Men and Women in Late Medieval and Early Modern Times
Gendering the Middle Ages by Pauline Stafford; Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker; Women in Early
Modern Britain, 1450-1640 by Christine Peters; Patterns of Piety: Women, Gender and
Religion in Late Medieval and Reformation England by Christine Peters; Meanings of
Manhood in Early Modern England by Alexandra Shepard; Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare's
England by Caroline Bicks; Common Bodies: Women, Touch and Power in Seventeenth-C ...
Review by: Martin Ingram
The English Historical Review, Vol. 120, No. 487 (Jun., 2005), pp. 732-758
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3489413 .
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doi:10.1093/ehr/cei238
Review
Vol. CXX No. 487
Historical
English
reserved.
Press.Allrights
byOxfordUniversity
? TheAuthor[2005].Published
Review-Article
and early
Men and womenin latemedieval
modern
times
GenderingtheMiddle Ages. Edited by PAULINE STAFFORD and ANNEKE B.
MULDER-BAKKER(Oxford:Blackwell,2ooi; pp. 244. Pb. ?15.99);
WomeninEarlyModernBritain,145o-I64o.ByCHRISTINEPETERS(Basingstoke:
PalgraveMacmillan,2004; pp. 20o6.Pb. ?16.99);
andReformation
inLateMedieval
andReligion
Gender
Patterns
Women,
ofPiety:
England. By CHRISTINE PETERS (Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 2003;
pp. xvi + 389. ?45);
Meaningsof Manhood in Early Modern England. By ALEXANDRASHEPARD
(Oxford:OxfordU.P., 2003; pp. 292. ?5o);
in Shakespeare's
England.By CAROLINE
Subjects
Midwiving
BICKS
Ashgate,2003; pp. 211.?40);
(Aldershot:
TouchandPowerinSeventeenth-Century
Common
Bodies:Women,
By
England.
LAURA
GOWING (New Haven/London:Yale U.P., 2003; pp. 260. ?25);
in England,
Breakdown
and Marriage
i66o-i8oo.By
UnquietLives:Marriage
BAILEY(Cambridge:CambridgeU.P.,
JOANNE
2003;
pp. 244. ?40);
in England,
and Contesting
Women
IdealsofFemininity
ofQuality:
Accepting
BoydellP., 2002; pp. 254.
1690o-76o.By INGRID H. TAGUE (Woodbridge:
f?5o);
TheFriend.By ALANBRAY(Chicago: U. of Chicago P., 2oo003;
pp. 380. ?28).
STUDIESofgenderin earlymodernEnglandhaveburgeoned
rapidly
with(indeedsomein thelastfifteen
years,alongsideand interacting
timesindistinguishable
from)workson women'shistory.'Susan
Dwyer Amussen's pioneeringmonograph,An OrderedSociety,was
articleon masculinity
publishedin 1988,and herground-breaking
A SocialHistory
AnneLaurence,
inEngland,
ofthelatter
include
Women
I. Surveys
50oo-176o:
(London, 1994) and (withmoreof a genderfocus)Sara Mendelson and PatriciaCrawford,Women
in EarlyModern England,155o-i72o
in EarlyModern
(Oxford, 1998). JacquelineEales, Women
England, 50oo-I7oo(London, 1998) offersa briefersurvey.More specificstudiespublishedbefore
include-the list is by no means exhaustive-Sara Heller Mendelson, TheMental Worldof
200ooo
StuartWomen:ThreeStudies(Brighton,1987); PatriciaCrawford,Womenand Religionin England
(London and New York, 1993); Amy Louise Erickson, Womenand Propertyin Early
500oo-1720o
Modern England (London and New York, 1993); JennyKermode and GarthineWalker (ed.),
Women,Crimeand the Courtsin EarlyModern England (London, 1994); Tim Stretton,Women
WagingLaw in ElizabethanEngland (Cambridge,1998).
EHR, cxx. 487 (June 2005)
This content downloaded from 193.61.13.36 on Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:05:58 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
733
soon followed.2Interestdeveloped so fast that by 1995 Anthony
Fletchercould alreadyattemptan overviewin his Gender,Sex and
Subordinationin England,5ioo-_8oo.3
He himselfrecognisedtheproof
this
and
visionalnature
thepublicationin thefollowingyear
study;
of Laura Gowing's DomesticDangersshowed how much creativeenearlymodernEnglishsociety
ergywas being poured into rethinking
in genderterms.4Shortlyafterwards,
RobertB. Shoemakerattempted
witha focuslaterthanFletcher's,in Genderin Enganothersynthesis,
lishSociety,
z65o-185o,whilethecollectionthatHannahBarkerand
Elaine Chalus assembledin 1997, Genderin Eighteenth-Century
England,andanothereditedbyTim Hitchcockand MichdleCohen
in1999,English
further
Masculinities,
i66o-i8oo,indicated
possibilities
forthelateStuartand Georgianperiod.'A richharvest
is nowapparentnotonlyin thetitleslistedat theheadofthisarticle,
butin other
works(someofwhichwillbe citedin thefootnotes)
thathavebeen
sincetheeveofthenewmillennium.'
steadily
appearing
these
studiesraise some importanttheoretical
and
Together
the
to
which
individual
authors
issues,
methodological
though degree
is thenature
explicitly
engagewiththemvaries.The mostfundamental
ofpatriarchy.
Itisa commonplace
thatinthepastthismeantsomething
otherthanthewayitis generally
understood
in the
today.Originating
classical
that
fathers
should
the
seventeenth
it
rule,
principle
by
century
referred
to a political
in
the
based
rule
of
a
husband
and
father
system
overhishousehold
a kingoverhissubjects.7
It might
and,byanalogy,
2. Susan DwyerAmussen,
An Ordered
Genderand Classin EarlyModernEngland
Society:
le genredans l'Angleterre
de l'dpoquemoderne',
(Oxford,1988),eadem,'Feminin/Masculin:
Annales:
Socit6s,Civilisations,
xl (1985),pp. 269-87;eadem,'Gender,Familyand the
L.conomies,
SocialOrder,156o--725',
in Anthony
Fletcher
andJohnStevenson
in
(ed.), Orderand Disorder
Man":
1985),pp. I96-217; eadem,"'The Partofa Christian
EarlyModernEngland(Cambridge,
The CulturalPoliticsofManhoodinEarlyModernEngland',in SusanD. Amussen
andMarkA.
and Cultural
Politicsin EarlyModernEngland(Manchester,
(ed.), PoliticalCulture
Kishlansky
1995),pp. 213-33.
Sexand Subordination
in England,
Fletcher,
Gender,
3. Anthony
gioo-i8oo(New Havenand
inEngland,
London,1995);seealsoidem,'Men'sDilemma:The FutureofPatriarchy
1560-i66o',
Transactions
6' ser.,iv (1994),61-8I.
oftheRoyalHistorical
Society,
andSexinEarlyModern
London(Oxford,
Words,
4. LauraGowing,Domestic
Dangers:Women,
1996).
Gender
inEnglish
TheEmergence
5. RobertB. Shoemaker,
165o-185o:
Society,
ofSeparate
Spheres?
in Eighteenth(Londonand New York,1998);HannahBarkerand ElaineChalus(ed.), Gender
and Responsibilities
(Londonand New York,1997);Tim
Century
England:Roles,Representations
Hitchcockand MichdleCohen(ed.),English
i66o-i8oo(Londonand New York,
Masculinities,
1999).
6. AmongthemostnotableareTimHitchcock,
and
Sexualities,
English
17oo-i8oo
(Basingstoke
TheGentleman
'sDaughter:
London,1997);AmandaVickery,
'sLivesin Georgian
Women
England
(NewHavenandLondon,1998);Elizabeth
A. Foyster,
ManhoodinEarlyModern
Honour,
England:
SexandMarriage
Menand theEmergence
(LondonandNewYork,1999); PhilipCarter,
ofPolite
Britainz66o-z8oo(Harlow,20zoo01);
David Turner,Fashioning
Society,
Sexand
Gender,
Adultery:
in England,
Meet:Women,
Civility
166o-174o
(Cambridge,
zooz); BernardCapp, WhenGossips
and Neighbourhood
in EarlyModernEngland(Oxford,200zoo3);
Garthine
Family,
Walker,Crime,
Gender
andSocialOrderinEarlyModern
England(Cambridge,
20zoo3).
inEarlyModemrn
7. Eales,Women
pp. 4-5.
England,
EHR, cxx. 487 (June zoos)
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
734
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
would have a
be expectedthathistoricalstudiesof patriarchy
therefore
with
their
relations
and
about
children
deal
to
adolescents,
say
great
matters.In fact,issuesof conflict,
theirparents,and othergenerational
co-operationand compromisebetweenparentsand childrenhave been
ratherthanin relation
studiedmainlyin relationto marriageformation
as such; and, while therehas been some
to the conceptof patriarchy
workon children,adolescents,servantsand apprentices,
distinguished
the totaloutputis not as largeas mighthave been expected,especially
in relationto the veryyoung.8The weightof interesthas been on
women and theirrelationswith men. This is because, as a feminist
analyticalconcept, the term 'patriarchy'refers,as Mendelson and
Crawfordputit,to 'a socialsystemwhichfavoursmenoverwomen';or,
male
'institutionalised
in Fletcher'sslightlyless exclusiveformulation,
andthesubordination
dominanceoverwomenandchildreninthefamily
ofwomenin societyin general'.9
This emphasis on male/femalerelations risks neglectingother
elementsof patriarchalsocietyas contemporariesexperiencedand
understoodit. RosemaryO'Day, quoting the clericalmoralistsJohn
'the
Dod and RobertCleaver,has arguedthatformanycontemporaries
essentialdivisionin the familywas that betweenthe "Governours"
(husbandand wifetogether)and "thosethatmustbe ruled"(children
and servants)'.Further,she suggeststhat 'late-twentieth-century
preoccupationswiththepositionofwomenand thewholeissueofequality'
haveled to an excessiveemphasison powerrelationswithinthefamily,
whenin reality'inequalitywas notan issuebutvocationand relationship
were to the fore'.'1Indeed, the modern feministconcept begs the
ofwomenshouldindeedbe seen
questionofwhetherthesubordination
as the primary,perhapseven fundamental,
principleon which early
modernsocietyoperated,orwhetheritwas merelyone,in somerespects
even contingent,element.The firstposition is underminedby the
evidentfactthatthesubordination
ofwomenwasbyno meanscomplete.
This is so to theextentthat,ifwe do supposethatsocietyhad been set
up to securethesubjectionoffemales,menhad made a verypoor fistof
it.ThisparadoxisattheheartofFletcher'sGender,
SexandSubordination,
whose major theme is that in the late seventeenthand eighteenth
centuriesmendeviseda moreefficient
meansofcontrol,lessdependent
on theirown fragileabilityto performas males and mastertheir
8. LindaA. Pollock,
Children:
Parent-Child
to oo00(Cambridge,
1983);
1500oo
Forgotten
Relationsfrom
KeithThomas,'Children
inEarlyModernEngland',
inGillian
andJuliaBriggs
(ed.),Children
Avery
and their
A Celebration
Books:
1989);IlanaKrausman
oftheWork
oflonaandPeterOpie(Oxford,
Adolescence
and Youth
inEarlyModern
Ben-Amos,
England(NewHavenandLondon,I994);Paul
YouthandAuthority:
Formative
in England i56o-r64o(Oxford,1996).
