Medieval Women

by Antonia Fraser Book 11 in the Women in History series.

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Medieval Women examines the lives of women in England across social ranks, from peasants and townspeople to aristocrats and religious women. Henrietta Leyser considers marriage, sexuality, motherhood, widowhood and work, showing how legal status and family structure affected women's choices at different stages of life.

The book also explores education, spirituality and intellectual culture, using evidence that complicates the idea of medieval women as a single powerless group. By comparing household responsibilities, economic activity and religious experience, Leyser presents a society in which women faced substantial restrictions but still exercised influence through property, labour, kinship and communal institutions.