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Medieval writings on secular women
Title
Medieval writings on secular women / translated and with an introduction by Patricia Skinner and Elisabeth Van Houts.
ISBN
9780141439914 (pbk.)
0141439912 (pbk.)
Published
London : Penguin, 2011.
Physical Description
xliii, 306 p. ; 20 cm.
Summary
This remarkable collection brings together a host of writings from across different regions and cultures of the Middle Ages, from the ninth to the fifteenth century. They are arranged to follow the life stages of a Medieval woman living a secular existence, from infancy and girlhood, through marriage and motherhood, to widowhood and old age. Some women are captured in exceptional circumstances, such as the transcript from Joan of Arc's trial describing her rural childhood, or a letter written by Edward I's mother. Many others are anonymous or humble: an account of an abandoned baby in Italy, a disturbing description of a slave girl by a Baghdad diplomat, an epitaph for the female leader of a synagogue. Speaking across the ages, here are wry, moving voices that were written out of history. Containing many newly translated pieces, this selection is accompanied by an introduction discussing the Medieval woman's life and legal status. There are also separate introductions to each chapter and background information on each piece.--From publisher description.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
August 23, 2011
Series
Penguin classics
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
Contents
A note on the texts
A note on dates and currencies
chapter 1: Birth and infancy. Introduction
1. Fear of Giving Birth to the Antichrist, France, Mid-tenth Century
2. A Charm to be Spoken During the Birth of a Baby, England, Eleventh Century
3. A Pregnant Woman's Delivery of a Stillborn Baby, Normandy, Mid-eleventh Century
4. Public Record of the Labour of Isabel de la Cavallería, Zaragoza, 10 January 1490
5. William of Conches on Human Reproduction, Normandy, Mid-twelfth Century
6. The Welsh Law of Women on Provision for Mother and Baby, Early Thirteenth Century
7. A Bequest of Moveables to a Pregnant Wife, Genoa, 5 March 1156
8. Faked Pregnancies and Substituted Children: Galbert of Bruges on Walter of Vladsloo, Flanders, Early Twelfth Century
9. A Substituted Child, Normandy, Eleventh Century
10. A Substituted Child, England, Twelfth Century
11. Pope Gregory XI Issues a Pardon over a False Pregnancy, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, 27 July 1372
12. Reaction to the Birth of a Daughter: Walter of Châtillon, France, Twelfth Century
13. A Jewish Husband in Dispute with his Wife, Cairo, Tenth to Twelfth Centuries
14. Conciliar Advice on Lay Baptism, Trier(?), 1277
15. A Royal Baptism, England, Late Eleventh Century
16. A Noblewoman Breastfeeding her own Children: Ida of Bouillon, Eleventh Century
17. King Roger of Sicily Rewards the Wet-nurse of his Son, Henry, Southern Italy, 1136
18. Nurse and Infant, Normandy, Mid-eleventh Century
19. Nurse and Infant, Normandy, Early Twelfth Century
20. Penitential Texts on Child Deaths, Spain, Ninth to Eleventh Centuries
21. Care of an Abandoned Baby, Italy, Late Thirteenth Century
chapter 2: Girls and young women. Introduction
22. A Jewish Girl's Charitable Act, Cairo, Mid-eleventh Century
23. Little Girls' Pastimes: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century
24. Little Girls' Pastimes: Joan of Arc, France, Early Fifteenth Century
25. Little Girls at School: Froissart's L'Espinette amoureuse, 1365-72
26. A Young Girl at Work: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century