Griffiths,
Experiences
9. Mendelson and Crawford,Womenin EarlyModernEngland,p. 6; Fletcher,Gender,Sex and
Subordination,p. xv; cf. Elizabeth A. Foyster,'Gender Relations', in BarryCoward (ed.), A
Companionto StuartBritain(Oxford,20zoo3),p. 113.
io. RosemaryO'Day, TheFamilyand FamilyRelationships,
England,France,and the
s5oo-Ipoo:
UnitedStatesofAmerica(Basingstoke,1994), pp. 49, 161-2.
EHR, cxx.487 (June 200oo5)
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
735
aregrist
ofmaledominance
Buttheevidentlimitations
womenfolk."
Often
from
Fletcher.
to themillsof otherhistorians
theyare
apart
the
or
as
of
as the'contradictions'patriarchy, demonstrating
portrayed
burdens
or negotiating
the
resisting
'agency'ofwomenin successfully
Withinlimitsthesearecogentarguments,
ofpatriarchal
oppression.12
thedegreeto whichmeneither
buttheyruntheriskofexaggerating
wantedor triedto keepwomendown,or at leasttheextentthatthey
to
women'srecourse
wereunitedin doingso. To takeone example,
or
suitsin thechurchcourtsto defendtheirreputations,
defamation
as a notableinstance
hasbeenpresented
tovextheiropponents,
simply
that
forcenturies
of femaleagency.Yet it had beena basicprinciple
imbuedas
womencouldsuein theirownrightin thespiritual
courts,
werewiththeidea of spiritual
thoseinstitutions
equality.Women's
who
male
of
on
the
lawsuits
judgesandproctors
compliance
depended
butwhopresumably
motives,
were,no doubt,inpartswayedbyprofit
alsosawit as theirprofessional
dutyto assista socialgroupwhowere
iftheychose.'3
to
lawsuits
entitled
bring
perfectly
thinkoftheirworkin
historians
A related
issueiswhether
particular
or 'gender'.By thelateI980spreferences
termsof 'women'shistory'
infavour
Somewereconcerned
ofthelatter
seemedtobemoving
term.'"
and
wasbecoming
thatwomen'shistory
ghettoised, soughta wayout,
term
or lookedto 'gender'as a respectable,
scholarly
neutral-sounding
the
feminist
alarmed
withwhichtoengageindebatewithcolleagues
by
wereunderthesepositions
of'women'shistory'-though
associations
of
women's
immense
success
The
controversial."
history
standably
offeminism
andthegrowing
withinandoutsidetheacademy,
prestige
farlesscogent.
havemadethesearguments
as a systemof thought,
in
wasitsutility
useoftheterm'gender'
Another
reasonforfavouring
male
and
female
that
the
assumption
undermining unthinking
ratherthansociallyand
werebiologically
determined
characteristics
one
levelthatbattlehas
the
fact
that
at
constructed.
But
culturally
historians-as
some
feminist
largelybeen won, while at another
concerned
to locate
subsequentdiscussionwill illustrate-arevery
in thefemalebody,has alteredthe
women'sidentity
and experience
to establish
termsofthisdebate.'6On theotherhand,theaspiration
asa central
theoretical
termandanalytical
(comparable
category
'gender'
buthas,in
to classand race)hasnotmerely
lostnoneofitsattraction
reasonwhy
results.
Relatedisanother
fact,already
impressive
produced
II. Fletcher,Gender,Sex and Subordination,pp. xix,27, 401 and passim.
12. E.g.Mendelson
inEarlyModern
andCrawford,
Women
p. 73;Capp,WhenGossips
England,
Meet,p. 2.
13. Gowing, DomesticDangers,pp. II--I2, 32-6, 265-70.
andthePolitics
(NewYork,1988),chs.1-2.
14. JoanWallachScott,Gender
ofHistory
JuliaM. Bennett,'Feminismand History',Genderand History,i (1989), 251-72.
I5.
i6. JudithButler,GenderTrouble:Feminismand theSubversionofldentity(London, I990); cf.
eadem,BodiesthatMatter:On theDiscursiveLimitsof'Sex'(London, I993).
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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736
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
the factthatwomen's
itselfas a 'usefulcategory':
gendersuggested
cannotbeunderstood
andideasaboutwomenandfemininity
experience
in
and
as
Natalie
Davis
wrotenearly
to
relation
men;
that,
thirty
except
women
and
in
of
both
the
'we
should
be
interested
history
yearsago,
men,... notworkingonlyon the subjectedsex anymorethanan
The rapidgrowth
on peasants'.17
historian
ofclasscanfocusexclusively
of the
in thestudyofmasculinity
or manhoodis one demonstration
Yet it remains
truethatsomehistorians
who
forceof thisargument.
in
in
far
more
interested
seem
the
term
use
habitually
practice
gender
we reallydo nothaveto
womenthanin men.In principle,
however,
whicharebest
and genderhistory,
choosebetweenwomen'shistory
seenas complementary,
and
interacting overlapping
approaches.'8
totheextent
that
The samemaybesaidofsocialandcultural
history,
The mainimpetusto
thesegenresarenotalwayseasyto distinguish.
was undoubtedly
the
writingwomen'shistoryand genderhistory
their
was
the
achievements
movement.
But
facilitated
by
women's
growth
in the1970sand I98os.Issuesarising
from
of the'newsocialhistory'
from
the
of
such
as
witchcraft,
analysis;
study topics
demographic
froma
and thefamily;
and,morebroadly,
crime,and sex,marriage
from
below'
to
draw
attention
to
women
in
'history
helped
perspective,
werealso important
thepast.Elementsof culturalhistory
and were
reinforced
turn'ofthelateI980sandearly1990sthat
bythe'linguistic
to a greatersensitivity
to
has, amongotherthings,led historians
of the extentto whichpower
linguistic
usages,to an appreciation
relations
are embodiedwithinlanguage,
and to therecognition
that
embedded
literary
productions,
stereotypes
'representations'-whether
in proverbs
or 'fictions
in thearchives'-havea reality
and stories,
of
theirown.'9Culturalhistory
is therefore
thedominant
modein this
field.But one of the strengths
of socialhistory
is a sensitivity
to
issues-indeed
its
to
commitment
whenever
quantitative
quantification
thisis feasible-notas an endin itself
butas a meansofgaugingthe
relative
ofthings;
in the1970s,
and,again,Davis,writing
importance
tookitforgranted
thatthiswasamongthemainaspirations
ofwomen's
The
virtual
of
abandonment
the
effort
to
count
in
some
works
history.20
ofcultural
is
a
loss.
sad
history
A relatedevidential
issueis thewillingness
or otherwise
to exploit
worksof imaginative
literature
as sources.The pioneerhistorical
PeterLaslettnotoriously
denouncedthis practiceas
demographer
'the
the
othersocialhistorians,
looking wrongwaythrough telescope';
- theEuropeanCase',Feminist
in Transition
I7. NatalieZemonDavis,"'Women'sHistory"
Studies,iii (1976), 90.
E. Wiesner-Hanks,
inHistory
Gender
(Oxford,
zooi), p. 7.
18. Merry
I9. Among themostinfluentialworksin thiscontexthas been Natalie Zemon Davis, Fictionin
theArchives:Pardon Tales and theirTellersin Sixteenth-Century
France(Cambridge,Mass., I988).
The most profoundunderlyinginfluenceis theworkof Michel Foucault.
20. Davis, '"Women's History"in Transition',p. 88.
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
737
though not necessarilyso hostile,for long tended to view literary
to usesuchmaterial
evidencewithextremecaution.A greater
willingness
Yet carefulevaluationis surely
is undoubtedlya positivedevelopment.21
still necessary,with due attentionto genre and registerand to the
intentionsand expectationsof producersand consumers.On this
and othersourcesin his
AnthonyFletcher'suse of literary
perspective,
Gender,Sex and Subordinationis troublinglyeclectic.22Of course,
carefulevaluationis requirednot only of literaryevidencebut other
sourcestoo. Much recentwork on women's historyand genderhas
made creativeuse of legal materialsbut, as will be seen, thesepose
pitfallsfortheunwary.
All but one of the worksunderrevieware monographsrelatingto
Britain(and, in the case of mostof them,moreparticularly
England)
in the period 145o-175o. Genderingthe Middle Ages, edited by
is different
notonlyin
and AnnekeB. Mulder-Bakker,
PaulineStafford
over
a much
the
the
whole
of
and
ByzantineEmpire
Europe
covering
also in
to
about
but
time
the
Roman
1500),
Empire
span (from
longer
the
of
linked
of
a
collection
discrete
essays
onlyby
general
consisting
witha setof thematicreviewsbyJanetL. Nelson and
theme,together
others,and a briefintroductory
essay.The work is, in fact,a special
issueof Genderand History,
and would be wortha mentionifonlyto
pay tributeto the importantrolethatthisjournalhas played,sinceits
workin thisfield.As the editors
inceptionin 1989,in disseminating
is
this
collection
note,
particular
strongeron feminineissuesthan on
and
can
be
masculinity,
usefullyread in conjunctionwith recent
volumes of essays that focus on the lattertheme, includingsuch
complicatingissuesas theroleof eunuchs.23
The essaysin the collectionunderreviewrangewidelyin subjectmatter.They includethetransformation
oftheRomanworldfromthe
of women (JuliaM.H. Smith);thepoliticalsignificance
of
perspective
of empresseson Byzantinecoins (Leslie Brubakerand
representations
Helen Tobler); issuesraisedby the statusof women in earlymedieval
canon law (Eva M. Synek);the figureof thewarriorqueen, illustrated
of the eleventh-century
by the career and literaryrepresentations
in the
SikelgaitaofSalerno(PatriciaSkinner);gender,age and authority
transmissionof knowledge (Anneke B. Mulder-Bakker);fifteenthinthePapal Penitentiary
femalepetitioners
century
(LudwigSchmugge);
21. PeterLaslett,
'The WrongWay through
theTelescope:a Note on Literary
Evidencein
andin Historical
British
xxvii(1976),319-42;cf.Keith
Journal
Sociology
Sociology',
ofSociology,
andLiterature
Lecture
delivered
attheUniversity
Thomas,History
(TheErnestHughesMemorial
1988recte
1989).
CollegeofSwansea,7 March1988:Swansea,
22. See the criticismsmade by RosemaryO'Day, thisReview,cxii (I997), 419-2o.
Men in theMiddleAges(Minneapolis,
23. C. Lees (ed.), MedievalMasculinities:
Regarding
1994); D.M. Hadley (ed.), Masculinityin Medieval Europe (London and New York, 1999);
Identities
andMultiple
MenintheMedievalWest
(ed.),Conflicted
Jacqueline
Murray
Masculinities:
andJuliaM.H. Smith(ed.),Gender
inthe
(NewYorkandLondon,1999). SeealsoLeslieBrubaker
EarlyMedieval World:East and West,30oo-90poo
(Cambridge,20zoo4).
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
738
MENAND WOMENIN LATE
use of domestic
and thepolitical
and courtly
households
spacein
The
contributions
around
Nolte). remaining
(Cordula
Germany
15oo00
oflinkage
with
theother
works
considered
someparticular
include
points
review
with
theeconomic
anddemographic
below.
