This book is a study of English nunneries in the years between 1100 and 1250, the heyday of monastic foundation. Based on a detailed analysis of the primary sources, it traces the early history of the many convents founded after the Norman Conquest, and relates this expansion to the development of the new European religious orders. Thompson examines the role played by patrons and founders in the growth of female monasticism. She penetrates the obscurity surrounding the foundation of the nunneries, and shows that many developed slowly from an initial focus provided by an anchoress or from an earlier association with another religious institution. Several nunneries were linked with monasteries, and their development as separate communities reflected tensions between the sexes. Thompson examines the poverty and difficulties faced by religious women, and explores the consequences of their dependence on men for practical and spiritual support.