 1–2 years, and during this time the aspiring nun lives the life of a nun without taking the official vows.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lavrin|first=Asuncion|title=Brides of Christ: Conventual life in colonial Mexico|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2008|location=Stanford, Calif|pages=48}}</ref> As she lives in the convent she is closely monitored by the other women in the community to determine if her vocation is genuine. This would be officially determined by a vote from the choir nuns.<ref name=":0" /> If the aspiring nun passes the scrutiny of the women of the religious community, she then can make her [[solemn vow]]s.<ref name=":0" /> Prior to making the vows, the family of the nun is expected to pay the convent dowry.<ref name=":0" /> Nuns were also expected to renounce their inheritance and property rights.<ref name=":0" />

Religious class distinctions:
 
* Choir nuns: Usually from elite families, they held office, could vote within the convent, and were given the opportunity to read and write.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Evangelisti|first=Silvia|title=Nuns: A history of convent life, 1450–1700|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|location=Oxford|pages=30}}</ref>
* Lay-sisters: Lower-class women, assigned tasks related to the labour of the convent, generally were not given the opportunities to read and write, and paid a lower dowry.<ref name=":1" />