S.H.Rigby's
engages
livesnotonlyin theperiod
thathelpedshapewomen's
conditions
and
immediatelyfollowingthe Black Death but also in the fifteenth
Volf's
whileRosalynn
VoadenandStephanie
sixteenth
centuries,
early
inthebiographies
of
ofchildhood
ofcontrasting
study
representations
Katherine
maleandfemale
visionaries,
J.Lewis'sreview
essayon gender
review
ofbooksonfemale
andsanctity,
andFelicity
Riddy's
religious
all touchthemesgermaneto theworkofChristinePeters.
communities,
of Christian
discussion
KateCooperand ConradLeyser's
Finally,
a whole
of
adumbrates
to
late
ideals
masculinity
Antique
challenges
self-control
andgender
order
hostofissues
aboutreason,
that,
sexuality,
of continuing
in one guiseor another,
arerecognisable
as matters
concernin the sixteenth,seventeenthand earlyeighteenthcenturies.
inthisrichcollection
on age,
Moregenerally,
therecurrent
emphasis
is a
the
sheer
of
masculinities
and
and
femininities
variety
life-cycle,
initself.
lesson
thantheBritish
IslesScotland
andWalesrather
Britain-England,
is onlya smallportion
ofEurope,butbyno meanseasytowriteabout
inthe
inviewofthediffering
ofresearch
coherently,
especially
progress
in theavailability
ofprimary
constituent
territories
and bigdisparities
sources.In her briskintroduction
to Womenin EarlyModernBritain,
ChristinePeters makes a strongcase for this particular
I45o-164o,
geographicalperspective,arguing for some major contrastsand a
kaleidoscopeof regionaland local variations(not alwayscoinciding
with 'national' divisions)withinbroadlysimilarassumptionsabout
genderrolesand genderrelations.Shortsurveyslike thisare apt to be
heavilydependenton the existingworkand can be ratherdull. This
book is quitedifferent.
It is crammedwithlivelymaterial,
someofit the
fruitofPeters'sown research;and,wheresheinvokestheideasofothers,
it is not merelyto rehearsethembut to subjectthemto a penetrating
critique.A consequenceis someunevennessofcoverage,a factofwhich
who use thisas an introductory
textshould be aware.
undergraduates
Petersis not quite as strongon the seventeenthcenturyas on the
fifteenth
and sixteenth;indeed,sincethelaterseventeenth
centurywas
a periodof such major political,social and culturalchangesaffecting
thelivesof women,1640 is perhapsan unfortunate
end date. In terms
ofmajorthemes,Petersissplendidon marriage,
kinshipand inheritance,
and extremely
on theworldofmagic,ofwhichthedifferent
stimulating
the
regionalvariationsare intriguingly
exploredin termsofwitchcraft,
deviland theelfinqueen. But thechapteron workand thehousehold
economy, very dependent on JudithBennett's study of brewing,
is slighter.The discussionof disorderlywomen engageswell with
the controversies
betweenKeithWrightsonand the presentreviewer,
EHR, cxx. 487 (June2005)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN
TIMES
739
as wellas comingup withinteresting
and makessomeshrewdcriticisms
new suggestions.The book as a whole simply coruscates with
intelligence.
The English sectionsof the chapteron religiondraw heavilyon
Peters's full-lengthmonograph,Patternsof Piety,which poses the
on women?'At first
question'Whatwas theimpactoftheReformation
attack
The
Protestant
one.
be
a
to
would
seem
the
answer
negative
sight
on thevenerationofsaints,includingfemaleswho mighthaveservedas
oftheroleoftheVirginMary;
rolemodelsforwomen;thedownplaying
the abolitionof nunneries;the disappearanceof parishassociationsof
and themaintenanceofpious
maidensand wivesdevotedto fundraising
observances-all these,and manyotherchanges,mightbe thoughtto
to women. But Petersrejectsthisas simplistic.
have been detrimental
Her discussionis subtleand probing,to theextentthatsometimesone
mindhas gone beyondwhatwould havebeen
feelsthatherpenetrating
orearlysixteenth-century
to
the
readilyintelligible
averagelatefifteenthrather
is
the
of
Much
inferential,
interpretationnecessarily
parishioner.
The book is also
ofcontemporaries.
thanbasedon theactualstatements
prone to dizzy lurchesfrombroad statementsto dense clustersof
empiricalmaterial.In otherrespects,the argumentis carefullyand
wide range of
convincinglyassembled,and draws on a remarkably
churchwardens'
sources,includingtheologicalworks,sermons,wills,
thatareextensively
accounts,andsurviving
glassimagesandwallpaintings
in
form
of
line
in
the
text
the
drawingsor photographs
reproduced
in
are
not
the
alwaysveryclear).
(though latter, monochrome,
of theargumentis thedevelopmentin Englandof a
The mainspring
Christocentric
piety.(As her otherbook makesclear,this
powerfully
was much less so in Wales and Scotland.) Originatingamong mystics
and in religiousorders,by the end of the middle ages this altered
religiousvisionhad profoundlyinfluencedlay devotionalcultureand
even,Petersinsists,'offereda bridgeto Reformation'(p. 4). A prime
featurewas emphasis on the sufferingof the adult Christ and,
in understandings
of the role of the
a re-orientation
correspondingly,
of
a
small
child
and a powerful
from
the
mother
Mary
nurturing
Virgin
theQueen ofHeaven,to thefigureofthePieta--thesymbol
intercessor,
of helplesshumanity.On this perspective,emphasisingthe contrast
betweenthepowerand graceofGod and theweaknessofsinfulhumanofgenderdifferences
dwindles.On theotherhand,
ity,thesignificance
both
as theweakersexand (Peters
sincewomenweregenerally
regarded
'to
more
insists)
repeatedly
piety
prone', femalegendercould aptly
in the practiceof
the
Christian.
Gender
differences
symbolise helpless
oftenleftprized
For
women
be
identified.
can
certainly
example,
piety
femalepossessions,suchas kirtlesand rings,to adornimagesin church,
on intercessory
whilemenleftcashorcorn;andtherewaslessexpenditure
were
for
the
of
souls
because
women,
they
thoughtto
prayers
perhaps
need them less than men did. But the patternof bequestsdoes not
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005zoos)
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740
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
forfemale
andoverall
reveal
female
Peters
detects
a
saints,
preference
in maleandfemale
'broadsimilarity
ritualandcharitable
activities'
likewise
confound
(p. 56). Otherlinesof investigation
simplistic
Certain
suchasgarrulousness
orlust,
were
sometimes
vices,
expectations.
associated
withwomenor represented
but not
by femalefigures,
ofsexual
there
were
so;andasfordoublestandards
invariably
morality,
ofthinking
currents
thatinsisted
thatmen,precisely
because
were
they
to be morereasonable
thanwomenandhadthedutyof
supposed
carried
the
foractsofadultery.
households,
governing
culpability
greater
Thesecond
halfofthebookexplores
inrelation
theissues
further
to
thepost-Reformation
not
the
of
period,
examining only place Mary
andthesaints,
thenewemphasis
onOldTestament
(seenin,
exemplars
forexample,
theincreasing
of
the
names
and
Susanna
Sarah),
popularity
andtheroleofmartyrs,
butalsosuchdiverse
as
topics gender
segregation
inchurches
andtheincidence
offemale
office
Thereare
(rare)
holding.
somegaps.Thefirst
of
the
book
not
does
to
the
part
attempt remedy
relative
of
female
In
the
second
there
is
no
life.24
neglect
religious
part,
discussion
of theimpactof clerical
whether
on
female
marriage,
ofreligion
oronparish
lifegenerally,
readers
can
perceptions
though
finda brief
section
onthistheme
inWomen
inEarly
Modern
Britain.
The finalchapter
withthethemeof'godlymarriage',
as
engages
inWilliam
discussed
Duties
similar
and
conduct
Gouge's
OfDomesticall
books.Herethefocus
asPeters
criticises
the'mining
ofsuchtexts
shifts,
historians
of
or
feminism
for
suitable
extracts
and
women,
by
gender
appositequotations'
(p. 314).She arguesthatthe contemporary
resonances
oftheconcept
ofsubjection
were'different
andlessnegative'
andpointsoutthatGougeandhis
(p. 314)thantheyappeartoday,
fellow
writers
stressed
thedutiesofbothspouses
andwithan equal
handcastigated
thefailings
ofhusbands
aswellas wives.
Someofthe
LauraGowing's
Domestic
are
assumptions
underlying
Dangers thetarget
herinterpretation
ofthegender
here,andPeters
goeson to criticise
ofdefamation
suits.Gowing
that
the
notions
of
implications
argued
female
andmale'honour'
in
such
suits
were
'incommensurable',
expressed
theformer
on sexualculpability
whereas
menwerelittle
centring
touched
Peters
this
dichotomous
bysuchaspersions.
challenges
reading,
notleastbyre-examining
terms
like'whoremaster'
and'whoremonger'.
shesuggests,
a mandominated
denoted
rather
These,
bysexual
'passion,
thanbya mature
of
and
and
their
use
acceptanceduty responsibility',
onthestreets
aswellas bymoralists
'an
of
suggests acknowledgement
male[sexual]
which
was
understood
the
responsibility,
beyond pulpit'
(p.336).
Petersis not thefirstto challengeGowing'smodelof'incommensurable' maleand femalehonour.Clearlyideasweregendered,but,evenin
in Late Medieval England:Female
24. But see MarilynOliva, The Conventand theCommunity
Monasteriesin theDioceseofNorwich, 35o-154o(Woodbridge,Suffolk,1998).
EHR, cxx.487 (June200oo)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
741
termsoftheevidencethatGowingherself
theargument
presents,
apThe impression
is reinforced
whenit is realisedthat
pearsoverstated.
mainsource,
church
courtdefamation
tendtoexaggerate
suits,
Gowing's
theassociation
between
andfemale
honour.(In Londonthere
sexuality
were the complications,
of which Gowingseems unaware,that,
the
ofthemayorand sheriffs
secular
courts
couldhear
city
uniquely,
accusations
ofwhoredom,
whiletheCitylivery
slandersuitsinvolving
weresupposed
todiscourage
slander
suitsbetween
men.)25
If
companies
from
evidence
secularcourtsisbrought
intoplay,orevenchurch
courts
to different
it becomesapparent
that
traditions,
operating
according
weremorebroadlybasedthanthis,whilemen
women'sreputations
wereinsomemeasure
vulnerable
to sexualdiscredit.26
These pointshave now been takenmuchfurther
by Alexandra
in
her
book
on
the
basis
of
a newsource,
Shepard
Meanings
ofManhood,
the recordsof the University
of CambridgeVice-Chancellor's
and
Courts.
Whereas
church
courts
hear
could
matters
of
Commissary
only
defamation
basedon crimesofwhichtheythemselves
had cognizance
of sexualslanders),
thisdid notapplyto the
(hencetheprominence
were
courts.
Indeed
not
tohearing
confined
slanders
of
University
they
crimeatall,sincetheyheardactionsbasedontheRomanlawofiniuria.
Thisextended
tooffensive
wordsthatfoundnoplaceinthejurisdiction
of eithertheordinary
or thecommonlaw courts,including
spiritual
thathadmoreto do withsocialstanding
thanwith
manyimputations
moralstatus,
andwitha widerangeofterms
ofabusethatwereinsulting
rather
thanstrictly
ofthisextraordinarily
richmadefamatory.
