Ladies-In-Waiting in Medieval England

Ladies-in-Waiting in Medieval England examines female attendants who served queens and aristocratic women during the late medieval period. Using a unique set of primary source based statistics, Caroline Dunn reveals that the lady-in-waiting was far more than a pretty girl sewing in the queen's chamber while seeking to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor. Ladies-in-waiting witnessed major historical events of the era and were sophisticated players who earned significant rewards. They had both family and personal interests to advance - through employment they linked kin and court, and through marriage they built bridges between families. Whether royal or aristocratic, ladies-in-waiting worked within gendered spaces, building female-dominated social networks, while also operating within a masculine milieu that offered courtiers of both sexes access to power. Working from a range of sources wider than the subjective anecdote, Dunn presents the first scholarly treatment of medieval English ladies-in-waiting.

List of contents

Introduction; Part I. The People of the Household: 1. The household: size, gender, and recruitment; 2. Marriage and courtier families; Part II. Rhythms of Life: 3. Daily life and domestic duties; 4. Ritual and ceremony; Part III. Power and its Rewards: 5. Authority, influence, and power politics; 6. Rewards for good service; Conclusion: Power, authority, influence, and service; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Caroline Dunn is Associate Professor of Medieval History at Clemson University. She is the author of Stolen Women in Medieval England: Rape, Abduction, and Adultery c. 1110-1500. She was awarded the Bonnie Wheeler Fellowship in 2020.

Product details

• Authors: Caroline Dunn, Caroline (Clemson University Dunn, Dunn Caroline
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.08.2024
• EAN: 9781009457019
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0945701-9
• No. of pages: 362
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; England, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Women, Medieval History, British & Irish history, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Social and cultural history, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Gender studies: women, Social classes, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Classes & Economic Disparity, Gender studies: women and girls, European history: medieval period, middle ages, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval, For higher / tertiary / university education, Relating to higher socioeconomic groups / status