The Dissolution of the Monasteries in western Europe, prompted by the spread of reformed religion in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, brought far-reaching cultural, environmental, and social consequences. There were immediate effects common to all forms of monastic institutions and modes of life, such as the dislocation of settled populations, the loss of livelihoods, the suppression of religious rituals, and the intellectual and material culture associated with them. However, the impact on monastic women was quite distinct. Dissolution removed a female dimension from the religious practice of states and communities which established reformed churches. Above all, it caused the destruction of almost all traces of women’s original contribution to medieval religion in artifacts, images, and the written word.