Analysis
terialleadsShepardtomakethreekeypoints.First,
shefindsthatthere
was considerable
about
overlapbetweenmenand women'sconcerns
sexualhonesty,
ofmenweremoreconcerned
thoughsomecategories
thanothers.Secondly,
withtheir
women,likemen,wereconcerned
foreconomic
but
on
their
inthis
reputation
probity, aspersions
honesty
were
more
to
take
the
form
of
accusations
of
theft
than
of
sphere
likely
or
associations
of
with
social
status
cheating lying.Thirdly,
honesty
werefarstronger
formenthanforwomen,withtheresultthatgender
andtheConstruction
of"Honour":SlanderSuitsin Early
'Law,Litigants
25. MartinIngram,
ModernEngland',in PeterCoss (ed.), TheMoral WorldoftheLaw (Cambridge,
2000), 142,
148-50.
theBoundaries
ofFemaleHonourinEarlyModernEngland',
Walker,
26. Garthine
'Expanding
Transactions
6" ser.,vi (1996),235-45;Faramerz
Dabhoiwala,'The
oftheRoyalHistorical
Society,
Construction
of Honour,Reputation
and Statusin Late Seventeenthand EarlyEighteenthA. Foyster,
Elizabeth
Manhood
inEarlyModern
ibid.,201-13;
Honour,
Century
England',
England:
Sexand Marriage(Londonand New York,I999), 77-87,
BernardCapp, 'The Double
II6-I8;
StandardRevisited:
PlebeianWomenand Male SexualReputation
in EarlyModernEngland',
Past and Present,no. 162 (Feb. 1999), 70-loo; David Turner,"'Nothing is so secretbut shall be
revealed":
The Scandalous
LifeofRobertFoulkes',in Hitchcock
andCohen(ed.),English
Masculinities,
169-92;DinahWinch,'SexualSlanderand itsSocialContextin England,c.i166o-i700,
withSpecialReference
to Cheshire
andSussex'(OxfordUniversity
D.Phil.thesis,
1999);Ingram,
andtheConstruction
'Law,Litigants
of"Honour"',esp.151-4.
EHR, cxx.487 (June20oo05)
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742
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
were at theirmost extremein relationto issuesof
divergences
anddebasedsocialstatus
rather
thansexualmorality.27
untrustworthiness
in
this
well-researched
wider
and
purpose
intelligent,
Shepard's
is
to
book
of
exploreunderstandings masculinityargued
tightly
terms.In so doingsheshedsmuchnew
'manhood'in contemporary
someof
of
and in additionaddresses
on
the
women,
experiences
light
she
earlier.
Manhood
was
thetheoretical
raised
not,
insists,
questions
whichrepresented
to
and
thesameas patriarchy,
attempts discipline
was
ordermenaswellaswomen.Accessto'patriarchal
affected
privilege'
notonlybygender
butalsobyageandeconomic
andsocialstatus,
and,
in a periodof demographic
and economicstress,somemen could
householder
thatsome
simplyneveraspireto thepositionofmarried
as
the
embodiment
of
true
manhood.
There
presented
contemporaries
modelsofmanhood,
notleastthosebased
were,inanycase,alternative
in a culture
ofviolence,
anddrink.On theotherhand,some
bravado,
womencouldexertconsiderable
overservants
and
powerandauthority
in thehousehold,
whileoutsideit theireconomicand social
children
activities
as has sometimes
wereby no meansas circumscribed
been
a
of
Thus
identifies
masculinities'
within
thought. Shepard
'multiplicity
a society
where'stark
hierarchies
ofage,socialstatus,
andmarital
status
weredeeplyingrained,
with
hierarchies
to
interacting gender
producea
multidimensional
of
whichbyno means
complex
map powerrelations
allmenorsubordinated
allwomen'(pp.2-3).
privileged
In exploringthese themes,Shepard engagescriticallywith
thelesswellexplored
literature,
contemporary
prescriptive
including
courts
genreofpopularmedicaltexts.SincetheCambridge
University
thatprovide
thecoreofhernon-literary
material
dealtnotonlywiththe
scholarsthemselves
butalso withthewidevariety
of tradesmen
and
otherindividuals
whohaddealings
withthem,theissueofrepresentaislesspressing
tiveness
thanmightatfirst
sightappear.In anycase,the
in
of
numerous
withpretensions
presence Cambridge
many
youngmales,
to gentility,
offerssome fascinating
materialon youthful
excess,
homosocial
male
and
violence.
evokes
a
relationships
VividlyShepard
worldofdrunken
and
of
which
she
sees
as
an
binges displays strength,
or 'counterculture'of manhoodchallenging
'alternative'
patriarchal
The ambiguousresponseof theuniversity
and college
prescriptions.
authorities
wasepitomised
intheProctors'
an agency
Watch,ostensibly
of law enforcement
and the embodiment
of order,in practicean
foryoungswaggerers
tostrut
theirstuff
on theCambridge
opportunity
streets.
The comradeship
andphysical
inuniversity
inherent
proximity
liferaiseinteresting
the
about
nature
of
andmale
questions
friendship
andrelated
issuesarefurther
inAlexandra
discussed
Worth
27. Reputation
'Honesty,
Shepard,
and Genderin EarlyModernEngland,I560-I640', in HenryFrenchand JonathanBarry
(ed.), Identityand Agencyin England,
(Basingstoke,20zoo4),
pp. 87-o105; see also eadem,
I500-1800
'Manhood, Credit and Patriarchyin Early Modern England, c.I5y80-I64o',Past and Present,
no. I67 (May 200ooo),
75-Io6.
EHR, cxx.487 (June200oo5)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
743
intimacy,which in turn lead on to a sensitivediscussion of the
homoerotic.But the explorationis inconclusive.Though the erotic
of
may cracklethroughthe literature
chargeof same-sexrelationships
theperiod,evidenceto gaugethenatureand extentofactualpracticeis
on
meagrein Shepard'ssources.Much moreabundantis information
male violence. ComplementingGarthine Walker's recent work,28
Shepardstressesthatthe use of physicalforcecannotsimplybe taken
forgranted,butmustbe understoodas a complexofculturalphenomena
It was shapedalso bythe
closelybound up withnotionsofmasculinity.
fact that legitimatedviolence-in the formof a varietyof physical
punishmentsincludingwhippingin both a domesticand a judicial
context-was centralto the way contemporaries
constructedideas of
orderand triedto maintainit in practice.Outrightviolencemustalso
be understood,not as a discretephenomenon,but as behaviourat the
more extremeend of an escalatingsequence of gesturesof insultand
affront
thatincludedspitting,
knockingoffhats,seizinga man's beard,
and striking
his
heels.
The
up
playingout of thesecomplexcodes and
ritualswas part of 'men's maintenanceof hierarchyand reputation,
used to articulatesubtlestatusdistinctions'
routinely
(p. 140).
The otherchaptersof the book focuson thoseof morematureage,
ofCambridge.Emphasisingthathouseholdespeciallythetradespeople
ers and marriedmen wereexpectedto be providers,Shepardexplores
the close and intricateconnectionsbetweeneconomicsufficiency
and
otheraspectsofreputation
or 'credit'.Cuttingacrossthisprinciplewere
two greatfactsof social life.First,Shepardshowsthatmanymarried
women were themselvesproviders,who ran servicebusinessesand
engagedon theirown accountin a web of debt and credit.Coverture,
she remarkscrisply,was a legal fiction.On the otherhand, many
men simplyfailedto live up to the economicstereotype.
Some were
discreditedby theirown dissolutenessand wastefulness:
otherswere
simplydefeatedbylackofwealthand economicopportunities.
Shepard
associated
suggeststhatthecultureof drinkand debauchery,
primarily
withyouth,was a temptation
to menblockedin thesewaysfromaccess
to the 'patriarchaldividend'.This is one of thefewpointsin the book
where the argumentlooks undulyschematic.As some of Shepard's
examplesindicate,and as is abundantlyobvious froma worksuch as
Gough's historyof Myddle in Shropshire,drinkwas the nemesisof
manyhouseholderswho did not initiallylacksubstance.29
Drinkand debauchery
mightcausepremature
debilityand lead to an
as
but
even
themostsoberand
earlygrave, contemporaries
recognised,
well regulatedsuccumbedeventually.This raisesinteresting
questions
about ideas of manhood and the ageingprocess.If the commentator
28. Walker, Crime,Genderand Social Order,chs. 2, 4-
andMemoirs
andLondon,
29. Richard
oftheParishofMyddle
(Shrewsbury
Gough,Antiquities
I875), pp. 58,65, 78, lo7, 121-2and passim.
EHR, cxx.487 (June20oo05)
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744
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
who consideredthat old age began at thirty-five
was unusually
most
that
fromabout
pessimistic, thought men'spowerswerefailing
In a fewspecific
theage of fifty.
whenevidenceof
contexts,
notably
localcustomwasbeingsought,old age (orat leastlongmemory)
was
valued.Mostlyit was not,and old menfoundthemselves
gradually
oftheearlier
Sincethisinvolved
a reversal
roleofa man
marginalised.
inhisprime,
wereso fewwaysinwhichanenfeebled
old
andsincethere
man couldmakean effective
theexperience
of ageing
contribution,
formenthanforwomen.Or so Shepard
mayhavebeenmorestressful
is
There
much
to
debate,and much to ponderin this
suggests.
andwell-written
consistently
monograph.
interesting,
challenging
little
about
bodies.Theyaremuchmorein
Shepardsaysrelatively
in CarolineBicks'sstudyandcentral
evidence
to LauraGowing'snew
in relation
boththeseauthors
themselves
book,andinevitably
position
to ThomasLaqueur'sargument
of
thatRenaissance
understandings
maleandfemale
wereconstructed
roundtheGalenicideaoftheone-sex
thefemale
wereimagined
as similar
body,whereby
reproductive
organs
to thoseoftheman,butretained
insidethebodythrough
lackofvital
heat.Thismodel,thoughundermined
inthe
discoveries
byanatomical
sixteenth
new
to
a
construct
of
two
incommencentury,
onlygaveway
surable
sexesinthelateseventeenth
andeighteenth
centuries.30
Anthony
who
these
as
to genderrelations,
ideas
fundamental
Fletcher, regards
datesthe changein Englandby reference
to suchtextsas Thomas
Gibson'sTheAnatomy
Human
Bodies
(1682),which,he
of
Epitomized
reflect
'a
new
mental
In
the
world'.
earlier
avers,
period,in contrast,
in
'was
not
rooted sexualdifference'
but'a cosmological
gender
principle,
a matterof heatand cold,of greater
and lesserdegreesof physical
andhence'terrifyingly
perfection',
unstable'.31
Theseideasareproblematic.
hasbeencriticised
for
Laqueurhimself
and in somedegreedistorting
theideashe discusses.32
oversimplifying
in so faras theideaoftheone-sexbodyexisted,
itsimpact
Moreover,
andinfluence
outsidethepagesofmedicalandanatomical
treatises
are
Notionsofgender
hadanobviouspiquancy
opentoquestion.
instability
on thepre-Restoration
stagewherewomenwereconventionally
played
hasrevealed
thattheyalsoheldsomeinterest
byboys,whileHelenBerry
forreadersof JohnDunton'squestion-and-answer
periodical,The
Athenian
in
the
But
their
influence
remains
Mercury,
everyday
169Os.33
theGreeks
toFreud(Cambridge,
MA
30. ThomasLaqueur,MakingSex:Bodyand Genderfrom
and London, 1990).
'Men'sDilemma',p. 69.
31. Fletcher,
Parkand RobertA. Nye,'Destinyis Anatomy',TheNew
32. Cf. thereviewby Katharine
no.3970(18February
'TheTransformation
Republic,
1991),pp.53-7;andseealsoRobert
Martensen,
of Eve: Women's Bodies, Medicine and Culture in Early Modern England', in Roy Porterand
Mikuli Teich (ed.), Sexual Knowledge,Sexual Science: The Historyof Attitudesto Sexuality
(Cambridge,1994), pp. Io8-I3.
