Print Culture and the Galway Poor Clares, 1600-1800

A talk by Moore Visiting Fellow Jaime Goodrich

Abstract:  This talk will offer an introduction to the rare books owned by the Galway Poor Clares, who recently reacquired several dozen volumes lent to the Franciscan House of Studies in Killiney during the 1970s.  In addition to providing an overview of the current collection’s scope and history, I will discuss evidence of book circulation and ownership among the Galway nuns.  Finally, I will consider the broader significance of this collection for scholars working on early modern print history.  As a particularly rich corpus of early modern Franciscan texts, the rare books of the Galway Poor Clares should become a key resource for historians and literary scholars interested in monastic libraries, convent reading practices, and Franciscan spirituality during the 17^th century.