Women in England in the Middle Ages

302 Pages·2006·15.84 MB·English

by  Jennifer Ward

WOMEN IN ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES
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Women in England
in the Middle Ages
Jennifer Ward
hambledon
continuum
Hambledon Continuum
A Continuum imprint
The Tower Building
11 York Road
London, SE1 7NX
80 Maiden Lane
Suite 704
New York, NY 10038
First Published 2006
ISBN 1 85285 346 8
Copyright © Jennifer Ward 2006
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyrights
reserved above, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior
written permission of both the copyright owner and
the above publisher of the book.
A description of this book is available from the
British Library and from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster,
and printed in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall.
Contents
Illustrations vii
Preface ix
1 Women's Worlds i
2 Marriage 11
3 Wives and Mothers 37
4 Widows 59
5 Work 81
6 Noblewomen 99
7 Queens 119
8 Religious Women 143
9 Charity and Lay Religion 171
10 Death 195
Notes 201
Glossary 259
Bibliography 263
Index 277
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Illustrations
1 Dorothy Clopton, Long Melford church, Suffolk.
2 Marriage: Panel on the Seven Sacrament font,
Great Glemham church, Suffolk.
3 Baptism: Panel on the Seven Sacrament font,
Great Glemham church, Suffolk.
4 Penance: Panel on the Seven Sacrament font,
Great Glemham church, Suffolk.
5 Death: Panel on the Seven Sacrament font, Badingham church,
Suffolk.
6 Old age: Misericord from Minster-in-Thanet church, Kent.
7 The temptation of fashion: Misericord from Minster-in-Thanet
church, Kent.
8 The Birth of Jesus: Alabaster panel from Long Melford church,
Suffolk.
9 Work and Religious Practice: Carving from Swaffham church,
Norfolk.
10 Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire: the north and east ranges of the
cloister. By permission of the Conway Library, Courtauld
Institute of Art, London.
11 Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire: the warming house. By permission
of the Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London.
12 John and Katherine Goodale: painting at Burnham Norton
church, Norfolk.
VIII WOMEN IN ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Text Figures
1 Infant Mortality: Brass of Thomas Grevile at Stanford Rivers
church, Essex. By permission of Martin Stuchfield, p. 47.
2 The Widow: Brass of Christina Bray at Felsted church, Essex.
By permission of Martin Stuchfield, p. 58.
3 Family: Brass of William Turnor, with his wives and children, at
Berden church, Essex. By permission of Martin Stuchfield, p. 71.
Preface
There is a growing interest in women of the past. Much more can be
found out about them in the records than used to be thought. This
results from work done by archaeologists on settlements, churches and
houses, and from studies of medieval literature, as well as from research
into historical documents. Although the middle ages seem distant from
the present day, enough evidence survives to show that medieval women
did not always conform to the models laid down by the church or
crown. We can find as many varieties of women in the middle ages as
we see around us in the modern world. Women appeared outwardly
submissive and obedient but were capable of making their wishes felt,
whether in peasant protest or as noblewomen making their views known
to the king.
In writing the book, I have made use of imperial measurements, the
units of money before decimalisation and the county structure as it
existed before the local government reorganisation of 1974. £1 was made
up of twenty shillings; one shilling comprised twelve pence; the penny
was divided into two halfpennies or four farthings. The mark was a unit
of account, worth 13s. 4d. A librate of land was a piece of land worth £1.
I would like to thank Lindy Grant, Tony Morris, Nigel Saul, Martin
Sheppard and Anne Sutton for their help with the book; and Martin
Stuchfield and the Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London,
for permission to reproduce illustrations. Any remaining mistakes are
mine. I would also like to thank family and friends for their readiness
to discuss questions relating to medieval women and to visit the
churches and sites associated with them.