33. Helen Berry,Gender,Societyand PrintCulturein Late-StuartEngland: The CulturalWorld
oftheAthenianMercury(Aldershot,200oo3),ch. 6.
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
745
ElizabethFoyster
has citedthecaseofEllenand
to be demonstrated.
suiton thegroundsof cruelty
JohnCharnock,a maritalseparation
before
theCourtofArches
in1673.Therewasevidence
thatthe
brought
wifehad saidthatherhusbandwas 'no man'and that'ifshehad not
him ... he musthaveworna Frock'.This,assertsFoyster,
married
herhusbandso unproven
in sexthatunless
'impliedthatshethought
manhewouldslipintothe
shechosetoteachhimhowtobe a "proper"
ofsexualinsufficiency
therewereallegations
feminine
state'.Although
is
in the backgroundof this case, this particularinterpretation
In thisperiod,theword'frock'did notnecessarily,
unwarranted.
or
butalsoreferred
to a variety
evenprimarily,
denotea femalegarment,
or
smock.
Another
ofmen'sclothes
a
workman's
coat
reported
including
version
ofEllen'stauntwasthat'haditnotbinforherhee... hadnot
Itwashiseconomic
hada shirt
tohisback& might
hauewornea Livery'.
that
was
at
issue.34
insufficiency
The waytheworksunderreviewtreatLaqueur'sarguments
shows
howfarhistorians'
ideashavemovedon.Gowinggivesthemconsiderable
andatoneleveltakesthematfacevalue.Butshehaspreviously
attention,
out
have
pointed thatlearnedideasaboutthebodydidnotnecessarily
muchpurchase
on thestreet,
anditis thisinsight
thatsheisconcerned
to develop.35
BickshasevenlesstruckwithLaqueur,merely
drawing
attention
to criticisms
of his ideasand asserting
thatherpurposeis
different-to
demonstrate
'thewaysin whichparticular
earlymodern
ofas malleable
and opento morethanone
bodypartswereperceived
at certainmomentsand undercertaincircumstances'
interpretation
(P. 4, n. II).
By thismeansBickstriesto showthatmidwives
occupieda more
and
more
in
central
role
sixteenthandseventeenthimportant
culturally
than
has
been
To
thisis
century
England
previously thought. an extent
in
accord
with
the
works
of
other
historians
who
have
reacted
simply
wereignorant,
againstthe myththatmidwives
disorderly,
marginal
not
to
restore
to themthedignity
and utility
of
figures,
seeking only
theirprofession,
butalso,bycareful
toreconstruct
theirsocial
research,
as individuals
and to locatethemfirmly
in theirsocialand
identity
cultural
context.36
ButBicks'sapproachis to explorea number
ofvery
in
which
midwives
or
were
to
exercised,
specific
ways
thought exercise,
thatmenwereatthemercy
ofmidwives'
words
power.Sheemphasises
in testifying
to orobscuring
a child'spaternity
ora wife'ssexualtransMorebasically,
sheasserts,
itwascommonly
heldthattheway
gression.
themidwife
cut theumbilicalcorddetermined
thelengthbothof a
34. Foyster,Manhood in EarlyModernEngland,pp. 71-2; Lambeth Palace Library,Recordsof
the Court ofArches,Ee 4, fos. Izov-IzIr.
35. Gowing, DomesticDangers,pp. 6-7; cf. Fletcher,Gender,Sex and Subordination,
p. 42.
36. Hilary Marland (ed.), The Art ofMidwifery:EarlyModernMidwivesin Europe (London,
London (Cambridge,2000).
1993); D. Evenden, TheMidwivesofSeventeenth-Century
EHR, cxx. 487 (June 2005)
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746
MENAND WOMENIN LATE
Midwives
alsotestified
tothestateof
man'spenisandofhistongue.
were
existence
and
ofwhich
and
the
significance
hymen-the
virginity,
as
well
as
be
the
midwife
contested
bya
by
anyway-could ruptured
means
inother
handscouldbepowerful
man.Themidwife's
By
ways.
tension
a woman's
sexual
of'aconvenient
oil',shecouldrelease
pent-up
and so relieveherofthesymptomsof'greensickness',to whichunmarried women were thoughtto be susceptible.She could also formor
of the birth.Traddeforma child'shead in the immediateaftermath
to
administer
extremis
in
the
midwives
had
baptism
authority
itionally,
to a newly-borninfant-or even,via a syringe,to an unbornfoetus.
withtheElizabethanBook ofCommon Prayer,this
Though consistent
doctrinewascontroversial.
JamesI pronouncedagainstitattheHampton
canons
CourtConferenceand thePrayerBook rubricand ecclesiastical
was the
of 1604 were modifiedaccordingly.Likewise controversial
'churching'of women,a ceremonyin whichmidwivesoftenplayeda
had reworkedit
prominentrole. Even though Protestantreformers
after
to one ofcelebrationand thanksgiving
froma ritualofpurification
it
to
as
continued
childbirth,
superstitious.
regard
puritans
are primarily
and it is at thislevelthather
Bicks'sinterests
literary,
if not alwayswholly
ideas work best. She providesmanyinteresting,
ofTheWinter's
Dream,
Tale,A Midsummer
Night's
convincing,
readings
RichardIII, Macbeth,and otherShakespeareplays-including Henry
VIII (though Bicks is well aware of the problems of this play's
focusis
authorship).On theotherhand,it is not clearwhytheliterary
restrictedto the Shakespeareancanon. The use of other texts is
sometimesproblematic.The factthatJaneSharp's TheMidwivesBook
is sixteenth
was publishedin 1671,thoughthefocusof Bicks'sinterests
and earlyseventeenth
century,is brushedaside-apparentlyits ideas
processes"of thehegemonic'(p. I9)
'capture... the "transformational
fortheperiodin question.
Bicks presentsmuch intriguingmaterial,but what preciselyis its
The beliefabouttheumbilicalcordwas certainly
discussed
significance?
it
and
but
how
was
with
what
held
and
others,
byJaneSharp
seriously
offers
no
means
of
but
Bicks
evaluation,
consequences?
byimplication,
and sometimesexplicitly,
she giveslargesignificance
to themattersshe
discusses.The birth-room
was 'a spaceinwhichthemidwifetookcenter
and
on
stage
shapedhistory a regularbasis' (p. 18);whilewithregardto
'the
midwife'spositionas arbiterof the culturalmarksthat
baptism,
broughtsubjectsinto being placed her in a unique and sometimes
overthosewho officially
controlledthe
troublingpositionof authority
the
state
and
the
Bicks
church,
family'(p. 133).FollowingBreitenberg,
is quick to assumethe existenceof 'anxiouspatriarchs'
who feltunder
threat.37
Yet the argumenthas littleunderpinning,relyingmore on
assertionthandemonstration.
AnxiousMasculinityin EarlyModernEngland (Cambridge,1996).
37. Cf. Mark Breitenberg,
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
747
one
Gowing'sthemeofthe'commonfemalebody'is a fascinating
rich.Common
shedeploysis correspondingly
and thematerial
Bodies
between
'therelationship
thebody'scultural
construction
and
explores
she
the
itscorporeal
existence'
confines
to
study the
(p. 4). Deliberately
if
seventeenth
that
(a welcome, implicit,
century
recognition important
distinctions
needtobe madeina periodtoooftentreated
chronological
inundifferentiated
terms
as 'earlymodern').
Thisfocusispartly
because
she wishesto show thatsome developments
thathistorians
have
associatedwiththe eighteenth
such as a stresson female
century,
had earlierroots.It is also becauseshe recognises
thatthe
passivity,
andharsheconomicconditions
ofmuchofthe
pressures
demographic
of thepoorlawsin
century,
coupledwiththegradualentrenchment
hadimportant
effects
onthepractice
ofsocialdiscipline.
society,
English
It is worthmentioning
thatmuchcouldbe saidon theeffects
ofthese
on malesas wellas females,
as Shepardhas recognised.
developments
Butthisisa dimension
thatGowinglargely
savewhenhereand
ignores,
there
shesaysa little
abouttheexperience
ofmeninordertoacknowledge
ordeflect
criticisms
ofherearlier
in discussing
work.Forexample,
the
socialeffects
offathering
orbearing
an illegitimate
child,sheis atpains
to saythatshedoesnot'denythatmenwerevulnerable
to theshame
thatwassupposedto attendsexualsin'.Yetsheinsists
that'theshame
whichaffected
women,and thatwhichaffected
men,werehardly
This
is
but
not
without
comparable'(p. 185).
plausible,
convincing
fuller
treatment.
It is further
undermined
the
fact
that
neither
here
by
norelsewhere
in thebookis thereanyattempt
to discusswhat'shame'
meantin theseventeenth
sincecontemcentury-acuriousomission,
understood
it
as
an
emotion
that
Aristotle,
poraries,following
revealed
itself
in
reddened
cheeks
and
other
characteristically
bodily
effects.38
to womenand their
Gowingtreatsa widerangeofthemesrelating
bodies-culturalstereotypes,
sexualdesire,
gynaecological
knowledge,
theexperience
ofpregnancy,
andchildbirth.
Thepicture
ison thewhole
a bleakone.AdrianWilson'soptimistic
viewofbirth-room
experiences
is sternlyrejected,39
while phenomenasuch as seduction,sexual
child abandonment,
and witchcraft
harassment,
rape, infanticide,
accusations
loomlarge.Someimportant
themesstandout.One is the
ofthepublicandtheprivate.
womenspent
interpenetration
Although
muchof theirliveswithinthecontextof thehousehold,
whether
as
mistresses
orservants,
thiswasnotreally
a private
worldbutonesubject
atmanypointstooutsidescrutiny
andauthority.
Whilethispointisby
38. Werner
L. Gundersheimer,
'Renaissance
ConceptsofShameandPocaterra's
DialoghiDella
Renaissance
xlvii(1994),34-56;EwanFernie,
Shamein Shakespeare
Vergogna',
(London
Quarterly,
and New York,200oo2).
of Childbirth
and its Interpretation',
in ValerieFildes
39. AdrianWilson,'The Ceremony
asMothers
inPre-Industrial
inMemory
(ed.),Women
McLaren(London
Essays
ofDorothy
England:
and New York,1990), pp. 68-107; see also idem, TheMaking ofMan-Midwifery
(London, 1995).
EHR, cxx. 487 (Junezo200o)
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748
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
in relation
to arguments
no meansnew,itis heregivenfresh
emphasis
within
women'shistory
aboutthepublicandtheprivate
sphere.40
is that'ifweareto understand
A keyelement
ofGowing'sargument
thatkeptearlymodernpatriarchy
the flexibility
and heterogeneity
the partswomen
it becomesimperative
to takeseriously
powerful,
in
it'
shestresses
it
as
well
as
Hence
6).
resisting (p.
played maintaining
thedegreeto whichwomen,usuallythewivesofhouseholders,
were
themselves
involvedin the activepolicingof otherwomen,mainly
In telling
notinvariably)
servants.
unmarried
detail,she
(though
young,
describes
howmistresses
maidservants
to
discover
thefact
interrogated
of pregnancy
how midwives,
and illicitsexuality;
accompaniedby
from
'honestmatrons'
of theneighbourhood,
withheld
theirservices
unmarried
womenin labouruntiltheyhad namedthefather
of the
infanticide
child;howin casesofsuspected
groupsofwomencornered
thesupposedculprit
heruntiltheyhad forced
andquestioned
outthe
how
of
matrons
the
bodies
of
women
'searched'
condemned
truth; juries
todeathwhenthelatter
inorder
'pleadedthebelly'(claimed
pregnancy)
to forestall
theirexecution;
howotherfemalejuriesmadeevenmore
intimate
and thorough
searchesto discoverthe'devil'smark'in the
of
witches.
accused
The invasive
oftheseactivities
genitalia
physicality
isvividly
evoked.
