The Wealth of Wives: Women, Law, and Economy in Late Medieval London [Paperback]

Barbara A. Hanawalt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0195311760 | ISBN-13: 978-0195311761

London became an international center for import and export trade in the late Middle Ages. The export of wool, the development of luxury crafts and the redistribution of goods from the continent made London one of the leading commercial cities of Europe. While capital for these ventures came from a variety of sources, the recirculation of wealth through London women was important in providing both material and social capital for the growth of London's economy. A shrewd Venetian visiting England around 1500 commented about the concentration of wealth and property in women's hands. He reported that London law divided a testator's property three ways allowing a third to the wife for her life use, a third for immediate inheritance of the heirs, and a third for burial and the benefit of the testator's soul. Women inherited equally with men and widows had custody of the wealth of minor children. In a society in which marriage was assumed to be a natural state for women, London women married and remarried. Their wealth followed them in their marriages and was it was administered by subsequent husbands. This study, based on extensive use of primary source materials, shows that London's economic growth was in part due to the substantial wealth that women transmitted through marriage. The Italian visitor observed that London men, unlike Venetians, did not seek to establish long patrilineages discouraging women to remarry, but instead preferred to recirculate wealth through women. London's social structure, therefore, was horizontal, spreading wealth among guilds rather than lineages. The liquidity of wealth was important to a growing commercial society and women brought not only wealth but social prestige and trade skills as well into their marriages. But marriage was not the only economic activity of women. London law permitted women to trade in their own right as femmes soles and a number of women, many of them immigrants from the countryside, served as wage laborers. But London's archives confirm women's chief economic impact was felt in the capital and skill they brought with them to marriages, rather than their profits as independent traders or wage laborers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hanawalt's focus on women's economic roles and activities is a bold way to explore the roles and lives of urban women.... A valuable summary of a complex subject, placed in the context of major themes and areas of scholarly inquiry. The author's usual deft touch in combining numbers, case studies, comparative material, and broad and well-informed judgments shows to advantage."--Joel T. Rosenthal--The American Historical Review

"Leading medieval historian Hanawalt (Ohio State) has created a standard on London, medieval, and women's history.... Not only well researched but also beautifully written, this book's clarity makes it useful to undergraduates as well as scholars.... Essential."--CHOICE

"[Hanawalt] has read the documents in imaginative ways...this book is likely to stand as the clearest look at women in the late-medieval London economy for a long time." --Speculum

"Hanawalt provides fresh evidence, and is judicious about the claims that she makes." -- Journal of Social History

About the Author

Barbara A. Hanawalt is King George III Professor of British History at Ohio State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195311760
• ISBN-13: 978-0195311761
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #865,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag of information., September 13, 2010

By 

Fahtimah (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wealth of Wives: Women, Law, and Economy in Late Medieval London (Paperback)

This is a difficult review to write because, while I love history and enjoyed this book, statistical data puts me to sleep.

The individual stories of women in business and the power they held were fascinating. To follow through history as they lost that power because of a male dominated society (not a sexist comment, merely based on extensive reading)was also interesting because it appears that the loss of that strength weakened the total economy and apprentice system.

As a former legal secretary, I found the stories of the judicial system of the time interesting and frightening, all at the same time.

The falling asleep came from the rather heavy stat data. While important if one is doing that kind of research, if you're reading to grasp historial context, you get lost in the flood.

I like to keep my reviews short so as not to bore, so think about what you want to take away from this subject and consider if this book will fill that order.