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royal inquests and the power of noblewomen 9 Royal inquests and the power of noblewomen: the Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus of 1185 Introduction and historiography he Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus of 1185 are a record of a royal inquiry into widows and wards who were in the king’s gift.1 It is an important insight into the position of noblewomen in the later twelfth century, and in particular the way that they were seen by local juries under the direction of the agents of central government – and the
This is a study of noblewomen in twelfth-century England and Normandy, and of the ways in which they exercised power. It draws on a mix of evidence to offer a reconceptualization 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.
Judging from repetitious appearances of her marital arms in the painted line-endings, the Psalter-Hours John Rylands Library Latin MS 117 probably belonged to Jeanne of Flanders (c.1272–1333), daughter of Count Robert III of Flanders and in 1288 second wife to Enguerrand IV of Coucy. Yet the line-endings also contain some 1,800 diminutive painted escutcheons, many of which refer to other members of the local nobility active during the 1280s. This study, based on an exhaustive survey of the total heraldic and codicological evidence, suggests that the majority of the extant Psalter predated the Hours and that the two parts were combined after the 1288 marriage. The ‘completed’ manuscript bears witness to major events that unfolded in and around the Coucy barony over the course of the decade. It suggests a complex relationship between Jeanne of Flanders and a lesser member of the local nobility, a certain Marien of Moÿ, who may have served as her attendant.
conclusion 10 Conclusion he place of noblewomen in the twelfth century was not marginalised by the increasing shift to patrilineal primogeniture and the bio-politics of lineage, two of the key broader changes in the way that society was organised. These were seismic shifts in societal organisation, rightly identified by Bloch, Duby, Goody and Holt as fundamental.1 Within these changes the sources show that, increasingly, the place and roles of noblewomen were articulated with greater clarity through the definition of appropriate gender roles. These wider
This book is about a lost moment in British, and especially Scots, history. It explores in detail the events of 1708. The book uses this as a platform to analyse the dynamics of the Jacobite movement, the English/British government's response to the Jacobites' activities and the way the Jacobites interacted with the French government. Grand historical theses need, however, to be well grounded in the nitty-gritty of human affairs. The book offers a detailed narrative of the execution of the Enterprise of Scotland. It introduces the reader to the operation's climactic moment and at the same time corrects misapprehensions about it that have crept in to the historiography that touches on the operation proper. The book also offers a new interpretation of the role of Queen Mary of Modena as de facto regent and thus director of the movement in the early eighteenth century. It highlights the unusually prominent role played by particular Scots noblewomen, such as Anne Drummond, countess of Erroll, and Elizabeth Howard, duchess of Gordon, in the conspiracy leading to the '08. In a context set by a desperate, epic global war and the angry, febrile politics of early eighteenth-century Scotland, the book contends that Britain was on the cusp of a military and constitutional upheaval.
noblewomen and power 7 Seals Representation, image and identity here are over 145 extant secular women’s seals from the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.1 They present the historian with unique opportunities to study the portrayal of female identity in twelfth-century England. Seals were visual representations of power, and they conveyed notions of authority and legitimacy. They publicly presented a view of both men and women which visibly crystallised ideas about gender, class and lordship. The modern historian of seals owes a considerable debt to
noblewomen, because the above historians are, for example, interested in the meaning of gift exchange ceremonies, or of the consent of relatives, rather than the power of women. White’s suggestions that countergifts served to memorialise T 107 noblewomen and power social status, were an aid to memory and were always exchanged to secure a gift are a useful way to consider the significance of countergifts as a guide to women’s power.7 Thus countergifts may also have had an important role in the creation of social memory, in which women had a role in commemoration of the
introduction 1 Introduction his book examines the place of noblewomen in twelfthcentury English and, to a lesser extent, Norman society. An initial justification for such a study is that the place of noblewomen in twelfth-century English society has not hitherto been systematically addressed as a subject in its own right. This is in contrast to AngloSaxon and late medieval women, on whom there is considerable historiographical debate. Some of the roles of women in twelfth-century English society have of course been studied, particularly women’s tenure of dower
noblewomen and power 8 Women of the lesser nobility n 1180 bertram, the chamberlain of Earl Hugh II of Chester, married Mabel, the heiress of William Flamenc, and by grant of charter received her inheritance. Little is known of the origins of Bertram, and likewise the descent of Mabel’s inheritance, from the time of Robert of Rhuddlan, who held the manor of Great Meols in 1066, is also obscure.1 What is clear, however, is that Bertram’s service in his lord’s household as chamberlain was rewarded with marriage to an heiress. Earl Hugh was here evidently
This is an exploration of the extent and implications of the pre- and extra-marital relationships of the gentry and nobility in the period 1450–1640 in the north of England. It challenges assumptions about the extent to which such activity declined in the period in question, and hence about the impact of Protestantism and other changes to the culture of the elite. The book is a major contribution to the literature on marriage and sexual relationships, on family and kinship and their impacts on wider social networks, and on gender.