Download or read book The Oldest Vocation written by Clarissa W. Atkinson and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to an old story, a woman concealed her sex and ruled as pope for a few years in the ninth century, but her downfall came when she went into labor in the streets of Rome. From this myth to the experiences of saints, nuns, and ordinary women, The Oldest Vocation brings to life both the richness and the troubling contradictions of Christian motherhood in medieval Europe.