some indication of the degree of mitigation of st clare’s early severity can perhaps be seen from an example taken from a century after the abbey’s foundation. thomas of woodstock, duke of gloucester, youngest child of king edward iii, and his wife eleanor de bohun placed their youngest surviving daughter isabel (1386-1402) in the abbey. it speaks volumes for the degree of austerity in the house that by the widowed eleanor’s 1399 will, the daughter received a bed of cloth of gold, precious books and 40 pounds. eleanor was to die in the house and her daughter isabel was to become the abbess.