Medieval Women and Urban Justice

Teresa Phipps is Honorary Research Fellow at Swansea University

'Medieval town life has been heralded for offering women increased opportunities for economic activity and social advancement. However, the study of women in urban judicial courts complicates this picture by reporting occasions in which women violated principles of peace and equity or were themselves victims of violation. Phipps (Swansea Univ., UK) samples the legal records of the medium-sized English towns Nottingham, Chester, and Winchester, showing them to be rich sources of social history for better understanding urban justice. The cases indicate that women’s legal action was not defined primarily or solely by gender, as they were perpetrators or victims of the same kinds of misbehavior as men. Although marriage technically transferred a woman’s legal responsibility to her husband—the concept of coverture—town courts held flexible ideas about how to apply this at least until the mid-15th century, not hesitating to find a woman fully responsible for some crimes. The study of debt litigation, regulation of work and trade, public disorder, and verbal disturbances sheds light on women’s roles in urban settings, where justice and peacekeeping were seriously pursued for the profit and well-being of all within their walls.'--L. C. Attreed, College of the Holy CrossSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.'Dr Phipps’ book is undoubtedly a valuable contribution to the scholarship in this field and will appeal to a wide readership.'Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Dr Shaun D. McGuinness'In this meticulously researched book, Teresa Phipps surfaces the working lives of women in three medieval English towns—Nottingham, Chester, and Winchester—through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of their appearances in legal records, often in the context of commercial disputes.'Speculum

• Introduction 1 Women, town courts and customary law in context2 Commerce, credit and coverture: women and debt litigation 3 Law and the regulation of women’s work4 Violence, property and ‘bad speech’: women and trespass litigation5 Public disorder, policing and misbehaving womenConclusionBibliographyIndex