Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Gentry Household in the Later Middle Ages [Hardcover]

fiona Swabey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0415925118 | ISBN-13: 978-0415925112

This richly detailed account provides an important addition to current work on women in late medieval England, taking as its starting point the household diary of Alice de Bryene, a Suffolk noblewoman of the late 14th and early 15th century. Like Christine de Pizan, de Bryene enjoyed greater status and influence as a widow and owner of several large estates than most married women of her time, allowing her a remarkable degree of social and financial independence. Moving outward from de Bryene's own life, this illuminating work provides a vivid picture of the medieval household, examining marriage, education, patronage, and the private and public roles of the medieval woman of privilege.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...this book yields a fascinating perspective of a distant era." -- Bloomsbury Review

"A leader in this field...." -- Caroline Barron, Royal Holloway, University of London

"An imaginative, concise, and interesting appraisal of late medieval aristocratic widowhood. A must acquisition for general and undergraduate libraries." -- Choice

"[Swabey's] account fires the imagination with details...." -- Publisher's Weekly

About the Author

ffiona swabey received her MA in Women's History, Gender and Society from London University. She has trained as a Jungian analyst and is a writer and reviewer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (November 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415925118
• ISBN-13: 978-0415925112
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,757,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good look at a gentry woman's life, June 10, 2004

By 

a medieval researcher (mn United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Gentry Household in the Later Middle Ages (Hardcover)

This is a great starter book for those who are interested in a medieval gentrywoman's life.Ffiona Swabey is an interesting writer who gives us a general idea of Alice de Bryne's life, and consequently any gentry woman's life in general. It was interesting to see that although Alice was considered gentry, not aristocracy, and therefore lower on the wealth scale, this woman still had numerous estates, four personal chaplains, dozens of servants and hundreds of peasants working under her.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal from a Real Dame, February 25, 2003

By 

Kass McGann (Easton, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Gentry Household in the Later Middle Ages (Hardcover)

Ffiona Swabey's "The Medieval Gentlewoman" is a terrific book for anyone interested in what life was like for the gentry in late 14th/early 15th century England. Her book is written based on household accounts and records from Acton Manor, the estate of Dame Alice Bryene, a widow in her 50s in the period the book covers. Ms. Swabey analyzes the data from the household accounts to give us a vivid picture of Dame Alice's life and the world in which she lived and conducted business. Despite the fact that it is heavy with primary documentation, this book is not at all dry. Ms. Swabey manages to tell us a story while retaining the accuracy that we historical reenactors desire.