A title steeped in history and connected with the English Middle Ages and the common man i.e.: the “Serfs”. An Abbott or Abbess was the term given to the most senior member of the Monastery/Nunnery and is also associated with Father Abbott and Mother Abbess. We would have jokingly referred to “her indoors” as The Goode Wifey, and not as the comical “Can you hear me Mother?”

Initially, this was a role occupied in many religions including: Anglicanism and Catholicism; but the original term of Abbott or Abbess actually has roots in Ancient Egypt, Syria and other Mediterranean cultures and over the centuries has evolved into the modern equivalent of the female priest or priestess.

It is very interesting to note that in the time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, where there were witches and wizards and folklore aplenty, the holy female character was largely the only one tolerated in many obscure, divine and strange rituals. The tolerated male figure at the end of a person’s life prior to this time in history was fondly known as “The Sin Eater” a receptacle for the ravings of the dying person and the confessant of all immoral acts and fore-runner of the more modern Catholic Priest and Confession.

In the modern day, to aspire to such a position, one would have to believe devoutly in Jesus Christ, Our Lady Mary and so on. An understanding of the Scriptures, possibly a degree in Biblical/Religious Studies and more than a passing knowledge of Anglicanism would be needed to access to such a position.

Apart from having the educational talents to pursue this role, one would have to be willing to wear sack-cloth – a harsh and rough fabric, have a small tool for self-flagellation (a whip approximately 8 to 10 inches in length to hit ones-self with across the shoulders in punishment), divest oneself of hair, as long flowing manes were considered vain, wear plain leather sandals in all weather and all seasons, (discalced/Carmelite nuns and monks still practice some of these traditions to this day), possess a long chain with beads and small crucifix (the modern rosary) and last but not least, to have a very compliant and cowing nature to do the bidding of man.

In olden days, one did not receive a salary, one had to have a dowry to enter a convent or nunnery, and one had to depend solely on the benefits of charity and mother earth to feed and clothe them. If you were very unfortunate and had a father who was unwilling to clothe and feed you, you were sent to the nunnery. Popular circumstances where women entered the cloisters were if one’s husband had died, they were considered ugly, or came from a middle/upper-class background and had no prospect of marriage.

Rather than having a CV, an unfortunate woman would only need a donkey/ass and/or a make-shift cart to convey her to her abode for the remainder of her miserable life.

Thank heavens for Emily Pankhurst and the Suffragettes and the fact that women are now allowed to have their own bank accounts.