What do you think?
Rate this book
Medieval Maidens: Young Women and Gender in England, 1270-1540
The first study on medieval women to treat young women or 'maidens' separately and at length. The book makes a contribution to gender studies through its study of medieval girls' acquisition of appropriate roles and identities, and their own attitudes towards these roles. Examines the experiences and voices of young womanhood. Provides insights into ideals of feminine gender roles and identities at different social levels.
264 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2003
1 person is currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Kim M. Phillips
11 books3 followersKim Phillips is Associate Professor in History at the University of Auckland, where she previously held the positions of Lecturer (1997-2001) and Senior Lecturer (2001-2013). Kim is originally from Melbourne, Australia, where she completed her BA and BA (Hons) at the University of Melbourne (1991) before receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, UK, where she completed her DPhil (1998).
Kim maintains two main areas of research interest, which she explores both separately and in conjunction with one another. The first is the history of medieval women, gender and sexuality in European societies c. 1100 c. 1550. Histories of life cycle and the body form part of this research strand. The second is representations of foreign lands and peoples in medieval travel and ethnographic writing. Her recent publications include Before Orientalism: Asian Peoples and Cultures in European Travel Writing, 1245-1510 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), A Cultural History of Women in the Middle Ages (as editor) (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), and articles on travel writing in medieval Britain and Europe, and gender and sexuality in the medieval Christian tradition. She is working on articles and chapters on European representations of Chinese cities, foreigners' portrayal of medieval Irish women, the cultural history of hair, and women's bodies in vernacular medical texts.
Kim maintains two main areas of research interest, which she explores both separately and in conjunction with one another. The first is the history of medieval women, gender and sexuality in European societies c. 1100 c. 1550. Histories of life cycle and the body form part of this research strand. The second is representations of foreign lands and peoples in medieval travel and ethnographic writing. Her recent publications include Before Orientalism: Asian Peoples and Cultures in European Travel Writing, 1245-1510 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), A Cultural History of Women in the Middle Ages (as editor) (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), and articles on travel writing in medieval Britain and Europe, and gender and sexuality in the medieval Christian tradition. She is working on articles and chapters on European representations of Chinese cities, foreigners' portrayal of medieval Irish women, the cultural history of hair, and women's bodies in vernacular medical texts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 19, 2017
Thank God there are real scholars out there.
As with the fabulous Social History of Women... by Henrietta Leyser, Kim M. Phillips takes the perpetuating myth of some kind of medieval slave-society and turns it on its head. Where many would beg, and on occasion threaten, you believe women were held in all but chains in the Middle Ages, the former and latter works beg to differ.
Phillips' work focuses on the titular period in medieval womanhood, that of the primarily post-pubescent but pre-marital female, those over twelve up until their early twenties, though does touch a little on the women who never married, but they are not focused on. Medieval youth, even for that of boys, is a rather overlooked period (attempt to find exquisite sources for exactly what boys did during their youth and you'll find them rather scant too), partly due to the fact that is more famous primary sources, this period of female life was not recorded. But of course, England of the 14th century was a record-obsessed treasure trove of court and parish rolls, and so the actions and behaviours of maidens, and the people around them--and the actions of local courts which are pleasantly uplifting in many cases--are brought to fascinating light within them.
Maidenhood was seen as the epitome of the female experience and the height of femininity--virginity was power in the Middle Ages, and it was the strongest card a girl could hold. If you don't believe that, look at the men who had to pay hefty compensation to deflowered girls (and we're not even talking about penetrative rape--rape had many meanings in the MA). Maidens were praised and admired, flaunted at court and tugged in every direction as a means to mould their thinking to how their elders, betters or priests would prefer. Still, the boldness of these maidens, who had a very firm view of where they stood in society, both their local community and, for gentry or nobility, the more courtly side, and their worth for not only their family but for themselves. However, it doesn't mean maidens didn't actively go out and end their own virginity, because they did. But it seems the worst you'd really get for having an illegitimate baby (if it came to that) was a fine from your lord, if that.
