The Invisible Majority: A Pathfinder on Secular Non-Noble Women of the Middle Ages

The Invisible Majority A Pathfinder on Secular Non-Noble Women of the Middle Ages
Browsing areas	Click on the image to see a larger version	Monographs
Bibliographies and Indexes		Women's History Reference
Essay Collections		Frequently Mentioned Texts
Medieval History Reference		Articles
Journals

Introduction

The past three decades have seen an acceleration of interest and research into women's studies, particular that of the Middle Ages. Secular women of non-noble social status remain underrepresented in research, however, due in part to lack of primary sources. A few standard works exist in the field, but a significant amount of the scholarly research has been confined to essays and journal articles.

Scope

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of women's studies, students can be easily frustrated by attempts to tame the flood of materials available. The goal of this pathfinder is to identify key resources available to undergraduate and graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill concerning the employment and family lives of non-noble medieval women and guide students to the location of further resources directly related to their specific topic. Time period covered by the resources selected is approximately 500-1500 C.E.

Subject Headings
Because the study of women in history can be considered in many disciplines, a large numbers of subject heading searches in the online catalog will produce results relevant to the topic. The folowing selected subject headings produce the most relevant results to the study of the work anf family history of non-noble medieval women.

Conducting a subject heading search in UNC's online catalog using the following headings will yield relevant hits:

women-history-Middle Ages 500-1500
women--Europe, Western--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500.
social history- Medieval 500-1500
women-employment-Europe-history
occupations-Europe-history
women-Europe-economic conditions
prostitution-Europe-history
Family-History
Marriage--Europe-History
City and town life--Europe--History--To 1500.
Country life--Europe--History--To 1500
Civilization, Medieval (subdivided by time, then topic)
Motherhood--Europe-History
Mothers--Europe-History
Europe--Social conditions--To 1492

Browsing Areas
Because women's studies is an interdisciplinary topic, works related to non-noble medieval women can be found throughout the libraries. Consideration has been confined to copies of works in Davis Library (Davis or Davis Ref), the Library at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS), or the Undergraduate Library (UL). Note that all Undergraduate Library holdings are in storage at the time this pathfinder is being constructed.

Call Number	Location	Subject
HQ	Davis fifth floor	Women's Studies
CB	Davis third floor	Medieval History
HD	Davis fifth floor	Women at work

Current issues of periodicals are shelved in alphabetical order on the first floor of Davis.

Medieval History General Reference Sources
These general reference sources can provide the researcher with background information on the Middle Ages. They are only the most general of resources, but can be a good starting point for research. The books listed below are housed in both Davis Reference and Davis Stacks.

The Cambridge Medieval History. New York: Macmillan, 1911-1936.
[Davis Ref and Davis D117.C3]
An older, multi-volume source for background information on the Middle Ages. Each volume is divided into narrowly focused chapters. The end of each volume concludes with a bibliography and index for its chapters. Although opinions about social history might have changed since this work was published, it is still a standard reference source for a student of the Middle Ages.

Mackay, Angus, ed.Atlas of Medieval Europe. London: Routledge Press, 1997.
[Davis RefG1791.M2 1997]
More than just an atlas, this work presents over 140 maps with explanatory text. The notes written by European scholars range from short descriptions to two page articles. Includes bibliographies on 90 topics, along with an index for the work.

Medieval Studies: an Introduction. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1992.
[Davis Ref and Davis D116 .M4 1992]
This general reference work is designed to offer the student "a convenient orientation in the field." It includes essays by various authors who write on a wide range of topics. Bibliographical footnotes and/or substantial bibliographies at the end of each chapter cover publications from the mid- to late 1980s.

Newman, Paul B. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2001.
[Davis CB353.N46 2001]
In his introduction, Newman admits to making generalizations and focusing his work on the time period 1000-1400. When taken with these limitations and used as a general reference work, this work can be helpful to the beginning student. Its index, illustrations, and informal writing style make it an easy read. Information on medieval women is liberally integrated throughout the text while there is a significant chunk of information on women healers specifically.

Storey, R.L. Chronology of the Medieval World, 800 to 1491. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1973.
[Davis Ref D118 .S855 1973]
Especially for the beginning student, this is a valuable timeline giving a year-by-year outline of medieval history. The book's left-hand pages show the political events of each year, while facing pages show developments in such varied fields as law, education, and philosophy. For ease of reference, it includes an index makes to persons, places, subjects and titles of books or artworks mentioned in the book.

