Ellen Kittell | University of Idaho (original) (raw)
Papers by Ellen Kittell
Social History, 2016
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, afford... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs' accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this article argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, legally or economically. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behaviour as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for 'women whose spouses are deceased' , destabilized the very concept of 'widow' itself. And if it should happen that two should come together by marriage, of whom the one is a draper and the other is of another trade, [it shall be permitted] that each may ply his/her own trade.
Journal of Women's History, 2011
: In his account of 18 September 1379, the bailiff of the Vier Ambachten, a rural circumscription... more : In his account of 18 September 1379, the bailiff of the Vier Ambachten, a rural circumscription in Flanders, noted that a woman was to be fined “only half as much as a man.†This assertion “of half value,†however, was the first of its kind. An examination of early fourteenth-century Flemish accounts indicates that the “half-value†principle never found
Social History, 2016
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, afford... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs’ accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this essay argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, or legally. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behavior as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for ‘women whose spouses are deceased’, destabilised the very concept of ‘widow’ itself.
Journal of Social History, 1998
Page 1. GUARDIANSHIP OVER WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS: A REAPPRAISAL By Ellen E. Kittell Universit... more Page 1. GUARDIANSHIP OVER WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS: A REAPPRAISAL By Ellen E. Kittell University of Idaho Recent debates in premodern women's history have focused on women's social and legal position. ...
The Historian, Dec 22, 2006
Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / 81 Après les entrées du roi et de la reine, il y a eu deux rencon... more Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / 81 Après les entrées du roi et de la reine, il y a eu deux rencontres entre le conseil du roi et les représentants de la ville pour discuter des difficultés financières de Lyon et des répercussions diplomatiques et militaires après la visite royale au Piémond. Le mardi fut destiné aux jeux nautiques, qu'Henri II apprécie, et à la remise de deux sculptures en or, réalisées par l'orfèvre Jehan Delabarre et dessinées par Bernard Salomon d'une valeur totale de mille trois cents ecus. Le montant est chiffré exactement, mais il est bien moindre que celui des cadeaux faits à Paris. Ces précisions sont importantes; elles témoignent de la volonté de la ville de faire connaître la valeur exacte des cadeaux: signe de richesse et de prospérité pour la ville, ainsi qu'un signe de fierté; c'est aussi une valeur de négociation et d'affirmation d'une ville fidèle au roi. La reine reçoit un deuxième cadeau, une fleur de lys (symbole de la France et de Rorence) en or de cinquante centimètres de haut. Le banquet est offert par Hyppolite d'Esté dans la Maison de Rontalon, propriété de l'archevêque. Puis ont lieu la visite du nouveau jeu de paume, à l'heure du thé, une promenade sur l'eau, le dîner à l'Archevêché et le théâtre italien. En 1622, l'entrée de Louis XIII changera de circuit et se prolongera dans l'espace et dans le temps. Ces relations d'entrée, intéressantes en elles-mêmes, acquièrent tout leur sens lorsqu'elles sont lues en série. Et Richard Cooper réussit très bien à mettre en perspective cette entrée d'Henri
Von Menschen und ihren Zeit, 1990
Over the course of the year 1323, the city of Ypres repeatedly purchased construction materials f... more Over the course of the year 1323, the city of Ypres repeatedly purchased construction materials from a woman identified alternatively as Beatris Hauwers and as Beatris wife of Jean le Hauwere. 1 (See #1 on the handout.) The wording in the second example subtly shifts the focus away from Beatris herself to Jehan, her spouse, who is not even present for the transaction in question. In contrast, the former description, Beatris Hauwers, which appears four times more often than the latter, implies agency. This is because the focus here is not on situating her (as 'other') within a network of patriarchal family relations, but simply on the person herself, from whom the city happened to be buying the construction material it required.
Cities in medieval Flanders were often so populated that clerks making notations in mundane admi... more Cities in medieval Flanders were often so populated that clerks making notations in mundane administrative records could not identify everyone who came before them. They thus had to ask even women to identify themselves. Women, for their part, could consequently avoid being slotted into gendered categories – “daughter,” “wife,” “widow”– that marked them as the “Other.” Being relatively free to choose which identificatory information was most useful within a given context militated against the rigid socially constructed formulas of identification. The minimal use of such formulas failed to shift “otherness” from officials to the faceless (but not nameless) individuals who populated their records.
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affor... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs’ accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this essay argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, or legally. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behavior as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for ‘women whose spouses are deceased’, destabilised the very concept of ‘widow’ itself.
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 1983
... Donald E. Queller and Ellen E. Kittell. ... 'as contes des baillius darrainement pas... more ... Donald E. Queller and Ellen E. Kittell. ... 'as contes des baillius darrainement passés, pardevant les foiaules gens mondit seigneur : c'est à savoir mon signour Sohier de Bailleul, mon signeurWauter de Coder, chevaliers, maistre Jakemon de Donse, recheveur de Flandre, Lotin de ...
