as some varieties of the monastery's formal name make clear, the women of this abbey were members of the order of st clare, otherwise known as clarisses, or more usually in english as poor clares. this was and is the female branch of the order of st francis or order of friars minor known as franciscans. in the structures typical of the mendicant orders, they were professed nuns of the franciscan second order. as an expression of humility, the male franciscans had adopted for themselves the latin term "fratres minores" ("lesser brothers"), rendered in english as "friars minor" or just "minors". in a similar way, the poor clares were known in latin as "sorores minores" ("lesser sisters") and in medieval england as "minoresses".