27. A Peasant Girl at Work: Alpais of Cudot, France, Mid-twelfth Century
28. A Contract Placing a Girl in Service, Amalfi, 1090
29. Slave Girls Among the Rus', Tenth Century
30. Manumission of a Female Slave, Genoa, 12 May 1159
31. Sales of Female Slaves, Crete, 1301
32. A Fugitive Slave, Crete, 1315
33. Anglo-Saxon Customs on Engagement, Eleventh Century
34. An Anglo-Jewish Betrothal Contract, 1271
35. A Muslim Girl Sent Early to be Married, Sicily, Twelfth Century
36. The Case of Grace of Saleby, England, Twelfth Century
37. A Narrow Escape from Assault: Christina of Markyate, Huntingdon, Twelfth Century
38. Alleged Rape of an Eleven-year-old Girl, London, 1320
39. Securing a Dowry by Litigation, Calabria, 1093
40. Securing a Dowry by Adoption, Southern Italy, 1170
41. Securing a Dowry through Charity, Trento, 1301
42. Menstruation: St Trophimena Intervenes in a Case of Underage Marriage, Amalfi, Ninth Century
43. Innocent III on the Horrors of Menstrual Blood, Italy, Before 1198
44. Unmarried Women and Prostitutes, Paris, c.1200
45. Single Mother's Lament, Germany/France, c.1200
46. Marbod of Rennes, Poem to the Countess Ermengarde of Brittany, France, Early Twelfth Century
47. A Wealthy Heiress, England, 1137/8
48. Single Women's Business Transactions, Crete, 1301
49. A Single Woman: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century
chapter 3: Married women and mothers. Introduction
50. Letter of Einhard's Wife, Imma, on an Illicit Marriage, France, 828-36
51. Barriers to Licit Marriage, Milan, 20 May 822
52. The Ideal Wife Described: Bonizo of Sutri, Italy, Late Eleventh Century
53. A Marriage and Wedding Feast, Flanders, Twelfth Century
54. The Marriage of Urraca, Spain, c.1082
55. The Blessing of the Marital Bed at the End of the Wedding Day, Flanders, Twelfth Century
56. Donation by Bernard of Narbonne to his Wife Ermengarda, Narbonne, 27 August 1031
57. Managing a Dowry, France, Before 1148
58. Regularizing of the Property Surrounding Marriage, Genoa, 1159
59. Customs on the Dowry, Amalfi, Thirteenth Century
60. Dowry Payments, Marseilles, 1248
61. A Wife Gives all her Property to her Husband, Barcelona, 3 March 981
62. A Wife Defends the Property Rights of herself and her Husband, Barcelona, 17 October 987
63. Controls over Wives in Northern Italy, Bologna, 1016
64. Sale of Land by Elica of Verona, Verona, 5 December 1127
65. Will of Maria Salbaconsa, Naples, 1076
66. Will of Dulcelina Gomberta, Marseilles, 6 July 1248
67. A Married Woman in Charge of Cash, Normandy, Late Eleventh Century
68. Female Workers in City Regulations, Pisa, 1287
69. Alleged Rape of Wives, England, Mid-fifteenth Century
70. A Rebel's Wife in Custody, Venice, 1326-8
71. Impugning Female Honour, Venice, 1290
72. The Incarceration of the Bruce Women, Scotland/England, 1306
73. A Young Married Woman: Petronilla, Lady of Ardres, Flanders, c. 1138-9
74. A Couple Rent a House, Bologna, 1071
75. A Wife's Account of her Sick Husband, Cured by John Cacciafronte, Martyred Bishop, Verona, 1224
76. Royal Marital Troubles, France, 1149-50
77. A Young Woman Excommunicated for Leaving her Husband, England, Late Twelfth Century
78. The Suicide and Miraculous Revival of an Unhappy Wife, Normandy, Early Twelfth Century
79. Penitential Texts on Sexual Intercourse, Spain, Ninth to Eleventh Centuries
80. A Dubious Consanguinity Case, Sicily, Twelfth Century
81. Infertility? : A Jewish Divorce Upheld by the King, England, 1242
82. Clerical Celibacy, Lisieux, Normandy, Late 1170s
83. An Irregular Liaison, Bologna, 1092
84. A Clerical Portrayal of the Miseries of Marriage, Italy, c.1200
85. Christina of Markyate's Heroic Struggle against Marriage, Huntingdon, Early Twelfth Century
