Women and power in the late medieval English village: a reconsideration

Concepts of power which do not assume its emanation purely from institutional forms are here applied to a consideration of women and power within the late medieval peasantry. Women's ability to carry out all the productive tasks in the village, in contrast to men's knowledge of specific tasks only, is analysed and men's greater dependency on women discussed. Examples of female solidarity are considered and data from a specific village are brought to bear on the issue of how women and power might have been experienced 'on the ground'. Finally, differences in peasant men's and women's experience of seigneurial and hierarchical relationships are analysed.