In 1318, Joan of Leeds faked her own death and escaped her convent, leaving a dummy to be buried in her place. Lauren Allen traces the runaway nun’s audacious deception and the unanswered questions surrounding her fate.
By Lauren Allen
Though most of us are familiar with the great wrongdoings, rumors, and subversions of the great figures of history, often it is the common individuals, whose names pass down to us through the record as being synonymous with their transgressions, that we find more alluring.
This could be the normality of subversion being present in people much more relatable to us than those with both wealth and status, whom we often expect to be scandalous and subversive, while the average person would often fade into obscurity, merely a background character in the events of wider society.
However, of course, those without status could also find themselves in hot water, their scandal becoming their lasting legacy. None fit this description more than Joan of Leeds, the runaway nun who faked her own death to pursue – in the words of the Archbishop of York, William Melton – “the way of carnal lust.”
Scandal Behind the Convent Walls
St Clement’s by York – this church is the only part remaining of the Benedictine nunnery – photo by Tim Green from Bradford / Wikimedia Commons
Our leading lady, “Johannas de Ledes,” was during the early fourteenth century a resident of St Clement’s by York, a Benedictine nunnery founded around 1130 by Archbishop Thurstan. Though the nunnery was small, only housing maybe a dozen nuns at a time, and a place associated with women of chastity and obedience, St Clement’s had its fair share of scandalous nuns whose transgressions have been recorded and exposed to modern audiences.
Though Joan of Leeds will be our focus, it is important to acknowledge the other women and their transgressions while housed at St Clement’s. In 1401, according to the record within the Assize Rolls, a nun named Cecily used to meet certain men at the priory gate; ultimately, she was to throw off her habit and ride off with them to Darlington, where she proceeded to live with a man named Gregory de Thornton for over three years.
Likewise, another woman, named Joan de Saxton, was forbidden from leaving the cloister unless accompanied by other nuns. Very specifically, however, she was also forbidden from having any contact with Lady de Walleys, which would imply the restriction of her movements and freedoms was linked to her supposed relationship with this woman, whatever the nature of this relationship might have been.
Of course, though we can only guess as to the intimate details of these transgressions by the two aforementioned women, we can make our own inferences as to why their unbecoming behaviours were so scandalous for nuns. For these ladies to be featured within the registers, it is important to acknowledge that these events were noteworthy and subsequently not the norm, but they do illuminate to us that these women were not always committed to the vows and commitments to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience that they had made in their adolescence.
BnF MS Français 25526 fol. 111v
Joan’s scandal begins in 1318, when she features in the scribes’ marginal note dated 11 August 1318, which reads as follows: “To warn of Joan of Leeds, lately Nun of the house of St Clement by York, that she should return to her house.” It can be clearly seen that, just like our other scandalous nuns of St Clement’s, Cecily and Joan de Saxton, Joan of Leeds was not well suited to ecclesiastical life. This is evidenced to us by executory letters against Joan of Leeds in which a man recorded as “Brother John” claims that Joan was forced into life as a nun by her parents:
Joan of Leeds, of the diocese of York, showed to me with great sorrow in her heart, as it appeared, that as a girl and being under the age of personal discretion she was forced to enter the order of nuns of St Benedict in the monastery of St Clement outside the walls of York by her father and mother.
Though we can pity Joan for the forced circumstances she found herself in, this was not uncommon for young girls. Though some girls would enter a nunnery of their own accord due to their religious beliefs and devotion, or potentially more secular concerns, many were forced or at the very least encouraged by their parents into a life of devotion. It may therefore come as no surprise that some of these women attempted to flee. However, what was uncommon was the lengths to which Joan went to escape the shackles of her ecclesiastical prison, which makes her story so captivating and scandalous.
Nun on the Run
A nun at prayer in a late 14th-century manuscript of Le Roman de la Rose. National Library of Poland.
It is recorded that in 1318, Joan faked having a mortal illness. Clearly, this would have been an obvious bluff if she were to remain alive and not succumb to sickness. However, Joan planned to go one step further. To achieve her escape, she faked her own death. For this step to be successful, there would need to be somewhat convincing evidence, such as a body to bury, or at least a decoy, which is exactly what Joan provided. According to the registers, Joan created a dummy “in the likeness of her body,” which was buried “in a sacred space amongst the religious of that place,” while Joan escaped, very much alive.
This plan was not carried out alone, as the archbishop reported that it was accomplished with “the help of numerous of her accomplices, evildoers, with malice aforethought.” Though it cannot be determined whether these women were fully aware of Joan’s intentions or were misled and coerced into being her accomplices, what is clear is that this was a team effort. However, as might be guessed from our knowledge of this plan, her success was no secret. Joan was eventually discovered to be living in Beverly “indecently” with a man.