Someofthemainthemesofthebookarecleverly
brought
together
in a chapteron 'precarious
Fromone perspective
this
parenthood'.
mocked
phraseevokestheplightofthepoorcuckold,theuniversally
victimofhiswife'ssecretornot-so-secret
Another
triumph.
viewpoint
takesus into theworldof the unmarried
mother,harassedby her
and thepoorlaw officers
untilshe nameda father
who
neighbours
couldbe madeto paymaintenance
and so 'savetheparishharmless'.
Some of theaccusedmenundoubtedly
suffered
roughjustice,since
be
could
to
be
the
on
father'
thewoman'sword
they
adjudged
'reputed
with
such
circumstantial
evidence
as
two
coupled
justicessaw fitto
credit.ButGowingemphasises
rather
that'theinsecurity
ofpaternity
men
a
chance
to
and
undermined
the
gave
escape,
positionofwomen'
an earliersectionof the book whereit is
(p. 186). This counterpoints
'assumedtherightof sexualaccess'to the
arguedthatmanymasters
bodiesoftheirmaidservants
inanalysing
thecontent
(p. 62). Similarly,
of petitions
fromsinglemothers
to the magistrates,
Gowingdraws
attention
tothe'language
ofimpotence'
withwhichtheywereimbued.
Overalltheevidence
ofbastardy
inthesecularcourtsbears
proceedings
witness
to 'thepowerlessness
ofpoorwomen'(p. 193).
arepossible.Garthine
Walker,examining
Plainlyotherperspectives
similar
material
to
hasstressed
thewomen'sskilful
relating illegitimacy,
use of rhetoricand theirabilityto evokethe mercyof the magistrates,
and
A Reviewof the Categories
'GoldenAge to SeparateSpheres?
40. AmandaVickery,
ofEnglishWomen'sHistory',
Historical
xxxvi(i993), 383-414.
Chronology
Journal,
EHR, cxx.487 (June20zoo05)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
749
theirvulnerability
andthedegreetowhichthey
notmerely
bystressing
butalsobylayingclaimto a
had beenvictimised
bymaledeception,
however
flawedbythefactofbeingan
certain
degreeofrespectability,
mother.
Whereasthecontent
ofabusiverhetoric
unmarried
a
suggests
between
the
'honest
of
woman'
and
'whore'dichotomy
categories
thatis,nota prostitute
however
butanysexually
female,
transgressive
the
it
is
that
were
much
more
slight lapse-in practice plain judgements
and
the
of
a
woman
who
had
been
seduced
and
pragmatic,
plight
abandonedcouldevokesympathy
evenfroma hard-nosed
justiceor
a
dense
web
of
social
and
parishofficial.41
Correspondingly,
legal
sanctions
existedto deterhouseholders
fromsexually
their
exploiting
female
servants.
Obviously
theydidnotalwayswork,buttheywereby
no meanswhollyineffectual
either.42
The pessimistic
slantofGowing'sinterpretation
inpartfrom
derives
thesourcesshehasused,and partly
fromhowshehaschosento read
them.As in Domestic
to stressthateven
Dangers,she is concerned
documents
to
refer
to
real-life
were'fictions'
experiences
purporting
not
the
rhetorical
of
the
individuals
who
onlyby
shaped
purposes
them
but
also
cultural
forces
that
were
to
hostile
produced
by
essentially
andcontemptuous
ofwomen.
Thisemphasis
onmisogynistic
stereotypes
is reinforced
withthelibelsandsatires,
byGowing'sfascination
many
inverse,
thatflourished
inthisperiodandwhosecharacteristically
nasty
females
as 'leakyvessels',
faeces,urine,
imagesrepresented
discharging
menstrual
Yetmenwerealsosatirisedblood,andotherbodilyfluids.
as bald,gouty,impotent,
broken-bellied
infected
withthe
(ruptured),
thesesquibsappealedto thegreatprimaljoke
pox,andso on. In truth
thatallhumans,
ofeither
andeventhehighest
socialrank,were
gender
in thrall
tobasebodies.The ideasunderlying
thiskindofhumour
were
no doubta significant
element
in contemporary
whether
culture;
they
shouldbe seenas keyis another
matter.43
ofotherevidence
isproblematic
attimes.While
Gowing'streatment
sheacknowledges
theexistence
oflocalvariations
shedoesnotexplore
herself
withtheassertion
thatthephenomena
she
them,contenting
describes
were'broadlyrecognisable
fromYorkshire
to Somerset,
and
fromisolatedruralhouseholdsto denseurbanstreets'(p. 15). Her
arethusdrawn,
at random,
fromall overEngland.
examples
seemingly
are
also
taken
from
all
in
the
seventeenth
andeven
They
points
century,
whenchronological
variations
arenoted-forexample,
theI65osand
as 'twoperiodswhenthequarter
sessionsfocused
169osareidentified
4I. Walker, Crime,Genderand Social Order,pp. 227-37.
42. MartinIngram,ChurchCourts,Sex andMarriage in England,I570--164o(Cambridge,I987),
esp.chs.8 and9.
in EarlyModernEngland',
43. MartinIngram,
'Ridings,
RoughMusicandMockingRhymes
in BarryReay (ed.), Popular Culturein Seventeenth-Century
England (London and Sydney,1985),
pp. 178-86; see also Adam Fox, 'Ballads, Libels and Popular Ridicule in JacobeanEngland', Past
and Present,no. I45 (Nov. I994), pp. 47-83.
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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750
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
on paternity
sharply
investigations'
particularly
(pp.179-80)-theyare
that seem
littleexplored.OccasionallyGowing makesassertions
atoddswithevidence
andindeedwith
byothers,
produced
troublingly
someofherowndata.Sheisadamant
that'single
mothers...
consistently
thattheyhadonlyhadsexonce,withoneman'(p. 13).
toldmagistrates
Yetin thecaseshecitesat theheadofchapter
3,thewomanconfessed
to sexualrelations
on severaloccasions,
whilea laterchapter
discusses
womenwho namedmorethanone manas thefather
of theirchild.
Otherresearch
indicates
thatwomenoftenconfessed
to havinghad
sexualrelations
'diversand sundry
times',whilea significant
minority
to multiple
admitted
hersamplesof
Gowingneverdefines
partners.44
or indicates
material,
explainsexactlyhow theyhavebeenanalysed,
howfarshehasmadeefforts
tocorroborate
orenrich
herinterpretations
and exploring
sources.A Yorkshire
by identifying
complementary
caseof1659,whichGowingrefers
infanticide
to in Common
Bodiesbut
hasalsopublished
that
she
has
not
been
separately,
invariably
suggests
assiduous.She assertsthat,while'further
... has not
documentation
been traced',the accusedwoman,Anne Peace,'was likelyto have
In facttheredoessurvive
a parallelrecord,
escapedconviction'.
easily
locatedin theNationalArchives,
a gaolbookthatshowsthatshewas
foundguilty
andsentenced
tohang.45
a workofsocialhistory,
is
JoanneBailey'sUnquietLives,avowedly
muchmoreexplicit
in itsmethodology
andsystematic
indescribing
its
sources.
Muchdetailedanalysis
in 30 tablesthat,toavoid
is condensed
the
are
as a seriesof
interrupting text, conveniently
groupedtogether
to the
appendices.The chronological
range,fromthe Restoration
ofthenineteenth
is laterthanthoseofthebooks
beginning
century,
butitssubject-matter
isatmanypointsclosely
related.
reviewed;
already
As Baileypointsout, marriage
and maritalbreakdown
have been
discussed
butfewstudieshavebeendevoted
frequently
byhistorians
to them.She briefly
whathas beendone,identifying
entirely
surveys
and 'optimistic'
modelsthat,sheclaims(witha degreeof
'pessimistic'
historians
have presented
forsuccessive
oversimplification),
periods
fromthelatemiddleagesonwards.
Herownaccountisbasedon ecclesiastical
courtrecords,
sessions
quarter
papers,andnewspaper
publicationsfromvariousoverlapping
locationsincluding
Northumberland,
Yorkshire
and Oxfordshire.
cover,Bailey
Togetherthesematerials
theexperience
of bothgenders,
a widesocialspectrum,
asserts,
and
areasofvariedtopography
and economicand socialstructure
outside
themetropolis.
The approachis bothoriginal
andveryfruitful.
Bailey
observes
thatthelegalgrounds
forseparation
hadtheeffect
ofpresenting
Church
SexandMarriage,
Courts,
p. 260.
44. Ingram,
45. Laura Gowing, 'The Examination of Anne Peace, YorkshireSessions (I659)', in Helen
Ostovich and Elizabeth Sauer (ed.), Reading Early Modern Women:An Anthologyof Textsin
Manuscriptand Print,z55o-17oo(New York and London, 200oo4),
pp. 47-9; cf. National Archives,
ASSI 42/I (Gaol Book,Yorkshire,
pp.40, 43.
I658-73),
EHR, cxx.487 (Junezo200o)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
751
maritalconflictsimplyin termsof adulteryand cruelty.(Unlike some
writersin thisfield,Baileyis awarethat,in legaltheory,bothmen and
women could sue on eithergrounds,thoughin practicetherewas a
tendencyformen to complainof adulteryand women of cruelty.)A
isachievedbyexamining
muchmorenuancedor'holistic'understanding
the'secondarycomplaints'thatemergefromthesources.These indicate
and respect,
thatbothspouseswereconcernedwiththeother'saffection
with the treatmentof children(whetherthe couple's or those from
previous marriages),and with the ownershipand managementof
propertyand material resources.Importantly,Bailey insists that
emotional and materialfactorswere inextricablyintertwined;they
shouldnot be consideredas mutuallyexclusive.
whetherinformalor formal,by
Bailey goes on to discuss efforts,
theclergy,or local JPs,to resolveconflicts
friends,
family,neighbours,
at least to the extentof establishinga basicallypeacefulrelationship
andsometimes
wereoftenineffectual
betweenthecouple.Theseattempts
that
were
made
indicateshow
but
the
fact
they
counter-productive;
to
be.
Thence
was
understood
marital
Bailey
harmony
important
explores the diversityof contemporaryhousehold and family
and, morebasically,theimportanceof ideasofprovision.
arrangements
Like Shepard,she emphasisesthatwomen had much moreeconomic
and adds that
and financialagencythanin theorycoverture
permitted,
thanthe'lawofagency'supposedly
theiraccesstocreditwasmuchgreater
allowed.As a resultwiveswere oftencentralto the well-beingof the
thatwomenbroughtto
householdeconomy.The moneyand property
themarriage- largeor smallamountsdependingon rank-were a vital
that Amy
component.Even withoutthe formallegal arrangements
some husbandsrecognisedwives' personal
Ericksonhas uncovered,46
propertyas theirown-something which gave them benefitduring
Alternatively,
marriagebut mightrevertto thewomen'suse afterwards.
resourcesmightbe seen as pooled forthe familybenefit.Eitherway,
women'scontributions
gavethema senseof moral,ifnot strictly
legal,
In
entitlement. returntheyexpectedtheirhusbandsto assistthemin
providingforthe familyand household.They also expectedto enjoy
commandoverhouseholdmatterswithoutinterference.