There were rules in the ME society that seem terrible and sexist and many people desperately want to believe all men were misogynist pigs back then. Ultimately this is crap. Girls were not tied to the natal homes, but encouraged to go out and experience the world. Service (in noble households, or apprenticeships) was an expected duty, rather than exceptional one, and almost every child in England went into some kind of service or another. Maidens got to experience a muted form of independence, earn a little money to ensure their stability for their, very likely, marriage, and give themselves a better chance of partner. Maidens of lower stations (i.e. not nobility or royalty) had a far freer experience in life than the upper echelons, those in towns and cities got married later than those in the rural communities--though rarely before 17/18 in either, and as late as 24. Maidens in parishes formed their own guilds, raised funds for local projects, entertained their villages and towns at the Spring festivals, and formed a solid and essential part of their community. The power of women has generally always been through words, and girls who were particularly fine at this art could pull their families higher in the social circles, and secure prosperous marriages. Security was king in the Middle Ages--if you don't count the real king.
There's a lot to be said for this book (and I gush all over for the bibliographies at the end of each chapter--so much to know!!), and I wish it was longer, because it serves and an inspiring, fascinating, and corrective text on many levels. If you are interested in the genuine tales of women of all social levels--especially the young--and their roles in medieval England, and want to pop the echo chamber bubble of Third Wavers trying to rewrite history and disenfranchise the hard-won place of women back then, you can't do much better than this text, or Henrietta Leyser's above mentioned work. Women have always been better than the lowest common denominator, and it's worth your time finding this out.
As with the fabulous Social History of Women... by Henrietta Leyser, Kim M. Phillips takes the perpetuating myth of some kind of medieval slave-society and turns it on its head. Where many would beg, and on occasion threaten, you believe women were held in all but chains in the Middle Ages, the former and latter works beg to differ.
Phillips' work focuses on the titular period in medieval womanhood, that of the primarily post-pubescent but pre-marital female, those over twelve up until their early twenties, though does touch a little on the women who never married, but they are not focused on. Medieval youth, even for that of boys, is a rather overlooked period (attempt to find exquisite sources for exactly what boys did during their youth and you'll find them rather scant too), partly due to the fact that is more famous primary sources, this period of female life was not recorded. But of course, England of the 14th century was a record-obsessed treasure trove of court and parish rolls, and so the actions and behaviours of maidens, and the people around them--and the actions of local courts which are pleasantly uplifting in many cases--are brought to fascinating light within them.
Maidenhood was seen as the epitome of the female experience and the height of femininity--virginity was power in the Middle Ages, and it was the strongest card a girl could hold. If you don't believe that, look at the men who had to pay hefty compensation to deflowered girls (and we're not even talking about penetrative rape--rape had many meanings in the MA). Maidens were praised and admired, flaunted at court and tugged in every direction as a means to mould their thinking to how their elders, betters or priests would prefer. Still, the boldness of these maidens, who had a very firm view of where they stood in society, both their local community and, for gentry or nobility, the more courtly side, and their worth for not only their family but for themselves. However, it doesn't mean maidens didn't actively go out and end their own virginity, because they did. But it seems the worst you'd really get for having an illegitimate baby (if it came to that) was a fine from your lord, if that.
There were rules in the ME society that seem terrible and sexist and many people desperately want to believe all men were misogynist pigs back then. Ultimately this is crap. Girls were not tied to the natal homes, but encouraged to go out and experience the world. Service (in noble households, or apprenticeships) was an expected duty, rather than exceptional one, and almost every child in England went into some kind of service or another. Maidens got to experience a muted form of independence, earn a little money to ensure their stability for their, very likely, marriage, and give themselves a better chance of partner. Maidens of lower stations (i.e. not nobility or royalty) had a far freer experience in life than the upper echelons, those in towns and cities got married later than those in the rural communities--though rarely before 17/18 in either, and as late as 24. Maidens in parishes formed their own guilds, raised funds for local projects, entertained their villages and towns at the Spring festivals, and formed a solid and essential part of their community. The power of women has generally always been through words, and girls who were particularly fine at this art could pull their families higher in the social circles, and secure prosperous marriages. Security was king in the Middle Ages--if you don't count the real king.