An Escape Without an Ending
St Catherine of Siena besieged by demons, depicted in a Polish painting from around 1500. National Museum in Warsaw
Unfortunately for us, we can only speculate how Joan’s story really ended. Though we do have a couple more records in the registers and letters that illuminate further context to Joan’s potential motive for escape, like many medieval cases, we have no definite end to the tale of the nun on the run. However, Joan’s story still captivates those who hear it. It has even been used as the basis for both a book, titled The Nun’s Tale, and a play by the Yorkshire Medieval Players at The Breach Theatre titled Joan of Leeds. Though the heretical satire of the play Joan of Leeds is intentionally “inspired by” Joan’s story rather than an accurate retelling (changing our “nun on the run” to “randy lesbian nun runs wild”), it is clearly the transgressions and scandals of nuns, represented by Joan, that modern audiences enjoy so much.
Likewise, the juxtaposition of the purity of nuns with what are deemed sinful behaviours is a not uncommon trope well loved by the media for many years; though the point of “corruption” changes depending on audience and context, the contrast between the holy and the sinful has been a theme that spans generations. It can be argued, then, that Joan’s story is so fascinating to us as she represents the “unholy nun” and because of the elaborate, almost cartoonishly scheming way that her great escape made the impact it did on those that heard it.
The influence of Joan’s story, then, was not limited to the pages in which we are initially exposed to it, much as we can infer that it did not serve purely as a record for her contemporaries either. Despite having no definitive end to Joan’s story, modern audiences are still intrigued and captivated by the scandalous antics that we deem to be subversive for an ecclesiastical woman such as Joan. She was by no means a unique case; as previously mentioned, scandalous nuns and monks are not a unique phenomenon and can be found in other registers from various religious houses.
However, often these are not recorded in as much detail as Joan’s case – and even here, we don’t have a conclusive ending to her story. This is arguably what makes her case that little bit more scandalous to us. Joan is far less removed from the average person than the kings and the scandals that surround them, which may be the attribute that makes her such an intriguing character. Likewise, the open end to her story leaves room for rumour and assumption for those who come to know it. Did she return? Did she continue to live in Beverley? Will we ever truly know how this ended? The likely answer is probably not.
Lauren Allen holds a BA degree in History from York St John University and an MA in Medieval History from the University of York. She is interested in many aspects of the Middle Ages but has a particular focus on chivalry, kingship, and ecclesiastical life.
Further Readings:
For more information on the case of Joan of Leeds, both the manuscripts and summarized information can be found at: The Northern Way Project
In 1318, Joan of Leeds faked her own death and escaped her convent, leaving a dummy to be buried in her place. Lauren Allen traces the runaway nun’s audacious deception and the unanswered questions surrounding her fate.
By Lauren Allen
Though most of us are familiar with the great wrongdoings, rumors, and subversions of the great figures of history, often it is the common individuals, whose names pass down to us through the record as being synonymous with their transgressions, that we find more alluring.
This could be the normality of subversion being present in people much more relatable to us than those with both wealth and status, whom we often expect to be scandalous and subversive, while the average person would often fade into obscurity, merely a background character in the events of wider society.
However, of course, those without status could also find themselves in hot water, their scandal becoming their lasting legacy. None fit this description more than Joan of Leeds, the runaway nun who faked her own death to pursue – in the words of the Archbishop of York, William Melton – “the way of carnal lust.”
Scandal Behind the Convent Walls
Our leading lady, “Johannas de Ledes,” was during the early fourteenth century a resident of St Clement’s by York, a Benedictine nunnery founded around 1130 by Archbishop Thurstan. Though the nunnery was small, only housing maybe a dozen nuns at a time, and a place associated with women of chastity and obedience, St Clement’s had its fair share of scandalous nuns whose transgressions have been recorded and exposed to modern audiences.
Though Joan of Leeds will be our focus, it is important to acknowledge the other women and their transgressions while housed at St Clement’s. In 1401, according to the record within the Assize Rolls, a nun named Cecily used to meet certain men at the priory gate; ultimately, she was to throw off her habit and ride off with them to Darlington, where she proceeded to live with a man named Gregory de Thornton for over three years.
Likewise, another woman, named Joan de Saxton, was forbidden from leaving the cloister unless accompanied by other nuns. Very specifically, however, she was also forbidden from having any contact with Lady de Walleys, which would imply the restriction of her movements and freedoms was linked to her supposed relationship with this woman, whatever the nature of this relationship might have been.
Of course, though we can only guess as to the intimate details of these transgressions by the two aforementioned women, we can make our own inferences as to why their unbecoming behaviours were so scandalous for nuns. For these ladies to be featured within the registers, it is important to acknowledge that these events were noteworthy and subsequently not the norm, but they do illuminate to us that these women were not always committed to the vows and commitments to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience that they had made in their adolescence.
