Ebook: Medieval Writings on Secular Women

Chapter 4: Widows. Introduction -- 99. A Widow Makes Alternative Arrangements to Sell her Land, Salerno, 882 -- 100. A Widow Taking Over her Husband's Tenancy, Barcelona, 31 January 975 -- 101. A Widow and Children Selling Land, Barcelona, 29 December 942 -- 102. A Sale between Women, Palermo, Sicily, 1164 -- 103. A Widow Entering Service, Marseilles, 15 April 1248 -- 104. A Widow Taking a Loan, Marseilles, 14 April 1248 -- 105. Widows in a Loan Agreement, Crete, 1301 -- 106. The Business Circle of the Jewish Widow, Helea, Crete, 1310 -- 107. Widows and Political Upheaval, Normandy, 1219 -- 108. Emma, Widow of King Lothar, Writes to her Mother, Empress Adelaide, France, Late Tenth Century -- 109. A Fictional Widow's Lament on the Loss of her Husband, Austria, 1194 -- 110. Customs on Widows' Property, Amalfi, Thirteenth Century -- 111. A Widow in Conflict with her Brother, Barcelona, 8 May 1000 -- 112. A Widow Disputing the Status of Land, Normandy, c.1206 -- 113. A Widow Making a Gift, Barcelona, Late Tenth Century -- 114. A Widow Renting Out Property, Marseilles, 30 April 1248 -- 115. Account of Expenses Made by Richard of Anstey in his Case against Mabel of Francheville, England, 1158-63 -- 116. Will of Regina, Jewess of Puigcerda, Pyrenees, 23 October 1306 -- 117. A Widow in Business as a Miller, Crete, 1301 -- 118. A Frustrated Female Crusader, France, 1098 -- 119. An Eyewitness Account of Empress Matilda Acting as Intermediary in the Case of Thomas Becket, Normandy, 1164.;78. The Suicide and Miraculous Revival of an Unhappy Wife, Normandy, Early Twelfth Century -- 79. Penitential Texts on Sexual Intercourse, Spain, Ninth to Eleventh Centuries -- 80. A Dubious Consanguinity Case, Sicily, Twelfth Century -- 81. Infertility? : A Jewish Divorce Upheld by the King, England, 1242 -- 82. Clerical Celibacy, Lisieux, Normandy, Late 1170s -- 83. An Irregular Liaison, Bologna, 1092 -- 84. A Clerical Portrayal of the Miseries of Marriage, Italy, c.1200 -- 85. Christina of Markyate's Heroic Struggle against Marriage, Huntingdon, Early Twelfth Century -- 86. Religious Conversion Not an Excuse for Separation: Papal Opinions, Rome, Twelfth Century -- 87. Empress Judith as Godmother, France, 826 -- 88. Peasant Mothers and their Children, France, c.820 -- 89. A Mother's Refusal to Let her Son Hunt, France, 826 -- 90. Queen Margaret of Scotland's Care for her Children's Education, Scotland, Eleventh Century.;63. Controls over Wives in Northern Italy, Bologna, 1016 -- 64. Sale of Land by Elica of Verona, Verona, 5 December 1127 -- 65. Will of Maria Salbaconsa, Naples, 1076 -- 66. Will of Dulcelina Gomberta, Marseilles, 6 July 1248 -- 67. A Married Woman in Charge of Cash, Normandy, Late Eleventh Century -- 68. Female Workers in City Regulations, Pisa, 1287 -- 69. Alleged Rape of Wives, England, Mid-fifteenth Century -- 70. A Rebel's Wife in Custody, Venice, 1326-8 -- 71. Impugning Female Honour, Venice, 1290 -- 72. The Incarceration of the Bruce Women, Scotland/England, 1306 -- 73. A Young Married Woman: Petronilla, Lady of Ardres, Flanders, c. 1138-9 -- 74. A Couple Rent a House, Bologna, 1071 -- 75. A Wife's Account of her Sick Husband, Cured by John Cacciafronte, Martyred Bishop, Verona, 1224 -- 76. Royal