There's a lot to be said for this book (and I gush all over for the bibliographies at the end of each chapter--so much to know!!), and I wish it was longer, because it serves and an inspiring, fascinating, and corrective text on many levels. If you are interested in the genuine tales of women of all social levels--especially the young--and their roles in medieval England, and want to pop the echo chamber bubble of Third Wavers trying to rewrite history and disenfranchise the hard-won place of women back then, you can't do much better than this text, or Henrietta Leyser's above mentioned work. Women have always been better than the lowest common denominator, and it's worth your time finding this out.
November 17, 2012
Kim Phillips uses a wide range of sources to provide a fascinating insight into the lives of English young women during the later middle ages. Whilst the author makes it clear that young women's lives were 'strongly shaped by community and social status, as well as by expectations of gender', she pieces together a complex, nuanced interpretation that emphasizes the diversity of individual experiences. This is very much a scholarly work, but I would recommend this book to anybody with a serious interest in late medieval English society.
October 10, 2023
An accessible overview of the economic and social trends of high to late (mostly late) medieval maidenhood, somewhat limited by the lack of viable sources on the subject (not at all the author's fault) and by the author's understandable but overstressed anxiety about readers projecting a modern feminist/medieval fantasy lens upon historical women. Phillips's interest in this text is primarily economic, and each section spends roughly equal time discussing the variations of maidenhood for wealthy, middle-class, and poor women, though of course references are more readily available for certain subtopics than others. I was somewhat disappointed by the book's perfunctory acknowledgement of lesbianism in an otherwise well-balanced discussion of sexuality.
Extremely useful bibliographies, organized by topic, are included for further reading. I found the wealth of sources on the medieval English (& beyond) concept of feminine vs. masculine maturity and the somewhat nebulous age of majority for each to be incredibly helpful to my own research. This section is the gem of the book, in my opinion, and is more clearly laid out here (and with more nuance) than pretty much any other discussion of the subject I've read. If you're new to the topic and your head is full of pop culture images ten-year-old child brides as the medieval norm, Phillips's lessons on the stretchy period of medieval adolescence and first marriages will surprise and possibly relieve you. If you're coming in with some background knowledge, you'll find ample material to broaden your understanding.
A worthwhile read for students of medieval history, written by a clearly communicating but cautious historian. Suitable for entry-level readers of the subject, but the average reader will greatly benefit from having some basic knowledge of major late medieval and early Renaissance events.
Extremely useful bibliographies, organized by topic, are included for further reading. I found the wealth of sources on the medieval English (& beyond) concept of feminine vs. masculine maturity and the somewhat nebulous age of majority for each to be incredibly helpful to my own research. This section is the gem of the book, in my opinion, and is more clearly laid out here (and with more nuance) than pretty much any other discussion of the subject I've read. If you're new to the topic and your head is full of pop culture images ten-year-old child brides as the medieval norm, Phillips's lessons on the stretchy period of medieval adolescence and first marriages will surprise and possibly relieve you. If you're coming in with some background knowledge, you'll find ample material to broaden your understanding.
A worthwhile read for students of medieval history, written by a clearly communicating but cautious historian. Suitable for entry-level readers of the subject, but the average reader will greatly benefit from having some basic knowledge of major late medieval and early Renaissance events.
October 17, 2014
Very informative; gives a different picture of being female in the Medieval period than what we've traditionally been led to believe.
Read
February 2, 2018305.24209 P5617 2003
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews