"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."--BOOK JACKET.

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Women's Writing seeks to recover the lives and particular experiences of medieval women by concentrating on various kinds of texts: the texts they wrote themselves as well as texts that attempted to shape, limit, or expand their lives. The first section investigates the roles traditionally assigned to medieval women (as virgins, widows, and wives); it also considers female childhood and relations between women. The second section explores social spaces, including textuality itself: for every surviving medieval manuscript bespeaks collaborative effort. It considers women as authors, as anchoresses 'dead to the world', and as preachers and teachers in the world staking claims to authority without entering a pulpit. The final section considers the lives and writings of remarkable women, including Marie de France, Heloise, Joan of Arc, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and female lyricists and romancers whose names are lost, but whose texts survive.

In the Middle Ages the household was such a fundamental part of the social structure that the post-1350 era has been termed ‘the Age of the Household.’ Academic studies have generally focused on the grand, itinerant households of the wealthy aristocracy, illuminating the lifestyles and pastimes of this elite class. Using the household accounts of Alice de Bryene, a widowed gentlewoman, together with bailiffs’ and stewards’ reports from her home in Suffolk and other estates further afield, this richly detailed study paints a vivid portrait of the lives of ordinary people in the medieval countryside, of festivals and feast days, marriage and monuments, family loyalties and betrayals, life and death, the rhythms of the working day and year, and the changing scene in the wider world beyond the household. [Originally published in 1999 by Sutton Publishing Limited (UK) and Routledge Kegan Paul (USA) as Medieval Gentlewoman: Life in a Widow’s Household in the Later Middle Ages by ffiona Swabey.]

Medieval women faced many of the problems of their modern counterparts in bringing up their families, balancing family and work, and responding to the demands of their communities. Of many women in the period of a thousand years before 1500 we know little or nothing, though their typical ways of life, on farms or in the towns, can be reconstructed with accuracy from a variety of sources. We know more about a far smaller number of elite women, including queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret of Anjou; noblewomen, whose characters and attitudes can be sensed directly or indirectly; and a variety of religious women. Literary sources help flesh out real attitudes, such as those of Chaucer's Wife of Bath. Jennifer Ward shows the life-cycle of medieval women, from birth, via marriage and child-rearing, to widowhood and death. She also brings out the slow changes in the position of women over a millennium.

This authoritative survey of Britain in the later Middle Ages comprises 28 chapters written by leading figures in the field. Covers social, economic, political, religious, and cultural history in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales Provides a guide to the historical debates over the later Middle Ages Addresses questions at the leading edge of historical scholarship Each chapter includes suggestions for further reading

Information about women in this truly fascinating period from 500 to 1500 is in great demand and has been a challenge for historians to uncover. Bardsley has mined a wide range of primary sources, from noblewomen's writing, court rolls, chivalric literature, laws and legal documents, to archeology and artwork. This fresh survey provides readers with an excellent understanding of how women high and low fared in terms of religion, work, family, law, culture, and politics and public life. Even though medieval women were divided by social class, religion, age, marital status, place and period, they were all subject to an overarching patriarchal structure and sometimes could transcend their inferior status. Numerous examples of these exceptional women and their words are included. Chapter 1 examines religion, focusing on women's roles in the early Christian church, the lives of nuns and other professional religious women such as anchoresses and Beguines, the participation of Christian laywomen, and the experiences of Jewish and Islamic women in Western Europe. The second chapter examines women's work, looking in turn at the kinds of work performed by peasant women, townswomen, and noblewomen. Women's roles within the family form the subject of the third chapter. This chapter follows women throughout the typical lifecycle - from girl to widow - examining the expectations and experiences of women at each stage. Chapter 4, Women and the Law, focuses on the ways in which laws both restricted and protected women. It also considers the crimes with which women were most often charged and surveys laws regarding marriage and widowhood. Women's roles in creative arts form the basis of the fifth chapter, Women and Culture. This chapter examines women's roles as artists, authors, composers, and patrons, as well as investigating the ways in which women were represented in works produced by men. Finally, chapter 6 discusses women's experiences in politics and public life. While women as a group were typically banned from holding positions of public authority, some found ways to get around this stricture, while others were able to exercise power behind the scenes. The final chapter thus encapsulates a major theme of this book: the interplay between broader patriarchal forces that limited women's status and autonomy and the role of individuals who were able to overcome or circumvent such forces. Medieval women were, as a group, subordinate to their husbands and fathers, but certain women, under certain circumstances, evaded subordination.

An in-depth analysis of the key contribution made by the women members of this important ruling family in maintaining and advancing the family's political, landed, economic, social and religious interests.

