Reading families
Subtitle: women's literate practice in late medieval England
By: Rebecca Krug.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Ithaca
Language: eng
Number of pages: 238
Subjects: English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500 -- History and criticism.; English literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism.; Women -- Books and reading -- England -- History -- To 1500.; Women and literature -- England -- History -- To 1500.
Description: "Rebecca Krug argues that in the later Middle Ages, people defined themselves in terms of family relationships but increasingly saw their social circumstances as being connected to the written word. Complex family dynamics and social configurations motivated women to engage in text-based activities. Although not all or even the majority of women could read and write, it became natural for women to think of writing as a part of everyday life.".

"Reading Families looks at the literate practice of two individual women, Margaret Paston and Margaret Beaufort, and of two communities in which women were central, the Norwich Lollards and the Bridgettines at Syon Abbey. The book begins with Paston's letters, which were written at her husband's request, and ends with devotional texts that describe the spiritual daughterhood of the Bridgettine readers."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-230) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : from law to practice : women, resistance, and writing; title: Husbands and sons : Margaret Paston's letter-writing; title: Margaret Beaufort's literate practice : service and self-inscription; title: Children of God : women Lollards at Norwich; title: Reading at Syon Abbey; title: Conclusion : medieval women authors?