Women in the Medieval Common Law c.1200-1500

by Gwen Seabourne

Overview

This book examines the view of women held by medieval common lawyers and legislators, and considers medieval women’s treatment by and participation in the processes of the common law. Surveying a wide range of points of contact between women and the common law, from their appearance (or not) in statutes, through their participation (or not) as witnesses, to their treatment as complainants or defendants, it argues for closer consideration of women within the standard narratives of classical legal history, and for re-examination of some previous conclusions on the relationship between women and the common law. It will appeal to scholars and students of medieval history, as well as those interested in legal history, gender studies and the history of women.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367745226
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/09/2023
Series:	Studies in Medieval History and Culture
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	804,841
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gwen Seabourne is Professor of Legal History in the School of Law, University of Bristol, UK. She specialises in medieval legal history, and has written on medieval crime, economic regulation and medieval women.

Table of Contents

Introduction: women, the common law and the legal historians 1

PART I

Unions and divisions: women and the common law 11

1 ‘Their position is inferior to that of men’: differentiation, inclusion, omission 14

2 Unstable constructions: unity, disunity, property and favour in common law thought on women 34

PART II

Audible and inaudible; credible and not credible: women in thelegal process 53

3 ‘By the mouth of man’: women as non-party actors in litigation 55

PART III

Women’s complaints and complaints of women 79

4 Voice, agency and ‘playing the victim’ 84

5 Limits and accommodation 93

6 Responsible and irresponsible women: the female defendant 121

Conclusion: the future of women’s legal past 158