Medieval Gentlewoman
by Ffiona Swabey
Category: History

This study provides an important addition to current work on women in late medieval England. Its starting point is evidence from the life of one particular woman, Alice de Bryene, a Suffolk heiress of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. As a widow and owner of several large estates, she appears to have enjoyed greater status, influence and independence than most married women of the period. Through an examination of Alice's "Household Book," and using other extant contemporary sources, the author has been able to illuminate the experiences of medieval women in general. The resulting work provides a vivid picture of life in the medieval household, examining marriage and widowhood, daily household and estate management, hospitality and entertainment, education, patronage, religious concerns and the private and public roles of medieval women of the estate-owning class.