The presence of a form of Augustinian monasticism for women was nothing new. According to Saint Augustine’s earliest biographer, Possidius, there were female communities in existence already at the time when Augustine was bishop of Hippo. In all probability, Saint Augustine founded a nunnery in Hippo, where his sister was the prioress.
Some historians even date the Augustinian Rule to a letter, number 211, sent by Augustine to these nuns to settle some conflicts that had arisen inside the monastery and to lay out rules for monastic life. This model of female Christian life spread in the fourth century in North Africa, giving rise to more communities scattered around the Mediterranean.