Reviewing books of our colleagues with whom we toil in the field is a task we share and take on for the sake of collegiality. It can be onerous, rewarding, frustrating, and downright boring. But when one reviews a book such as Jeffrey Watt's absorbing, illuminating, and scholarly examination of possession among the nuns of the convent of the Clarisse's in seventeenth century Carpi one feels rewarded. Watt's book is enlightening, insightful, and compelling. This is a book by an accomplished scholar and storyteller.

The title of this book is deceptive, suggesting a mere case study of demonic possession of nuns within the walls of Santa Chiara in Carpi similar to earlier studies of demonic possession in the Ursuline convents at Loudon and Auxonne (Michel de Certeau, The Possession at Loudon, trans. Michael B. Smith [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996]; Moshe Sluhovsky, “The Devil in the Convent,” American Historical Review 107 [December 2002]: 1379–1411; Moshe Sluhovsky, Believe Not Every Spirit: Possession, Mysticism, and Discernment in Early Modern Catholicism [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007]). Watt states in the introduction that his purpose is to examine how priests and some lay people experienced and understood possession and witchcraft; to understand why a convent might be a likely place for group possession to occur; to gain a window into the mentality of post-Tridentine female religious; and to understand how the Inquisition conducted investigations (20). Far from a narrowly focused examination of the case of possession at Santa Chiara, Watt has given us an ambitious cultural examination of the phenomenon of demonic possession and witchcraft in early modern Italy. Watts has done painstaking research in the convent, local Franciscan and Inquisition archives. In addition he has used the inquisitorial documents in the recently opened Archives of the Congregation for the Faith in Rome. He deftly integrates his analysis of the sources with the historical literature on women, nuns, witchcraft, and possession to understand and clarify for us what really happened. In addition to his research, Watt's gift for historical narrative is remarkable.

Santa Chiara was one of the most renowned convents in the region of Emilia. Founded by the noble Pio family, it was wealthy and prestigious and housed daughters of many of the wealthiest and most powerful families in and around Carpi. It was home to three members of the Este family, and in the seventeenth century under their patronage it became a center for music rivaling Italian music academies and attracting talented aristocratic women. The nuns and their abbesses apparently ignored the reformed discipline for nuns mandated by the Council of Trent. In the 1630s about the time when demonic possession created a turmoil that upset a near-idyllic monastic life, the abbess, Angela Catarina, a member of the Este family, had a private apartment, separate kitchen, and several lay nuns as servants. Some nuns ignored the rules of claustration and socialized with outsiders at the grille.

In 1536, two residents—lay sisters of the convent—began to suffer extraordinary physical ills. The two were removed from the convent but only after appeals to the inquisitor resident in Carpi were not taken seriously. The following year the demons unleashed their full power, afflicting twelve nuns. The conclusion both within and outside the walls was that it was the work of the devil using human agents. Exorcisms followed with no successful results. Not until 1538 when the convent was in turmoil did the Congregation of the Inquisition in Rome intervene and hear the case.

What followed was more of an investigation than a trial. Several individuals were isolated, or, in the case of the accused confessor, imprisoned during the hearings. Watt's discussion of the proceedings of the Inquisition brings his own research and analysis to bear on recent research on the Inquisition, especially the work of John Tedeschi (The Prosecution of Heresy: Collected Studies on the Inquisition in Early Modern Italy [Binghamton: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1991]). It is especially pertinent to the handling of the case of the nuns of Santa Chiara where Watt's examination of the procedure reveals that the so-called “black legend” of the Roman Inquisition is a myth. The Roman inquisitors held high standards of judicial procedure, allowed defendants the right to legal counsel, set high standards of proof, and denied coerced confessions.

The unfolding of the events in the case are fascinating and Watt has taken full advantage of his sources to bring the nuns, their confessors, exorcists, and inquisitors alive. From the outbreak of the possessions, to the illicit behavior of the confessor in the confessional, the travails of the exorcist and, finally, the inquisitorial examinations and quieting down of the possessions, Watt weaves together a variety of sources into an engaging tale.

It is not only story and its denouement in the hands of the Church and the Inquisition that makes this volume a significant contribution to our understanding of nuns, possession, and the Inquisition. Placing the case of Santa Chiara into a broader cultural context leads Watts to ask, why were convents especially prone to demonic possessions in the early modern period? And how are visions of mystics and visions of the possessed related? And what really happened at Santa Chiara? The Congregation of the Inquisition was satisfied that whatever it was, the nuns were not victims of witchcraft or demonic possession. By contextualizing his material in the sociocultural traditions and perspectives of early modern society, including gender issues, Watt helps the reader understand the phenomenon of demonic possession of female religious more deeply and sympathetically than has been accomplished previously.

This book is a major contribution to historical understanding of post-Tridentine religious life. It has shifted our perspective and broadened our understanding of female convent life. Watt has shown how important it is to contextualize beliefs in witchcraft and demons both within the immediate culture and by comparison with other European cultures beyond Carpi. He has demonstrated the development of skeptical attitudes and stricter standards of evidence required by the Congregation of the Inquisition acting in Carpi. And he has shown how much in accordance it was with secular judicial bodies, such as the Parlement of Paris with regard to witchcraft and possession.

This book is an exemplar of broad and deep research and careful analysis of the sources. It sets a standard for cultural interpretation of demonic possession and female life whether religious or secular in early modern Europe. In addition, it is a brilliant example of historical narrative. It should be read and admired by scholars, assigned to students, and enjoyed by readers interested in early modern European religious and gender studies.