Considering Medieval Women and Gender

Professor Stuard collects here a set of her articles on women and gender in the Middle Ages, beginning with her first, published in 1975. The first section, on marriage, opens with an exploration of the Ragusa/Dubrovnik archives, reaches out to consider patterns of gift-giving at marriage and of consumption. The second section focuses on slavery, specifically women destined for domestic service. The final parts contain historiographical surveys of the field of women and gender studies, and three biographical studies.

Contents: Preface; Part 1 Autobiography: Latent feminist loosed on medieval history (1935-); Part 2 Dowry, Marriage and Consumption: Dowry increase and increments in wealth in medieval Ragusa (Dubrovnik); Burdens of matrimony: husbanding and gender in medieval Italy; Gravitas and consumption; Marriage gifts and fashion mischief. Part 3 Medieval Women and Slavery: Urban domestic slavery in medieval Ragusa; Ancillary evidence for the decline of medieval slavery; 'Qui natus est de ancilla mea' in medieval church law. Part 4 Historiography and Gender: The Annales school and feminist history: opening dialogue with the American stepchild; A new dimension? North American scholars contribute their perspective; From women to woman: new thinking about gender, c.1140; The chase after theory: considering medieval women; The three-decade transformation: medieval women and the course of history; Eleanor Shipley Duckett (1880-1976): historian of the Latin Middle Ages. Part 5 Medieval Lives; Dame Trot; Bencius del Buono and family; The life of Maria of Venice (1379-1399); Index.

Susan Mosher Stuard is a Professor of History, emerita, at Haverford College, USA