Vauchez, Andre, ed. Translated by Adrian Walford. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Cambridge: James Clarke and Co., 2000.
[Davis Ref CB351.E53 2000]
This two-volume work serves as an excellent reference for the undergraduate student (or more advanced scholar) studying any aspect of the Middle Ages. Its lengthy articles cover a wide range of topics and are accessible to varying backgrounds of learning. The author of each article is clearly noted at the end of the entry. This work stands out against other general reference sources most notably by its abundant illustrations, bibliographies, and truly useful index.

Women's History General Reference Sources
These general reference works can provide the researcher with background information on women's history and the field of women's studies. They are only the most general of resources, but can be a good starting point for research. The books listed below are housed in both Davis Reference and Davis Stacks.

Buck, Hope Marion. Non-Noble Women in Western Europe in the High Middle Ages. Chapel Hill, 1931.
[Davis Thesis 378.756 History B992n ]
Although merely an unpublished thesis, this work serves as an interesting attempt to discuss medieval women of the non-noble classes before women's studies was a popular field. Buck testifies as to the lack of writing about these women, who made up the social majority, a fact that still holds true today. Her bibliography provides a look at older resources in the field.

Greenspan, Karen. The Timetables of Women's History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in Women's History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
[Davis Ref and UL HQ1121.G74 1994]
This work is a unique attempt to identify the key events and people in women's history. Easy to use, this work is designed for browsing. Its woodcuts and longer articles on select topics flesh out its basic premise.

Parry, Melanie, ed. Larousse Dictionary of Women. New York: Larousse, 1996.
[Davis Ref HQ1115.L37]
A listing of specific women in history. Its aim, according to the introduction, it to provide "concise biographies of the women commonly perceived to be 'famous' as well as hundreds who seem to have been marginalized until now and deserve to be brought to attention." Noteworthy for its listing of specific names among the vast nameless study of women in history.

Power, Eileen. Edited by M.M. Postan. Medieval Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
[Davis HQ1143.P68 1975]
This work is a collection of essays, originally given as talks to the general public in the 1920's. Subjects covered include working women and the education of women. Because of the original audience, the essays are easy to read and can serve as a solid introduction to the study of medieval women.

Searing, Susan E. Introduction to Library Research in Women's Studies. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1985.
[Davis, UL and SILS Z7961 .S42 1985]
Provides directions for devising a research strategy, describes sources of information in various formats available inside and outside the library, and offers annotated lists of women's studies sources in specific disciplines.

Bibliographies and Indexes
The following bibliographies and indexes refer the researcher to recent electronic and print publications. Not all resources listed in these works can be found in the UNC Libraries; the researcher will need to search the catalog to verify their presence in UNC's libraries.

Feminist Studies Collections
An index to internet resources related to women's history, compiled by Kathy Kerns, reference librarian at Stanford University. Listing of resources is brief but valuable. Links to resources across the country and those created in-house at Stanford. Very clear layout and recently updated.

Medieval Feminist Index
This website hosted and co-coordinated by a librarian at Haverford College attempts to organize the explosion of materials related to women in the Middle Ages published over the last two decades. The volunteers and advisory board members are librarians and scholars from across the country (including Judith Bennett, professor of history at UNC). The basic and advanced search functions make this website a powerful index. Note that clicking on "other resources" from homepage will provide links to other quality internet resources.

International Medieval Bibliography [Davis Ref Row 16 Z6205 .I585, Davis Ref CD]
This annual print publication indexes journal articles, colloquium papers, and essays treating medieval topics from 284-1500. It covers a wide array of topics including such areas as archaeology, architecture, arts, canon law, daily life, ecclesiastical history, folk studies, historiography, language, literature, military history, music, philosophy, political thought, social history, and theology. The cited items are arranged by topic, then subdivided by geographic area. An author index and an extensive subject index included at the end of each volume increases ease of use as a general reference source.
While the print version of this resource can be somewhat cumbersome, the CD-ROM version provides condensed, searchable access. Davis' collection of cd-roms covers citations from 1970-1996. Annual updates and backfiles are scheduled for production. It is housed in the Davis electronic reference area with other cd-roms.

