Final answer:
Saint Hilda of Whitby founded a double monastery, following the tradition of monasticism which provided women with roles and influence in society. Monasteries also focused on moderation, prayer, work, education, and housed relics which attracted pilgrims.
Step-by-step explanation:
Saint Hilda of Whitby was an English princess who decided to become a nun and later founded a double monastery that housed both male and female communities. This was a common practice in the Middle Ages where monasteries often provided an alternate mode of life for women, allowing them roles and influence in society that were independent of their relationships to fathers or husbands. The most influential example of such monastic rules was from Benedict of Nursia, whose guidebook emphasized moderation, a balance between prayer and work, and the community's self-sufficiency.
Monasticism was an important institution in medieval Europe, providing education, preserving literature by copying books, and also becoming a focal point of pilgrimage due to the presence of relics.