Several members have mentioned Gilchrist in this context - as I recall, one
point she makes quite specifically about the differences between male and
female houses is that female houses are more likely to have cesspits and
garderobes rather than the state-of-the -art technology of the men's houses
(particularly but not exclusively the cistercians.) She speculates whether
this was because the women's houses were generally smaller and less well
resourced or whether it had to do with a more austere approach to the
religious life and a willingness to deny oneself the comforts of running
water and efficient sewage disposal. I haven't the books to hand but I
think (from a footnote in something I've been writing on Cistercian women
in Wales) the references must be *Gender and Material culture* pp 125-6;
*Contemplation and Action* p 215.
maddy
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