ISI Citations Index (Web of Science)
Although complicated to use, this database indexes the major journals in the field, including Speculum, The American Historical Review, and Journal of Women's History. As a citation index, this database is most useful in determining the importance of a work or tracing the history of someone's research. It is available through UNC Library's homepage, e-indexes and databases.

Sheehan, Michael M. Domestic Society in Medieval Europe: A Select Bibliography. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1990.
[Davis Z7164.M2 S46 1990]
As per the preface, "this bibliography is intended to provide preliminary orientation for the study of medieval European demography and kinship, family and marriage, various special groups related to the family or excluded from it and the attitudes of the population to each of these institution and groups." Sheehan helpfully divides each major category, such as "women" into subcategories such as "general studies surveys collections, religious perspectives, secular perspectives, economic considerations, and education culture society." The table of contents serves as the subject index, while an author/editor index is provided at the end.

Van Caenegem, R.C. Guide to the Sources of Medieval History. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company, 1978.
[Davis and Davis Ref Desk D117 .C2213].
More than a simple bibliography, van Caenegem has produced an orientation to existing resources and the development of critical scholarship in the field. Some of the bibliographies he identifies are out of date, but the indispensable works are standards.

Journals
Scholarly journals contain the most recent and varied research in their fields. Due to the lack of primary resources about non-noble medieval women, short journal articles are often the preferred means of publication. Again, the study of women in this time period is cross-disciplinary; articles about the economic status of medieval women can even be found in the Journal of Agricultural History. The following journals have had a significant number of scholarly publications on non-noble medieval women in recent years.

The American Historical Review
Davis E171 .A57
Full-text back issues available online through JSTOR
The American Historical Review is the scholarly publication of the American Historical Society. Despite its deceptive name, this publication covers all fields of historical study. The Society's primary mission is the dissemination and evaluation of historical scholarship in a variety of areas. Back issues availabe through JSTOR can be searched or browsed.

Journal of Family History
Davis HQ503 .J67
UNC has entire run, from 1976 forward.
Journal of Family History was founded by the National Council on Family Relations in recognition of the maturity of the cross-disciplinary field of family history. It publishes bibliographies, scholarly articles, and reviews of notable works in the field.

Journal of Women's History
Davis HQ1101 .J68 recent issues also online
UNC has entire run from 1989 forward.
TheJournal of Women's History was founded in an attempt to legitimize the field of women's studies and make sense of the rapid growth of material on the subject. It seeks to publish cutting edge scholarship by both established scholars and younger historians.

Medieval Feminist Newsletter
Davis HQ1143 .M42
UNC holds no.6-27(1988-1999:spring)
Continued by Medieval Feminist Forum 1999-
Published by the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, the Medieval Feminist Newsletter and its successor, Medieval Feminist Forum, are committed to historically based feminist scholarship. Although each issue of this publication is small, with about three scholarly articles, it is very focused on the feminist perspective of the Middle Ages. Articles range across the disciplines and even vary in their view of feminism.

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society
Davis HQ1101 .S5
UNC has entire run, from 1975 forward.
Signs is a leading interdisciplinary journal dealing with historical and contemporary issues in women's studies. Although rare, Signs has carried notable articles about non-noble medieval women in recent years.

Speculum
Davis PN661 .S6
Back issues available online through JSTOR
Published by the Medieval Academy of America, Speculum is the oldest American journal devoted to medieval studies. UNC has its entire run, beginning with volume one in 1926. Simply subtitled "a journal of medieval studies," Speculum is the standard scholarly journal for medieval studies. Its geographic focus is on Western Europe, but it accepts articles from across continent and across disciplines. High quality book reviews are included at the end of each issue. Back issues available through JSTOR can be searched or browsed.

Frequently Mentioned Texts
The following works are considered the current standards in research on the common woman of the Middle Ages and are frequently cited in newer research. Most of the authors are still publishing research, and any student would be well-advised to search for new material by these scholars.

Bennett, Judith M., et al, eds. Sisters and Workers in the Middle Ages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
[Davis HD1143.S55 1989]
Although half of the collected essays concern religious women, the work contains useful essays for the study of lower-class secular women. It includes a classic study of London silk workers, along with women healers and prostitutes.

