Did the Black Death Create A 'Golden Age' For Women In Medieval London?

Did the Black Death Create A 'Golden Age' For Women In Medieval London?
Webinar

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Background: It is generally assumed that women in medieval times (and later) had very little independent authority either in the home or outside it. But the study of the records surviving from the city of London in the medieval period (1200-1500) suggests a rather different picture. In this talk Caroline will look at the wills of three London women: Mathilda the ‘smerewyf’ (probably a maker of tallow candles) who died in 1260; Mathilda Penne, a skinner or furrier who died in 1393 and Johanna Hill, who ran a bell-founding workshop outside Aldgate and died in 1441. The wills of these women, and there are many similar wills, challenge the assumption that women were denied a role in the economy of the medieval city. On the contrary they were active in the ‘ hidden economy’ of medieval London despite the conventions of the time that barred them from roles in office-holding and governance.

Speaker:

The focus of Caroline Barron’s research is the government and people of London in the medieval period. This research has an interdisciplinary element, and includes not only the study of the poets and writers of medieval London such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland and Thomas Usk, but also the reading habits of the merchants and artisans, both men and women, in the medieval city. This interest in London has led her to the study of individual Londoners such as the bell founder, Johanna Hill, and better known Londoners such as Richard Whittington and St Thomas More. But she attempts also to study the reality of life for the marginals in medieval London: prisoners, lepers, prostitutes, gypsies, vagrants, beggars and hermits, and her interest in medieval Londoners extends to the upbringing of their children, and also to their religious concerns and priorities.

Date
Monday, 31 July 2023

Time
15:00 - 15:45 BST

Cost
Free