Building the Chariot of Aminadab: The Institutional Development of the Gilbertine Order in Twelfth-Century England and the Influence of Gender.

The Gilbertine Order was the only Christian religious order created in England, established at a time of renewed interest in monastic life. While new forms of religious vocation were emerging, they were principally intended to meet the aspirations of men, not women. It is within this context that Gilbert of Sempringham established a new institution, unusual for its time, which integrated women religious with male clerics and lay brothers. This article analyses the process of institutionalisation of the order, and explores the ways in which issues of gender influenced its development.