Women in the Medieval English Countryside

Gender and Household in Brigstock before the Plague

By: Judith M. Bennett

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Hardcover | 1 January 1986

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Hardcover
340 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 2.24

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Unlike most histories of European women, which have typically focused on the 19th and 20th century elite, this study reconstructs the public lives of peasant women and men during the six decades before the Black Death of 1348-49. Drawing on the extensive records of the forest manor of Brigstock, Judith Bennett challenges the myth of a "golden age" of equality for medieval men and women. Instead, she ably shows that women faced profound political, legal, economic, and social disadvantages in their dealings with men. These disadvantages stemmed more from women's household status as dependents of their husbands than from any notion of female inferiority; consequently, adolescents and widows participated much more actively than wives in the public life of Brigstock. Women in the Medieval English Countryside demonstrates not only how enduring the subordination of women has been throughout English history, but also how firmly that subordination has been rooted in the conjugal
household.

Industry Reviews

"A valuable and carefully researched examination of peasant life and power structures in the later Middle Ages. Any reader interested in peasant communities, medieval socio-economic status, and the ways in which the great changes of the calamitous fourteenth century affected ordinary people can profit greatly from Bennett's book."--Albion "The strength of this work first of all is its meticulous use of evidence and research techniques, which lifts it above the existing studies of medieval women."--Signs "Makes a strong contribution to a sophisticated dialogue on gender relations."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History "Since household structure has such a profound bearing on women's lives, Judith Bennett's exploration of household and gender is timely."--Times Higher Education Supplement

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Society & Culture Social Groups Gender Studies Gender Studies: Women and Girls History General & World History Regional & National History European History British & Irish History Economics Development Economics & Emerging Economies

Social Issues & Processes Feminism & Feminist Theory

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Paperback

Published: 1st September 1989

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Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 3
Studying Women in the Medieval Countryside	p. 18
Rural Households Before the Plague	p. 48
Daughters and Sons	p. 65
Wives and Husbands	p. 100
Widows	p. 142
Medieval Countrywomen in Perspective	p. 177
Note on Method	p. 199
Glossary	p. 233
Notes	p. 237
Bibliography	p. 295
Index	p. 313
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Women in the Medieval English Countryside

Gender and Household in Brigstock before the Plague

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

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