Hanawalt, Barbara. The Ties That Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England. New York : Oxford University Press, 1986.
[Davis HQ615 .H36 1986]
This work is a general treatise on the medieval family in England. Provides a broad background to the role women played in family. Received positive reviews for its overall excellence and extensive evidence through the use of coroner's reports. Cited in a number of other works on this pathfinder, including Daughters, Wives, and Widows.

Hanawalt, Barbara, ed. Women and Work in Pre-Industrial Europe. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.
[Davis and UL HD6059.5W65 1986].
A collection of essays full of both solid and groundbreaking research in its field. Includes citations and a useful index.

Herlihy, David. Opera Muliebria: Women and Work in Medieval Europe. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.
[Davis HD6134 .H47 1990b]
Using a variety of primary sources, Herlihy pieces together the change in women's work from the low to high Middle Ages. Particularly interesting is his discussion of the great amount of freedom women experienced in the workforce during the early Middle Ages. With a lengthy index and clear division of the chapter (by geographical area, time, or profession), this work is easily accessible to research.

Labarge, Margaret Wade. A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
[Davis and UL HQ1147.E853 L33 1986]
This work quickly became a standard in the field, partly because of its aim to the general reader. The comprehensive index contributes to its use as a reference source. Labarge gives equal coverage to all classes of medieval women, including women on the fringes of society. Her list of further readings, provided at the end of the book, is a well-organized topical bibliography to major sources.

Shulamith, Shahar. Translated by Chaya Galai. The Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages. London: Methuen, 1983.
[Davis HQ1147.E85 S5213 1983]
Through analysis of primary documents Shulamith creates a guide to women living in the high Middle Ages. Because of the solid research and broad approach of the work, it can be useful as a reference guide or textbook. Because this work has been twice translated, from Hebrew to German, then German to English, more advanced students may want to study the primary sources themselves.

Stuard, Susan Mosher, ed. Women in Medieval History and Historiography. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 1987.
[Davis HQ1143.W635 1987]
This is a study of the field of study. Intended for researchers who wants to learn more about the history of research into medieval women. Although it makes for a difficult read, it offers valuable ideas.

Essay Collections
The lack of primary resources about non-noble medieval women often means that scholars have only enough material to publish an essay or an article. Included in the list below are standard texts in the field and works edited by noted scholars.

Charles, Lindsey and Lorna Duffin, eds. Women and Work in Pre-Industrial England. London: Croom Helm, 1985.
[Davis HD6136 .W66 1985]
A collection of five papers for upper-level undergraduates on women and work in England from 1300 to 1800. A minimal index at the end makes it cumbersome to use, but abundant citations provided at the end of each essay are an easily accessed tool.

Edwards, Robert and Vickie Ziefgler, eds. Matrons and Marginal Women in Medieval Society. Woodbridge, England: Boydell Press, 1995.
[Davis HQ1147. E85 M38 1995].
A unique collection of essays addressing two opposites in female society-the respected matron and the marginal women often degraded by their society. The essays fill a void in research on women who lived outside of normal families or worked outside accepted professions. Each essays is brief and easily read, but unfortunately no index has been provided to ease research.

Ennen, Edith. The Medieval Woman. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, Ltd., 1989.
[Davis HQ1143.E5613 1989]
As indicated by the title, this is a very general work, most usefully to the student beginning research on a topic in medieval women's histories. Ennen produced a very accessible work divided by time period and with a good index. This work is also notable because it cites a number of German sources not used by other researchers.

Herlihy, David. Women, Family and Society in Medieval Europe: Historical Essays, 1978-1991. Providence: Berghahn Books, 1995.
[Davis HQ1147.E85 H47 1995]
A collection of essays by the noted scholar David Herlihy. The main focus of the essays is geographically on Italy. This geographic focus makes the work valuable because the majority of available resources have a northern European bias.

Mitchell, Linda Elizabeth, ed. Women in Medieval Western European Culture. New York: Garland Pub, 1999.
[Davis and UL HQ1147.E85 W655 1999]
This work is a collection of essays coverings very specific topics within the realm of medieval women' studies. Chapters three and fourteen, on peasants and working women in the city, respectively, are of particular importance to this pathfinder. Mitchell has done an extraordinary job compiling her selection of essays; the glossary, bibliography, and index make this work exceptional beyond its text.