86. Religious Conversion Not an Excuse for Separation: Papal Opinions, Rome, Twelfth Century
87. Empress Judith as Godmother, France, 826
88. Peasant Mothers and their Children, France, c.820
89. A Mother's Refusal to Let her Son Hunt, France, 826
90. Queen Margaret of Scotland's Care for her Children's Education, Scotland, Eleventh Century
91. Pope Gregory IX Pronounces on a Custody Case, Strasbourg, 16 May 1229
92. Eleanor of Provence, Queen of England, Writes to her Son, Edward I, England, 1274-85
93. A Mother Responsible for a Disabled Child, Sicily, 1138
94. Care for a Deaf and Mute Child, Normandy, 1145
95. A Mother Placing her Son into an Apprenticeship, Crete, 1301
96. Will of Gentil, Wife of Jacob of Puigcerda, Pyrenees, 21 November 1306
97. Two Agreements between Mothers and Sons, Crete, 1301
98. A Stepmother Mentioned in Passing, Venice, 1196
chapter 4: Widows. Introduction
99. A Widow Makes Alternative Arrangements to Sell her Land, Salerno, 882
100. A Widow Taking Over her Husband's Tenancy, Barcelona, 31 January 975
101. A Widow and Children Selling Land, Barcelona, 29 December 942
102. A Sale between Women, Palermo, Sicily, 1164
103. A Widow Entering Service, Marseilles, 15 April 1248
104. A Widow Taking a Loan, Marseilles, 14 April 1248
105. Widows in a Loan Agreement, Crete, 1301
106. The Business Circle of the Jewish Widow, Helea, Crete, 1310
107. Widows and Political Upheaval, Normandy, 1219
108. Emma, Widow of King Lothar, Writes to her Mother, Empress Adelaide, France, Late Tenth Century
109. A Fictional Widow's Lament on the Loss of her Husband, Austria, 1194
110. Customs on Widows' Property, Amalfi, Thirteenth Century
111. A Widow in Conflict with her Brother, Barcelona, 8 May 1000
112. A Widow Disputing the Status of Land, Normandy, c.1206
113. A Widow Making a Gift, Barcelona, Late Tenth Century
114. A Widow Renting Out Property, Marseilles, 30 April 1248
115. Account of Expenses Made by Richard of Anstey in his Case against Mabel of Francheville, England, 1158-63
116. Will of Regina, Jewess of Puigcerda, Pyrenees, 23 October 1306
117. A Widow in Business as a Miller, Crete, 1301
118. A Frustrated Female Crusader, France, 1098
119. An Eyewitness Account of Empress Matilda Acting as Intermediary in the Case of Thomas Becket, Normandy, 1164
chapter 5: Older Women and death. Introduction
120. A Grandmother Invests for her Grandchildren, Crete, 1301
121. Will of Florita, Making Provision for her Old Age, Ravello, 1199
122. Old Women, According to the Poem "Ruodlieb," Germany, c.1050
123. Epigram on an Old Woman by Ulger, Angers, France, c.1111
124. Old Women as Reliable Witnesses, Venice, 1196
125. Epitaph of the Jewess Scarlatta, Aquileia, Italy, 1140
126. Epitaph of Urania of Worms, Leader of Female Synagogue, Germany, Thirteenth Century
127. Epitaphs of Sicardis, Languedoc, 1199
128. The Death of Empress Adelaide, Orbe, Switzerland, 999
129. The Death of Queen Matilda I of Germany, 968
130. Queen Margaret of Scotland's Deathbed, Scotland, 1093
131. Death in Childbirth of Countess Christina of Guînes, Flanders, 2 July 1177
132. Benefactors of the Hôtel-Dieu, Listed for Commemoration, Beauvais, 1292
133. "Competitive" Commemoration after the Death of Queen Matilda II, England, 1118
134. Letter to Einhard Commiserating on the Death of his Wife, Imma, 836
135. Guisanda's Will Disputed, Bari, 1021
136. The Will of Eva Peche Disputed, Cambridge, 1286
137. Beneficiary of a Will, Crete, 1301
138. Commemoration Stone Erected by Helmgöt for his Deceased Wife, Odendis, Sweden, Tenth to Eleventh Centuries
139. The Will of Æthelgifu, England, Tenth Century.
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