This book in memory of F. Donald Logan explores different aspects of Christian culture and society in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. Although this period has traditionally been interpreted in terms of decline and decay, this excessively gloomy picture has slowly given way over the last eighty years or so to a more positive view of Christian civilization during these centuries. The twenty-two studies brought together here seek to build on this ongoing reassessment of Later Catholic England, especially in those areas in which Professor Logan himself had done so much to deepen our understanding of Christian English society. Contributors are: Travis Baker, Caroline Barron, Nicholas Bennett, Barbara Bombi, Paul Brand, Janet Burton, James G. Clark, Karen Corsano, Virginia Davis, Charles Donahue Jr, Anne J. Duggan, Joan Greatrex, Diana Greenway, Michael Haren, R.H. Helmholz, Philippa Hoskin, Henry Ansgar Kelly, Frederik Pedersen, Seymour Phillips, Michael J.P. Robson, Jens Röhrkasten, Jane Sayers, R.N. Swanson, Daniel Williman, and Patrick Zutshi.

The saga of Victoria Gardella continues as the glorious nineteenth-century city of Rome gives rise to a new threat from the immortal undead.... Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy has been a vampire slayer for just over a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand. She has learned brutal and heartbreaking lessons about the sacrifices that must be made in order to save humanity from the evil that secretly preys upon it, but she has not wavered in her vow to fight on. Now, in Italy, a powerful vampire is amassing the power to control the souls of the dead. As Victoria races across Europe to stop what could be the most deadly army the Gardellas have ever faced, her unlikely companion is Sebastian Vioget--a man as tempting as he is untrustworthy. But when Victoria discovers she has been betrayed by one of her most trusted allies, the truth will challenge all her powers as a Venator...and as a woman. "...turns vampire stories—and romances—on their ear." —The Detroit News "With its wonderfully witty writing, action-infused plot and sharply defined characters, Rises the Night is deliciously dark and delightfully entertaining." —The Chicago Tribune "A tense plot line and refreshingly diverse supporting characters complete the package, giving series fans plenty to sink their teeth into--and plenty more to look forward to." —Publishers Weekly "…Heart-stopping scenes and sexual tension. With numerous twists, [Gleason] leaves you hanging, eagerly awaiting the next installment." —Romantic Times "This novel has enough dark, angsty touches to it that I was utterly wrung out by the end. It is also so good that I couldn't wait to get online to see when the next in the series will come out...Not for the faint of heart, but the writing is wonderful and the characters really stand out vividly." —All About Romance The Gardella Vampire Hunters series should be read in order to avoid spoilers. The Victoria books are: The Rest Falls Away Rises the Night The Bleeding Dusk When Twilight Burns As Shadows Fade The complete series of five books is now available. ____ Praise for the Gardella Vampire Hunters, about a female vampire hunter in 19th Century London: "The undead rise to great heights through Gleason's phenomenal storytelling. She creates a chilling world with the perfect atmosphere of fear and sexual tension." —Romantic Times "Gleason keeps upping the ante with each novel, weaving the characters around her readers with each engaging conversation and narrative, every stage set of all the appropriate gothic gloom and melting beauty." —Book Fetish

LIMITED TIME ONLY: This starter set is only available through August 30, 2016 Starter Set includes the first three full-length novels of New York Times bestselling author Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Hunters series. Read the international bestselling series that's been translated into eight languages, and has received rave reviews from paranormal romance authors and national publications alike! The award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Colleen Gleason's International Bestselling Gardella Vampire Hunter Series. "Sophisticated, sexy, surprising!" —J.R. Ward "One of my favorite vampire series!" —Jeaniene Frost "Colleen Gleason’s irresistible…series is deliciously dark and delightfully entertaining." —Chicago Tribune "Gleason’s publishing debut turns vampire stories—and romances—on their ear." —Detroit Free Press Beneath the glitter of dazzling nineteenth century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil… Vampires have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners. If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long ago taken control of the world. In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake. But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous moonlit streets, Victoria’s heart is torn between London’s most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her dark, dangerous duty. And when she comes face-to-face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make a choice between duty and love. This boxed set starter collection includes: The Rest Falls Away Rises the Night The Bleeding Dusk All five books are now available. ---------- Praise for The Gardella Vampire Hunters Series "The Rest Falls Away, Gleason's publishing debut...turns vampire stories--and romances--on their ear with a decidedly dark, decidedly unsentimental Regency heroine who stakes the undead with the best of them." —Detroit Free Press "The undead rise to great heights through Gleason's phenomenal storytelling. She creates a chilling world with the perfect atmosphere of fear and sexual tension." —Romantic Times "Gleason keeps upping the ante with each novel, weaving the characters around her readers with each engaging conversation and narrative, every stage set of all the appropriate gothic gloom and melting beauty." —Book Fetish "...Above all, the writing is what recommends this book most. Gleason's writing is sharp and taut, which makes for excellent action sequences, and a plot that travels quickly from the start. The writing strength alone gives me ample reassurance that this potentially plot-heavy series is in the right hands. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment." —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books