Joan’s scandal begins in 1318, when she features in the scribes’ marginal note dated 11 August 1318, which reads as follows: “To warn of Joan of Leeds, lately Nun of the house of St Clement by York, that she should return to her house.” It can be clearly seen that, just like our other scandalous nuns of St Clement’s, Cecily and Joan de Saxton, Joan of Leeds was not well suited to ecclesiastical life. This is evidenced to us by executory letters against Joan of Leeds in which a man recorded as “Brother John” claims that Joan was forced into life as a nun by her parents:
Joan of Leeds, of the diocese of York, showed to me with great sorrow in her heart, as it appeared, that as a girl and being under the age of personal discretion she was forced to enter the order of nuns of St Benedict in the monastery of St Clement outside the walls of York by her father and mother.
Though we can pity Joan for the forced circumstances she found herself in, this was not uncommon for young girls. Though some girls would enter a nunnery of their own accord due to their religious beliefs and devotion, or potentially more secular concerns, many were forced or at the very least encouraged by their parents into a life of devotion. It may therefore come as no surprise that some of these women attempted to flee. However, what was uncommon was the lengths to which Joan went to escape the shackles of her ecclesiastical prison, which makes her story so captivating and scandalous.
Nun on the Run
It is recorded that in 1318, Joan faked having a mortal illness. Clearly, this would have been an obvious bluff if she were to remain alive and not succumb to sickness. However, Joan planned to go one step further. To achieve her escape, she faked her own death. For this step to be successful, there would need to be somewhat convincing evidence, such as a body to bury, or at least a decoy, which is exactly what Joan provided. According to the registers, Joan created a dummy “in the likeness of her body,” which was buried “in a sacred space amongst the religious of that place,” while Joan escaped, very much alive.
This plan was not carried out alone, as the archbishop reported that it was accomplished with “the help of numerous of her accomplices, evildoers, with malice aforethought.” Though it cannot be determined whether these women were fully aware of Joan’s intentions or were misled and coerced into being her accomplices, what is clear is that this was a team effort. However, as might be guessed from our knowledge of this plan, her success was no secret. Joan was eventually discovered to be living in Beverly “indecently” with a man.
An Escape Without an Ending
Unfortunately for us, we can only speculate how Joan’s story really ended. Though we do have a couple more records in the registers and letters that illuminate further context to Joan’s potential motive for escape, like many medieval cases, we have no definite end to the tale of the nun on the run. However, Joan’s story still captivates those who hear it. It has even been used as the basis for both a book, titled The Nun’s Tale, and a play by the Yorkshire Medieval Players at The Breach Theatre titled Joan of Leeds. Though the heretical satire of the play Joan of Leeds is intentionally “inspired by” Joan’s story rather than an accurate retelling (changing our “nun on the run” to “randy lesbian nun runs wild”), it is clearly the transgressions and scandals of nuns, represented by Joan, that modern audiences enjoy so much.
Likewise, the juxtaposition of the purity of nuns with what are deemed sinful behaviours is a not uncommon trope well loved by the media for many years; though the point of “corruption” changes depending on audience and context, the contrast between the holy and the sinful has been a theme that spans generations. It can be argued, then, that Joan’s story is so fascinating to us as she represents the “unholy nun” and because of the elaborate, almost cartoonishly scheming way that her great escape made the impact it did on those that heard it.
The influence of Joan’s story, then, was not limited to the pages in which we are initially exposed to it, much as we can infer that it did not serve purely as a record for her contemporaries either. Despite having no definitive end to Joan’s story, modern audiences are still intrigued and captivated by the scandalous antics that we deem to be subversive for an ecclesiastical woman such as Joan. She was by no means a unique case; as previously mentioned, scandalous nuns and monks are not a unique phenomenon and can be found in other registers from various religious houses.
However, often these are not recorded in as much detail as Joan’s case – and even here, we don’t have a conclusive ending to her story. This is arguably what makes her case that little bit more scandalous to us. Joan is far less removed from the average person than the kings and the scandals that surround them, which may be the attribute that makes her such an intriguing character. Likewise, the open end to her story leaves room for rumour and assumption for those who come to know it. Did she return? Did she continue to live in Beverley? Will we ever truly know how this ended? The likely answer is probably not.
Lauren Allen holds a BA degree in History from York St John University and an MA in Medieval History from the University of York. She is interested in many aspects of the Middle Ages but has a particular focus on chivalry, kingship, and ecclesiastical life.
Further Readings:
For more information on the case of Joan of Leeds, both the manuscripts and summarized information can be found at: The Northern Way Project
For more information on subversive nuns, the information can be found in: Oliva, Marilyn. The Convent and the Community in Late Medieval England. Boydell Press, 1998.
Top Image: Medieval nuns depicted in a late 13th-century manuscript. British Library Yates Thompson MS 11, fol. 6v
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