in GENDER HISTORY Series editors: Pam Sharpe, Patricia Skinner and Penny Summerfield (cid:1)(cid:2) The expansion of research into the history of women and gender since the 1970s has changed the face of history. Using the insights of feminist theory and of historians of women, gender historians have explored the configura- tion in the past of gender identities and relations between the sexes. They have also investigated the history of sexuality and family relations, and analysed ideas and ideals of masculinity and femininity. Yet gender history has not abandoned the original, inspirational project of women’s history: to recover and reveal the lived experience of women in the past and the present. The series Gender in History provides a forum for these developments. Its historical coverage extends from the medieval to the modern periods, and its geographical scope encompasses not only Europe and North America but all corners of the globe. The series aims to investigate the social and cultural constructions of gender in historical sources, as well as the gendering of historical discourse itself. It embraces both detailed case studies of spe- cific regions or periods, and broader treatments of major themes. Gender in History titles are designed to meet the needs of both scholars and students working in this dynamic area of historical research. Noblewomen, aristocracy and power in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm (cid:1) (cid:2) i Seal of Alice, Countess of Northampton (1140–60, Egerton Ch.431). Reproduced by permission of the British Library (cid:1) (cid:2) ii NOBLEWOMEN, ARISTOCRACY POWER AND in the twelfth-century anglo-norman realm (cid:1) (cid:2) Susan M. Johns Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave (cid:1) (cid:2) iii Copyright © Susan M. Johns 2003 The right of Susan M. Johns to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester m139nr, UK and Room 400,175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny10010, USA Distributed exclusively in Canada by UBC Press University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada v6t1z2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for isbn 0719063043 hardback 0719063051 paperback First published 2003 111009080706050403 10987654321 Typeset in Minion with Scala Sans display by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow (cid:1) (cid:2) iv For Tim Thornton (cid:1) (cid:2) v (cid:1) (cid:2) vi Contents tables and figures page viii preface ix abbreviations xi 1 introduction 1 part i Literary sources 2 Power and portrayal 13 3 Patronage and power 30 part ii Noblewomen and power: the charter evidence 4 Countesses 53 5 Witnessing 81 6 Countergifts and affidation 107 7 Seals 122 8 Women of the lesser nobility 152 9 Royal inquests and the power of noblewomen: the Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus of 1185 165 10 conclusion 195 appendix 1 Catalogue of seals from the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries 203 appendix 2 Noblewomen in the Rotuli de Dominabus 231 bibliography 247 index 269 (cid:1) (cid:2) vii Tables and figures tables 1 Ages of widows in the Rotuli de Dominabus page 174 2 Widows’ children 175 3 Economic resources 178 4 Age of widows and nature of land tenure ranked according to wealth 180 5 The nature of the widows’ lands 183 6 Percentage of sample holding by different forms of tenure, according to overall value 184 figures 1 The earls of Chester in the eleventh and twelfth centuries 55 2 The genealogy of Muriel de Munteni 154 (cid:1) (cid:2) viii Preface This book began life as a Ph.D. thesis, supervised by Professor David Bates during his time at Cardiff. I had been won over to medieval his- tory, in spite of the excitements of more modern history so ably taught by such as Professor Dai Smith and Professor Harry Hearder, through the willingness of Professor Bates to incorporate a modern approach to the study of medieval history. In particular, the challenge offered by the history of noblewomen in the twelfth century was one that was hard to turn down. The debates surrounding women’s history, and the new approaches to the history of the high Middle Ages in the British Isles which Professor Bates and others were developing offered tempting pros- pects – as too did the frequent affirmations from many to whom I spoke that my particular subject was impossible as material for a Ph.D. One who did not, and who was fortuitously the external examiner for medieval history at the time, Professor Janet Nelson, was particularly supportive (and has remained so over the whole course of the project). Also, Professor David Crouch was kind enough to allow me access to his Comital Acta project. I was especially fortunate to get a job teaching at the University of Huddersfield when I was only two and a half years into my research, an appointment to replace Professor Pauline Stafford during her British Academy Research Readership. This period of research leave produced Queen Emma and Queen Edith, and for me it allowed a very fruitful collaboration with one of the most important scholars of medieval women anywhere in the world. Working there also brought into sharp focus the need for historians to be aware of the need for their work to excite and stimulate the next generation of scholars. Shortly before leaving Cardiff for Huddersfield, I was able to take up a research fellowship at the Central European University, owing to the kindness of Professor Bak. This allowed further reflection, especially on the way that scholarship on medieval women and power was devel- oping across Europe. I have, therefore, been fortunate in being inspired and supported in this project by a particularly distinguished group of scholars. It could not have been written without their direct and indirect con- tributions; I am only too conscious, on the other hand, that its short- comings remain my own. Trish Skinner has been a very supportive series editor. (cid:1) (cid:2) ix