Noblewomen, aristocracy and power in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm / Susan M. Johns.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johns, Susan M., author.

Contributor:

Johns, Susan M., contributor.

Series:

Gender in history.

Gender in History

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women--Great Britain--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500.

Women.

Aristocracy (Social class)--History--England--To 1500.

Aristocracy (Social class).

Power (Social sciences)--England--To 1500.

Power (Social sciences).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 276 pages) : illustrations (black and white), genealogical tables; digital file(s).

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK : Manchester University Press, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

This is the first study of noblewomen in twelfth-century England and Normandy, and of the ways in which they exercised power. It draws on a rich mix of evidence to offer an important reconceptualisation of women's role in aristocratic society, and in doing so suggests new ways of looking at lordship and the ruling elite in the high middle ages.The book considers a wide range of literary sources such as chronicles, charters, seals and governmental records to draw out a detailed picture of noblewomen in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm. It asserts the importance of the life-cycle in determining the power of these aristocratic women, thereby demonstrating that the influence of gender on lordship was profound, complex and varied.This work will be of importance to specialists in history and medieval studies, as well as those interested in the experience of women and those working on lordship and feudalism.

Contents:

TABLES AND FIGURES

PREFACE

ABBREVIATIONS

1 INTRODUCTION

PART I Literary sources

2 Power and portrayal

3 Patronage and power

PART II Noblewomen and power: the charter evidence

4 Countesses

5 Witnessing

6 Countergifts and affidation

7 Seals

8 Women of the lesser nobility

9 Royal inquests and the power of noblewomen: the Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus of 1185

10 CONCLUSION

APPENDIX 1 Catalogue of seals from the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries

APPENDIX 2 Noblewomen in the Rotuli de Dominabus

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

This eBook is made available Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://www.degruyter.com/dg/page/open-access-policy

Description based on print record.

ISBN:

9781526137555

1526137550

OCLC:

1408681370

Access Restriction:

Open Access Unrestricted online access