To deprivea
wife of authorityin the household-by confiscatingher keys, for
example,or orderingtheservantsnot to obeyher-was tantamountto
cruelty,
symbolisedloss of love and trust,and usuallysignalledthatthe
husbandwas about to replaceherwithanotherwoman.
All thesecircumstances
had a bearingon themostserioussymptoms
ofmaritalproblems,physicalcruelty
and infidelity;
and broadermedical,
scientificand cultural changes were also relevant.Women were
seen as the 'gentlersex',while the increasingpurchaseof
increasingly
ideasof civilityencouragedtheidea thattheessenceof manhoodlayin
Women
andProperty,
46. Erickson,
passim.
EHR, cxx. 487 (June 20zoo0)
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752
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
At thesametimetheconceptofmatrimonial
selfcontrol.
was
cruelty
graduallywidened to include even threatsof violence.These
thanithadbeeninTudorandearly
madeitevenharder
developments
wifebeating.Baileyshowsthatcruelbehaviour
Stuarttimesto justify
as barbarous,
inhuman
andirrational,
wasincreasingly
seennotmerely
and a markofincivility.
Maritalviolencecouldno
butalso unmanly
asjustified
presented
longerbe (ifindeediteverhadbeen)convincingly
thatmenrarely
admitted
their
totheextent
correction,
beating wives;if
to
themselves
as
a momentary
tended
did,
they
they
portray
suffering
tobe
On theotherhand,womenwerenotexpected
lossofself-control.
in
of
have
to
themselves
the
face
and
did
not
in
abuse,
passive
present
thislightin courtin orderto gainsympathy.
Violenceperpetrated
by
tobe reported,
but
wives-sometimes
bymeansofpoison-continued
insmallnumbers,
andBaileysuggests
thatbythelateeighteenth
century
it mayhavebeenlessfeasibleformenconvincingly
to portray
their
wivesas abusive.
Attitudes
to adultery
werealso undergoing
subtleshifts.47
Formal
this
in
for
offence
declined
the
late
seventeenth
and
prosecutions
the
in
but
context
remained
one
which
centuries,
infidelity
eighteenth
wasviewedwithdisapproval,
bothformoralreasons
andbecauseitwas
A doublestandard
understood
tobea surewaytoserious
marital
disorder.
existed
in practice.
butwasmuchmitigated
As others
haveemphasised
forearlierperiods,femalereputation
was not determined
solelyby
whilemostwivesclearly'foundmaleinfidelity
chastity,
unpalatable'
somesoftening
of attitudes
century,
(p. 145).By thelate eighteenth
towardsthewrongedhusbandis visibleand thestigmaof cuckoldry
a little.
On theother
receded
aresignsofa shift
from
hand,there
blaming
wivesforadulterous
behaviour
towards
theresponsibility
to
attaching
theirmalelovers,thelatterbeingincreasingly
seenas 'manipulative
seducers'who disruptedmaritalharmony.Baileyinvestigates
the
reasons
forinfidelity
ingreater
detailthanhashitherto
been
underlying
a complexandnuancedpattern
ofbehaviour.
She
attempted,
revealing
also explores
therelationship
betweeninfidelity
and parenthood,
and
makestheimportant
pointthat,formanywomen,denialofaccessto
theirchildren
wasthemostdireconsequence
ofadultery.
The finalchapter
alsobreaksfresh
therealities
groundin exploring
oflifeafter
a failedmarriage.
the
result
was
often
Inevitably
prolonged
did not ordinarily
conferthe rightto
miseryand, sinceseparation
thedamagewas oftenirreparable.
Cohabitation
was one
remarriage,
while
if
tolerated
it
did not
solution,
possible
bigamy-sometimes
involvedeception-wasanother,albeita hazardousone since in
carriedthe deathpenalty.Maritalbreakdown
principlethe offence
usuallyled to a decline in economic fortuneforboth partners;but
47. SeealsoTurner,
FashioningAdultery.
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
753
women, especiallythosewithyoungchildren,were particularly
badly
hit. Maintenance was usually limited,inadequate, and difficultto
enforce.Small wonderthatsome separatedspousesfoundthemselves
on the parish.The 'mutualsociety,help and comfort'or (in Bailey's
and helps
terms)'co-dependency'of marriagewas infinitely
preferable,
was put into makingunionswork.Just
to explainwhyso much effort
how frequent was marital breakdown in these circumstances?
Unfortunately
Baileydoes not providean answer,thoughthereis some
evidencethatthe incidenceof desertionwas increasingin the closing
decadesof theeighteenth
century.
Bailey's explorationof the idea-much publicised in the late
centuries-thatfemaleweaknessand
seventeenth
and earlyeighteenth
drawson thework
submissionwereactuallya sourceof empowerment,
of IngridTague, who has since developed the theme in Womenof
She sees the periodfromabout 1690 to 176Oas particularly
Quality.48
froma genderpointofview.The TolerationAct of1689,the
interesting
commercialand financialrevolutions,the growingimportanceof
London, and the emergenceof a consumersociety,were changing
England in importantways,some of which had real significancefor
women,whilethecontracttheoryassociatedwiththeso-calledGlorious
Revolutionhad implications(some complexitiesof which have been
exploredby RachelWeil)49forideas about the family.Whereasmany
historianshave associatedthe social changesof the period with the
middleclasses,Tague's interestis in thetopmostlevelsof society,that
is aristocratic
women who were the wivesof peers,relativesor others
closelyconnectedwith them. Her main sourcesare the burgeoning
forwomen,comparedwiththe
conductliterature
genreof prescriptive
personalwritings(especiallyletters)thatmaybe expectedto revealhow
theythoughtand behavedin practice.As is also evidentin Amanda
the availabilityby
Vickery'slivelystudy,The Gentleman's
Daughter,50
about1700 ofsuchpersonalmaterials-muchlessin evidenceforearlier
women-is ofinestimable
value
periodsand hardlyat all forlower-class
in givingrealinsightintotherealitiesofwomen'slivesand thesubtleties
of theiroutlookand attitudes.
Like Bailey, Tague followsFenella Childs in identifying
'a new
of attitudetowardswomen', based in ideas about the
sentimentality
nervoussystemand markedby'an exaltationoffeminine
virtuesand an
idealisationof womanhoodin general'(p. 30).51 On thisviewwomen
Womenand the
48. See also IngridH. Tague,'Love,Honourand Obedience:Fashionable
Discourseof Marriagein theEarlyEighteenth
Studies,
xl (200oo1),
JournalofBritish
Century',
76-o16.
theFamilyand PoliticalArgument
in England,
49. RachelWeil,PoliticalPassions:Gender,
168o--714(Manchesterand New York,I999).
See n. 6.
5o.
forMannersin EnglishCourtesyLiterature,
QuotingFenellaChilds,'Prescriptions
5I.
(OxfordUniv.D.Phil.thesis,
I690-I76o,andtheirSocialImplications'
I984),p. 283.
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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754
MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
tobenaturally
couldbeexpected
chaste
andobedient.
Butthey
modest,
tobeweak,
andhence
tofashionable
werealsoconsidered
excesses
prone
atassemblies
andmasquerades,
andteaindress,
attendance
gambling,
these
(withitsassociated
Predictably,
drinking
scandal-mongering).
were
for
the
writers
of
conduct
books.
Women's
prime
targets
'vices'
toTague,wasnotso muchacceptance
asselective
response,
according
in
of
these
which
are
their
butoften
found
letters,
ideas,
appropriation
indivers
incontexts
weremanipulated
thatshowthatthey
waysfora
of
writers'
desire
to
'create
strict
conduct
variety purposes.
Frustrating
the
of
between
and
bad
fashionable
boundaries
women',
reputation
good
insubtle
oflove
ladieswasassessed
andcomplex
ways.Theprinciples
in marriage
wereuniversally
andwifely
submission
but
approved, on
theassumption
thehusband's
thatsuchbehaviour
wouldprevent
into
More
wives
authority
degenerating tyranny. generally, submitted
totheir
ontheunderstanding
thatthey
exercise
husbands
should
power
andauthority
within
as
of
feminine
concern.52
spheres
recognisedbeing
Theseincluded
andfashion,
andsociability,
consumption
politeness
theeducation
more
household
ofchildren,
and,
basically,
managementin aristocratic
circlesa vastareaof responsibility,
involving
large
andbynomeans
sincethehousehold
was
expenditures,
simply
private
anexpression
offamily
honour
inmany
andimpinged
on
economic
ways
Infact,
andpolitical
activities.
inwaysthatElaineChalusandAmanda
Foreman
havemadefamiliar
forthelateeighteenth
aristocratic
century,53
canoften
women
beseenplaying
rolesintheworld
ofhigh
significant
Thepicture
isonthewholea convincing
one.Butexperts
in
politics.
thepolitics
oftheperiod
a sharper
demand
andmore
reasonably
might
ofwhatthesewomenactually
whileit
achieved,
analysis
penetrating
wouldbeinteresting
tolearn
more
aboutthereactions
oftheir
menfolk.
inviewoftheusemadeofthewomen's
ownletters,
itwould
Especially
also be usefulto havemoreinformation
on theireducation
and
upbringing.
It isplainthatthebodyofwriting
onwomen
andgender
issuesin
hasreached
a critical
mass.Clearly
earlymodern
England
Gowing's
workhasbeenveryinfluential,
bothdisagreement
and
stimulating
Theissues
raised
will
in
reverberate
similar
agreement.
byShepard surely
whilethere
hasevidently
beenvery
fruitful
interaction
fashion,
among
writers
onthelateseventeenth
andearly
centuries.
Theways
eighteenth
between
thelatefifteenth
andtheearlyeighteenth
things
changed
often
in
and
subtle
aregradually
centuries,
very
slowly
ways,
emerging.
On the otherhand,the approaches
herehavetheir
represented
52. Forsimilar
aboutwomenata slightly
lowersociallevel,seeVickery,
Gentleman
arguments
s
Daughter.
53. Elaine Chalus, "'That Epidemical Madness": Women and Electoral Politics in the Late
Eighteenth Century', in Barker and Chalus (ed.), Gender in Eighteenth-Century
England,
pp. 151-78;Amanda Foreman,Georgiana,DuchessofDevonshire(London, 1998).
EHR, cxx.487 (June 200zoos)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
755
limitations. Gowing complains that 'the history of disciplinary
regulationhas takenlittleaccountofgender'(p. 7). But theconverseis
also true.Historiansof genderhave contributedlittleto the detailed
ofsexualregulationin thisperiod,
explorationofthescopeand intensity
a full knowledgeof which is necessaryto understandingrelations
betweenmenand women.Surprisingly
littleis stillknown,forexample,
oftheregimeofsexualregulation
inlatesixteenthand earlyseventeenthcenturyLondon and itssuburbs.
A book thathighlights
thelimitsofourknowledgein otherrespects,
and counterpointsmanyof thethemesof theworksalreadyreviewed,
is The Friend by the late Alan Bray.54This is a brave and moving
work,writtenby a man hauntedby the death of manydear friends,
who himselfdid not liveto see his book in print.Amongthesefriends
was Michel Rey, who co-authoredan earlierversionof one of the
chapters."The book, which coversan immenseperiod fromaround
Iooo almost to the present,is perhapsbest read as a meditationon
and religion.As a workof conventionalscholarshipit is to
friendship
mind
less satisfactory,though of undoubted interest and
my
importance.
