Sisters in spirit: Kinship terms and community of practice among late medieval Italian nuns

The chapter focuses on the use of kinship terms (e.g. suoro ‘sister’ or padre ‘father’) in letters of the Late Middle Ages by nuns to a number of addressees, both within the clergy and among laypeople. These include salutation forms or vocatives within the letter. Because of their connection with social affiliations (where in-group or out-group matters are relevant), kinship terms are important linguistic means in the creation of a community of practice, as language use in a community is shaped by its social practice and shared enterprise. While the community uses language in its own distinct way, it constructs and maintains identity and meaning to symbolise loyalty and solidarity, but at the same time language impacts how identity is understood. Through the analysis of kinship terms in letters of the 14th and 15th centuries, written by Italian nuns living in Central and/or Northern Italy, the chapter considers the role of forms of address in the expression of ‘etiquette’ conventions and in the creation of a particular community of practice; it also identifies differences and similarities between letters produced in different geographical areas.