Joan of Toulouse, Carmelite recluse: the life behind the legend

Resumen

Blessed Joan of Toulouse is generally believed to have been a recluse who lived in the Carmelite priory in Toulouse in the 13th century.  As described in the proposal for her beatification from the Congregation of Sacred Rites in 1895, it is claimed that she encountered the  Carmelite community in Toulouse soon after their arrival from the Holy Land, was enrolled in the Carmelite habit by St Simon  Stock around 1265, took a vow of poverty and, after a life of prayer and contemplation, died on 31st March 1286. However, recently  discovered documentary evidence reveals that she was alive at the end of the 14th century and probably died around 1420. This article  seeks to describe how the legend of her early life emerged and then to uncover what can be known about her actual life and  the emergence of devotion to her. Translations into English are provided of all the relevant documents, with appendices containing  the original Latin and French texts and known portraits of Joan.