In an historiographical
'Afterword',
Braylinesup, liketinducksin a
a
series
of
historians
who (he asserts)have failedto
shootinggallery,
discernthe truthsthat he now lays bare. The most recentare 'the
historiansof the CambridgeGroup forthe Historyof Populationand
Social Structure'.With PeterLaslettin thisgroup he lumps together
such diversefiguresas Alan Macfarlaneand Keith Wrightson,and
seems to see themall as motivatedby some covertpoliticalpurpose,
which Bray only discoveredin the 'yellowingpages of The Listener'
whereLaslett'sWorldWeHave Lost,originally
a seriesofradiobroadcasts,
was firstpublishedin instalments.
The conceitof recovering
arcanaby
carefulsiftingofobscuretracesof thepastrecursthroughout
thebook,
and thisparticularinstanceimmediately
givesone pause. Laslettonly
died in 2001, Macfarlaneand Wrightsonare alive and well; and Bray
could easilyhave obtaineda betterunderstanding
of theirpurposesby
the simpleexpedientof askingthem.In facthe missesone of the key
All wereconcernedto understand
thingsthatdid unitethesehistorians.
thewholeofearlymodernEnglishsociety;Braynevermentionsthathis
own evidencerefers
to a tinyelite.
In otherrespectshishandlingoftheexistingliterature
givescause for
disquiet.He is awarethatMirandaChaytor'sworkon kinshiphas been
of and tributes
to BrayincludeLyndalRoper,'AlanBray(1948-2001)', History
54. Profiles
Journal,no. 55(2003), pp. 273-7.
Workshop
AlanBrayandMichelRey,'The BodyoftheFriend:Continuity
andChangeinMasculine
s5.
Friendshipin the SeventeenthCentury',in Hitchcock and Cohen (ed.), EnglishMasculinities,
pp. 65-84.
EHR, cxx.487 (June 2005)
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MEN AND WOMEN IN LATE
756
subjectedto considerablecriticism,but acceptsit none the less.56He
does not seem to know that the work of Diana O'Hara, which he
His accountof
likewisecommends,is also not withoutitsproblems.57
of Lord Hardwicke'sMarriageAct of
the antecedentsand significance
and showssmall acquaintancewithworkon the
1753is idiosyncratic,
decline of spousals (contractsof marriageformedsimply by the
declarationoftheparties)in theprevioustwohundredyears.58
The catHe
that
uses
are
also
senses
that
Bray
many
questionable. rightly
egories
historians
willlook askanceat hisidea ofa 'traditional'
societyspanning
theperiodfromaboutIooo to 1700, abruptlyreplacedbya 'civilsociety'
in theworksofJohnLocke. Curiouslyhe sees
supposedlyexemplified
theidea of 'traditionalreligion'as 'lessof a problem'(p. 9).
in thisbook is noton thegenital,or eventhe
Bray'spointof interest
sexual.Further,he is concernedto shiftthefocusawayfrommarriage
in contemporary
and thehousehold,whichare represented
so strongly
recordsand othersourcesand which have attracteda corresponding
amount of historians'attention.He presentsmarriageas merelyone
variantofa muchmorepervasivephenomenonin thetraditional
world
of which he speaks. This is friendship,
seen as a formof voluntary
kinship,especiallymale friendshipin the centuriesbeforei6oo but
thereafter
emergingin formsthatunitedwomen as well as men. Bray
emphasisesthatsuch friendship
mightbe sanctifiedby religiousrites,
the
holy communion and the kiss of peace; for in this
especially
traditional
worlditwas takenforgrantedthat'religion'sproperrolewas
to aid societyto livein peace and friendship'
(p. iio).
His starting
is thelatefourteenthreturns,
point,towhichhe frequently
tombofSirWilliamNevilleand SirJohnClanvoweat Galatanear
century
The stonethatmarkedtheirgravebore theircoats of
Constantinople.
arms,impaledon two shieldstiltingtowardseach other,and profilesof
theirhelmetsalmosttouching.Brayreadsthisas a stylised
kiss-later in
thebook he simplystatesthisas a fact-and seestheknights'relationship
as thatof'swornbrothers'
whowere,in a broadersenseofthewordsthan
the merelymarital,'wedded together'.As the book progressesother
memorialsare introduced.They includethe monumentalbrassof the
priestsJohnBloxhamand JohnWhyttonin Merton College chapel,
'HouseholdandKinship:RytonintheLate16thandEarly17thCenturies',
56. MirandaChaytor,
x (Autumn
'HouseholdandKinshipin
1980), 25-6o;KeithWrightson,
History
Workshop
Journal,
Sixteenth
xii (AutumnI98I),152-8;Rab Houston
Century
England',History
Workshop
Journal,
andRichard
toFamily
xiv(Autumn
Smith,'A NewApproach
Journal,
History?',
History
Workshop
1982), I20-3I.
Stone'sRenaissance',
lxiv
57. Lena CowenOrlin,'Rewriting
Huntington
Library
Quarterly,
review
ofDiana O'Hara, Courtship
and Constraint:
the
(2001), 202-9; EricJ.Carlson,
Rethinking
in TudorEngland(Manchester
andNewYork,2ooo) inAlbion,
xxxiii(2001oo),
MakingofMarriage
ofthisbookincludethosebySteveHindlein Continuity
reviews
and
279-80.Morefavourable
xv (2000ooo),
in SocialHistory,
Fletcher
xxvi(zoo1),87-8; andAlexander
474-6;Anthony
Change,
Cowan in History,lxxxvii(2oo2), I39-4o.
58. On theseissuessee R.B. Outhwaite,
Clandestine
in EnglandI5oo-I85o(London
Marriage
and Rio Grande, '995).
EHR, cxx.487 (June200oo5)
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MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN
TIMES
757
themstanding
as a husbandandwifemightsimilarly
together
depicting
ofDr JohnGostlin,
thememorial
Masterof
havebeencommemorated;
Dr ThomasLegge,
withwhomhelived,
Gonville
andCaius,tohisfriend
to a contemporary,
themonument
ofSirJohn
according
conjunctissime;
inConstantinople,
II'sambassador
Charles
andSirThomasBaines,
Finch,
whodiedin thatcityin i68I and in hisyouthhad beenFinch'ssizar
inChrist's
Thediscussions
ofmale
(scholar-servant)
College,Cambridge.
close
with
a
on
the
shared
ofJohn
Henry
friendship
longdisquisition
grave
StJohn.Butfirst
NewmanandAmbrose
ofaccounts
of
Braygivesa series
to
in
monuments
female
the
seventeenth
and
friendships
relating
oftheintriguing
caseof
centuries,
bya discussion
punctuated
eighteenth
Arabella
in1682onthegrounds
ofmarriage
Hunt,whosuedforannulment
thatthe'husband'
whohadmarried
herin I68owasactually
a woman.
Thefemale
in
a
of
the
culminate
detailed
of
study
friendships
relationship
AnneLister,
ofShibdenHall nearHalifax,
ofa
andAnnWalker,
heiress
in
whosealedtheirunionbysharing
theeucharist
estate,
neighbouring
in
on
Easter
Church,
York,
HolyTrinity
Day,1834.
Goodramgate
In thiscaseBrayis notlimitedto speculating
on a monument,
for
AnneLister's
to
detailed
diaries
survive
reveal,
massively
amongmany
otherthings,
thattherelationship
ofthetwowomenwasundoubtedly
alertto thepossibility
thatsomeof
sexual;andBrayis,notunnaturally,
theother
unionshediscusses
hada sexualdimension.
Buthismaininterest
inthephysical
ofthephenomenon
hecharts
lieselsewhere
(andis
aspects
from
In a creative
requitedifferent,
incidentally, Gowing'sconcerns).
ofa number
ofsixteenthandseventeenth-century
texts,
reading
especially
letters
between
theDuke of
JamesVI and I and hisbelovedfavourite,
the'bodyofthefriend'
as thesymbol
ofshared
Brayevokes
Buckingham,
Itselements
were'familiar
in
written
letters',
intimacy.
characteristically
thefriend's
ownhand;gifts
suchas ringsthatcouldbe transferred
from
onebodytoanother;
andthesharing
ofbedsandclosephysical
space.He
mentions
termssuchas 'coach-companions',
and couldusefully
have
addedtheword'chum',denoting
friends
whoshared
incolleges
chambers
orinnsofcourt.Crucially
thesegestures
hadbotha private
significance,
as symbols
ofcloseness,
andsolace,anda publicdimension
as
affection,
of
and
favour
There
were
ethical
in
such
expressions
support.
temptations
whichmight
be entered
intocynically
ormerely
forreward;
friendships,
there
weredangers,
worldofcourtly
lifeandinthe
too,inthedog-eat-dog
uncertain
ofobligations
limits
between
friends.
But,Brayinsists,
onlyin
circumstances
were
such
of
read
exceptional
signs friendship
by
as sodomy,
as amongthemost
contemporaries
conventionally
regarded
heinousofsins;andusually
insuchcasesthesocialandethical
worldwas
perceivedto be out ofjointin otherand far-reaching
ways.59
59. See also Alan Bray,'Homosexuality
and the Signsof Male Friendship
in Elizabethan
no. 29 (Spring1990), I-I9; cf.Cynthia
B. Herrup,
A Housein
England',
Workshop
History
Journal,
Gross
Disorder:
Sex,Law,andthe2" EarlofCastlehaven
(OxfordandNewYork,1999).
EHR, cxx.487 (June200oo5)
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758
thatBrayusesis
It willbe clearfromthisaccountthattheevidence
ratherlimited;indeedmuch
historical
standards,
often,by ordinary
oftextsandimages.It
andcontestable
readings
dependson speculation
ofclosefriendship,
is questionable
whether
theseinstances
extending
in kind.AttimesBrayseems
arereallysimilar
overhundreds
ofyears,
between
torecognise
thatfriendships
equalsmayneedtobedistinguished
fromfriendships
betweenthoseofveryunequalpowerand status,or
to do this
thatspecific
between
medieval
brothers-in-arms
agreements
in
or thatin dangerous
be
or adversecircumstances,
different
may
from
NewmanandStJohn;
nature
thelovebetween
butsuchdistinctions
areleftunexplored.
Thereis alsoan unresolved
tension
between
Bray's
accountoftheseparticular
instances
ofclosefriendship,
manyofwhich
wereclearly
as exceptional
andhisbroader
bycontemporaries,
regarded
in
that
'a
the
forms
of
readily
argument
multiplicity
kinship
overlapped
andcreated
thatwebofobligations
thatheldthesociety
andfriendship
ofEnglandtogether'
butno
(p. Io5).Sucha webmaywellhaveexisted;
evidence
ispresented
heretosuggest
thatitwasanything
butlooseand
often
havealways
Yetthere
isvaluesimply
weak,ashistorians
supposed.
in askingthequestions
thatBrayposes,whilethefocuson theethical
andemotional
ofmalefriendship
content
is extremely
welcome.
There
isbothmoralpurposeanddeepimaginative
inhisvisionoflove
insight
so strong
thatfriends
inthegrave.
wishedtolietogether
Thisintriguing
book pointsto somevaluablenewdirections
in whichnot onlythe
ofsame-sex
butalsothestudyofgender
andsexuality
relations,
history
moregenerally,
maydevelopinthefuture.
BrasenoseCollege,Oxford
MARTIN
EHR, cxx.487 (June2005)
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INGRAM