Splendor Familiae. The Nesvizh Foundation of the Benedictine Nuns in the Time of Krystyna Eufemia Radziwiłłówna

Abstract

The first post-Tridentine female foundation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the Benedictine convent in Nesvizh, established by Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł “Sierotka”. This article examines the principles and circumstances underlying the foundation of the convent, outlines its genesis, and discusses the successive stages of its organisation, including the construction of the church and monastic buildings. The community was formed by sisters brought from the Chełmno convent, where abbess Magdalena Mortęska had implemented a significant reform of monastic life inspired by post Tridentine legislation. The article further characterises the community’s development during the first decades of its existence, particularly under the tenure of abbess Krystyna Eufemia Radziwiłłówna.