Marital Troubles, France, 1149-50 -- 77. A Young Woman Excommunicated for Leaving her Husband, England, Late Twelfth Century.;Chapter 5: Older Women and death. Introduction -- 120. A Grandmother Invests for her Grandchildren, Crete, 1301 -- 121. Will of Florita, Making Provision for her Old Age, Ravello, 1199 -- 122. Old Women, According to the Poem "Ruodlieb, " Germany, c.1050 -- 123. Epigram on an Old Woman by Ulger, Angers, France, c.1111 -- 124. Old Women as Reliable Witnesses, Venice, 1196 -- 125. Epitaph of the Jewess Scarlatta, Aquileia, Italy, 1140 -- 126. Epitaph of Urania of Worms, Leader of Female Synagogue, Germany, Thirteenth Century -- 127. Epitaphs of Sicardis, Languedoc, 1199 -- 128. The Death of Empress Adelaide, Orbe, Switzerland, 999 -- 129. The Death of Queen Matilda I of Germany, 968 -- 130. Queen Margaret of Scotland's Deathbed, Scotland, 1093 -- 131. Death in Childbirth of Countess Christina of Guînes, Flanders, 2 July 1177 -- 132. Benefactors of the Hôtel-Dieu, Listed for Commemoration, Beauvais, 1292 -- 133. "Competitive" Commemoration after the Death of Queen Matilda II, England, 1118 -- 134. Letter to Einhard Commiserating on the Death of his Wife, Imma, 836 -- 135. Guisanda's Will Disputed, Bari, 1021 -- 136. The Will of Eva Peche Disputed, Cambridge, 1286 -- 137. Beneficiary of a Will, Crete, 1301 -- 138. Commemoration Stone Erected by Helmgöt for his Deceased Wife, Odendis, Sweden, Tenth to Eleventh Centuries -- 139. The Will of Æthelgifu, England, Tenth Century.;Chapter 2: Girls and young women. Introduction -- 22. A Jewish Girl's Charitable Act, Cairo, Mid-eleventh Century -- 23. Little Girls' Pastimes: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century -- 24. Little Girls' Pastimes: Joan of Arc, France, Early Fifteenth Century -- 25. Little Girls at School: Froissart's L'Espinette amoureuse, 1365-72 -- 26. A Young Girl at Work: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century -- 27. A Peasant Girl at Work: Alpais of Cudot, France, Mid-twelfth Century -- 28. A Contract Placing a Girl in Service, Amalfi, 1090 -- 29. Slave Girls Among the Rus', Tenth Century -- 30. Manumission of a Female Slave, Genoa, 12 May 1159 -- 31. Sales of Female Slaves, Crete, 1301 -- 32. A Fugitive Slave, Crete, 1315 -- 33. Anglo-Saxon Customs on Engagement, Eleventh Century -- 34. An Anglo-Jewish Betrothal Contract, 1271 -- 35. A Muslim Girl Sent Early to be Married, Sicily, Twelfth Century -- 36. The Case of Grace of Saleby, England, Twelfth Century -- 37. A Narrow Escape from Assault: Christina of Markyate, Huntingdon, Twelfth Century -- 38. Alleged Rape of an Eleven-year-old Girl, London, 1320 -- 39. Securing a Dowry by Litigation, Calabria, 1093 -- 40. Securing a Dowry by Adoption, Southern Italy, 1170 -- 41. Securing a Dowry through Charity, Trento, 1301 -- 42. Menstruation: St Trophimena Intervenes in a Case of Underage Marriage, Amalfi, Ninth Century -- 43. Innocent III on the Horrors of Menstrual Blood, Italy, Before 1198 -- 44. Unmarried Women and Prostitutes, Paris, c.1200 -- 45. Single Mother's Lament, Germany/France, c.1200 -- 46. Marbod of Rennes, Poem to the Countess Ermengarde of Brittany, France, Early Twelfth Century -- 47. A Wealthy Heiress, England, 1137/8 -- 48. Single Women's Business