Stuard, Susan Mosher, ed. Women in Medieval Society. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc., 1976.
[Davis HQ1143.W64]
Mosher here collects a group of previously published essays on woman's diminishing role in the high Middle Ages. She provides a bibliography of the standards and the most recent works in the field. This work is valuable as a re-collection to students because the impact of individual articles is more pronounced when side by side.

Monographs
The following books each provide lenghthy discussion of a unique topic, varying from family life to prostitution.

Atkinson, Clarissa. The Oldest Vocation: Christian Motherhood in the Middle Ages. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
[Davis HQ759 .A84 1991]
According to the author, "this work belongs to the history of ideas more than to social history." Her analysis of theological texts and women's personal writings shows that medieval ideologies of motherhood did influence women's daily lives and proves the work's usefulness as a social history.

Cosman, Madeleine Pelner. Women at Work in Medieval Europe. New York: Facts on File, 2000.
[Davis HD6134.C67 2000]
Although written by a medical lawyer, this work contains solid research into the professional lives of medieval women. Cosman covers the major professions exercised by women, with a full chapter on medical women, reflecting her interests and background. The index and detailed references make this book easy to use.

Ide, Arthur Frederick. Special Sisters: Woman in the European Middle Ages. Mesquite, Texas: Ide House, Inc., 1983.
[Davis HQ1147.E85 I29 1983]
A brief but useful index is provided at the end of this varied work. Solid research throughout, particularly in its discussion of women and work in the Middle Ages.

Leyser, Henrietta. Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500.
[Davis HQ1147.G7 L496 1995b]
Thoroughly covers times indicated in the title, from the Anglo-Saxons to early modern England. Its extensive citations, index, and list of primary sources make it useful as a research tool. It is particularly useful for its chapters six and seven covering sex, marriage, motherhood, and women at work.

Mate, Mavis. Daughters, Wives and Widows After the Black Death: Women in Sussex, 1350-1535. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1998.
[Davis HQ1147. E6 M38 1998]
Mate uses existing records, mainly for the bourgeoisie and upper class, to draw conclusions about lower-class women. Very specific in regional and temporal scope. Includes extensive citations and bibliography, along with a helpful index.

Rossiaud, Jacques. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Medieval Prostitution. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.
[UL HQ115 .R6713 1995]
Although not indicated in title, this monograph focuses its attention on southeastern France while only summarily mentioning the rest of Europe. It is useful for its summary of the moral treatment of prostitution, one of the most documented female professions, by contemporaries from 1200 to 1400.

Shahar, Shulamith. Translated from the Hebrew by Yael Lotan. Growing Old in the Middle Ages: 'Winter Clothes Us in Shadow and Pain.' London: Routledge, 1997.
[Davis HQ1064.E8 S5313 1997]
Shahar has proven herself a noteworthy, though sometimes controversial, scholar in the field of medieval history. She focuses this effort on the changing role a medieval citizen faced as he or she aged. Although not devoted to the study of women, this work is unique in its focus on the evolution of family life and can therefore serve as a valuable resource.

Articles
Due to the lack of primary resources about non-noble medieval women, short journal articles are often the preferred means of publication in the field. These articles are representative of the amazing variety of topics covered in scholarly journals.

Bennett, Judith. "History that Stands Still: Women's Work in the European Past." Feminist Studies. v.14 (1988): 269-283.
[Davis HQ1101.F4]
This article is a summary of the oppression of female workers throughout European history. It is a standard in the research of medieval women's work outside of the home.

Dale, Marian K. "London Silkwomen of the Fifteenth Century." Economic History Review. V.4 (1933): 324-335.
[Davis HC10.E4]
Although very specific in region and time, this article is a standard in research on medieval women's professional lives. Its age has not diminished its worth, a common fact that needs to be stressed to students in history.

Shank, M.H. "A Female University Student in Late Medieval Krakow." Signs. 12:2 (1987): 373-385.
[Davis HQ1101 .S5]
This article illustrates the esoteric nature of Signs, which seems to attract noteworthy but unusual articles. Since published research on medieval women is unevenly balanced in favor of Western Europe, this article provides valuable information about women's lives in Eastern Europe.

All resources in this pathfinder can be found through searching the UNC Library's online catalog.
This pathfinder was created as part of an assignment for INLS-111, taken in the fall of 2001
at the School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Please send questions or comments to Alicia Whisnant.
Links last verified 12/09/2001