Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman RealmThis is the first study of noblewomen in 12th-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 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 12th-century Anglo-Norman realm. It asserts the importance of the lifecycle in determining the power of these aristocratic women, thereby demonstrating that the influence of gender on lordship was profound, complex and varied. |
Contents
Power and portrayal | 27 |
Countesses | 78 |
Witnessing | 102 |
Women of the lesser nobility | 152 |
the Rotuli | 165 |
CONCLUSION | 186 |
early thirteenth centuries | 203 |
Noblewomen in the Rotuli de Dominabus | 231 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 247 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbey acta affidation Agnes Alice Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman Literature appended via tag Appendix Bertrada Cartulary Catalogue century Chester Charters Clerkenwell confirmed context countergifts countess of Chester countess of Gloucester cultural Danelaw Danelaw Charters daughter daus depicts documents dower duchess of Brittany Earl Emma England Ermentrude example female life cycle female witnessing fitz fleur-de-lys gender Geoffrey gift Gilbert Gloucester Charters grant Gundreda Harl Hawise heir heiress Henry Henry II Hugh husband Ibid important inheritance land tenure late twelfth late twelfth-century Lecia left hand librates London lordship Mabel male Margam Abbey Margaret maritagium marriage married Munteni Muriel noblewomen Orderic Vitalis Oxford Petronella Plaster cast Pointed oval political Queen Queen Matilda Ranulf Ranulf II Richard right hand Robert Roger Rohais role Romanesque Art Rotuli de Dominabus royal Seals BM SIGILL SIGILLVM sister social status society Stafford standing female figure thirteenth thirteenth-century widows wife William witness list wives women's seals