Transactions, Crete, 1301 -- 49. A Single Woman: Liutberga, Germany, Ninth Century.;91. Pope Gregory IX Pronounces on a Custody Case, Strasbourg, 16 May 1229 -- 92. Eleanor of Provence, Queen of England, Writes to her Son, Edward I, England, 1274-85 -- 93. A Mother Responsible for a Disabled Child, Sicily, 1138 -- 94. Care for a Deaf and Mute Child, Normandy, 1145 -- 95. A Mother Placing her Son into an Apprenticeship, Crete, 1301 -- 96. Will of Gentil, Wife of Jacob of Puigcerda, Pyrenees, 21 November 1306 -- 97. Two Agreements between Mothers and Sons, Crete, 1301 -- 98. A Stepmother Mentioned in Passing, Venice, 1196.;A note on the texts -- A note on dates and currencies -- chapter 1: Birth and infancy. Introduction -- 1. Fear of Giving Birth to the Antichrist, France, Mid-tenth Century -- 2. A Charm to be Spoken During the Birth of a Baby, England, Eleventh Century -- 3. A Pregnant Woman's Delivery of a Stillborn Baby, Normandy, Mid-eleventh Century -- 4. Public Record of the Labour of Isabel de la Cavallería, Zaragoza, 10 January 1490 -- 5. William of Conches on Human Reproduction, Normandy, Mid-twelfth Century -- 6. The Welsh Law of Women on Provision for Mother and Baby, Early Thirteenth Century -- 7. A Bequest of Moveables to a Pregnant Wife, Genoa, 5 March 1156 -- 8. Faked Pregnancies and Substituted Children: Galbert of Bruges on Walter of Vladsloo, Flanders, Early Twelfth Century -- 9. A Substituted Child, Normandy, Eleventh Century -- 10. A Substituted Child, England, Twelfth Century -- 11. Pope Gregory XI Issues a Pardon over a False Pregnancy, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, 27 July 1372 -- 12. Reaction to the Birth of a Daughter: Walter of Châtillon, France, Twelfth Century -- 13. A Jewish Husband in Dispute with his Wife, Cairo, Tenth to Twelfth Centuries -- 14. Conciliar Advice on Lay Baptism, Trier, 1277 -- 15. A Royal Baptism, England, Late Eleventh Century -- 16. A Noblewoman Breastfeeding her own Children: Ida of Bouillon, Eleventh Century -- 17. King Roger of Sicily Rewards the Wet-nurse of his Son, Henry, Southern Italy, 1136 -- 18. Nurse and Infant, Normandy, Mid-eleventh Century -- 19. Nurse and Infant, Normandy, Early Twelfth Century -- 20. Penitential Texts on Child Deaths, Spain, Ninth to Eleventh Centuries -- 21. Care of an Abandoned Baby, Italy, Late Thirteenth Century.;Chapter 3: Married women and mothers. Introduction -- 50. Letter of Einhard's Wife, Imma, on an Illicit Marriage, France, 828-36 -- 51. Barriers to Licit Marriage, Milan, 20 May 822 -- 52. The Ideal Wife Described: Bonizo of Sutri, Italy, Late Eleventh Century -- 53. A Marriage and Wedding Feast, Flanders, Twelfth Century -- 54. The Marriage of Urraca, Spain, c.1082 -- 55. The Blessing of the Marital Bed at the End of the Wedding Day, Flanders, Twelfth Century -- 56. Donation by Bernard of Narbonne to his Wife Ermengarda, Narbonne, 27 August 1031 -- 57. Managing a Dowry, France, Before 1148 -- 58. Regularizing of the Property Surrounding Marriage, Genoa, 1159 -- 59. Customs on the Dowry, Amalfi, Thirteenth Century -- 60. Dowry Payments, Marseilles, 1248 -- 61. A Wife Gives all her Property to her Husband, Barcelona, 3 March 981 -- 62. A Wife Defends the Property Rights of herself and her Husband, Barcelona, 17 October 987.