Continuity and Change, 2013
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern …, Jan 1, 2000
In the mid-thirteenth century, the aldermen of Douai began issuing a series of ordinances for the... more In the mid-thirteenth century, the aldermen of Douai began issuing a series of ordinances for the regulation of the city's social and economic life. 1 They often addressed issues concerning particular groups -citizens, practitioners of a certain trade, those who brewed beer, and so forth. Typically these ordinances paired terms that explicitly specified both genders, such as borgois u borgoise, taneres u taneresse, cervoisiers ne cervoisiere, cils ne celes, or hom ne feme. 2 What makes such dyadic reference unusual is the status with which it invests both members of the dyad. The aldermen's routine use of genderspecific dyadic formulas reveals that the social and economic participation of women in Douai was perceived not as exceptional or "marked," but rather as the norm, virtually on par with that of males. And while dyadic usage in no way implies the existence of a golden age for women in this city, 3 its prevalence suggests nothing less radical than the claim that the city did not reckon its population in terms of patriarchally headed households, but rather in terms of workers. The constant reiteration of both genders renders implausible any assumption that one (the female) is conventionally subsumed into a household publicly represented by the other (the male). The prevalence of dyadic usage in the thirteenth century also calls into question, at least for the Douaisian experience, the argument that women's position in medieval society began to deteriorate seriously in the twelfth century with increased urbanization and with the spreading influence of institutions, such as bureaucracies and the universities, which tended to marginalize and exclude women. 4 There is no need to prove that women can be found at virtually all levels of Douaisian or any other society; this has been well documented by others. The present essay instead focuses on gender-inclusive usage in the
Social History, 2016
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, afford... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs' accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this article argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, legally or economically. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behaviour as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for 'women whose spouses are deceased' , destabilized the very concept of 'widow' itself. And if it should happen that two should come together by marriage, of whom the one is a draper and the other is of another trade, [it shall be permitted] that each may ply his/her own trade.
Journal of Women's History, 2011
: In his account of 18 September 1379, the bailiff of the Vier Ambachten, a rural circumscription... more : In his account of 18 September 1379, the bailiff of the Vier Ambachten, a rural circumscription in Flanders, noted that a woman was to be fined “only half as much as a man.†This assertion “of half value,†however, was the first of its kind. An examination of early fourteenth-century Flemish accounts indicates that the “half-value†principle never found
Social History, 2016
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, afford... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs’ accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this essay argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, or legally. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behavior as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for ‘women whose spouses are deceased’, destabilised the very concept of ‘widow’ itself.
Journal of Social History, 1998
Page 1. GUARDIANSHIP OVER WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS: A REAPPRAISAL By Ellen E. Kittell Universit... more Page 1. GUARDIANSHIP OVER WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL FLANDERS: A REAPPRAISAL By Ellen E. Kittell University of Idaho Recent debates in premodern women's history have focused on women's social and legal position. ...
The Historian, Dec 22, 2006
Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / 81 Après les entrées du roi et de la reine, il y a eu deux rencon... more Book Reviews / Comptes rendus / 81 Après les entrées du roi et de la reine, il y a eu deux rencontres entre le conseil du roi et les représentants de la ville pour discuter des difficultés financières de Lyon et des répercussions diplomatiques et militaires après la visite royale au Piémond. Le mardi fut destiné aux jeux nautiques, qu'Henri II apprécie, et à la remise de deux sculptures en or, réalisées par l'orfèvre Jehan Delabarre et dessinées par Bernard Salomon d'une valeur totale de mille trois cents ecus. Le montant est chiffré exactement, mais il est bien moindre que celui des cadeaux faits à Paris. Ces précisions sont importantes; elles témoignent de la volonté de la ville de faire connaître la valeur exacte des cadeaux: signe de richesse et de prospérité pour la ville, ainsi qu'un signe de fierté; c'est aussi une valeur de négociation et d'affirmation d'une ville fidèle au roi. La reine reçoit un deuxième cadeau, une fleur de lys (symbole de la France et de Rorence) en or de cinquante centimètres de haut. Le banquet est offert par Hyppolite d'Esté dans la Maison de Rontalon, propriété de l'archevêque. Puis ont lieu la visite du nouveau jeu de paume, à l'heure du thé, une promenade sur l'eau, le dîner à l'Archevêché et le théâtre italien. En 1622, l'entrée de Louis XIII changera de circuit et se prolongera dans l'espace et dans le temps. Ces relations d'entrée, intéressantes en elles-mêmes, acquièrent tout leur sens lorsqu'elles sont lues en série. Et Richard Cooper réussit très bien à mettre en perspective cette entrée d'Henri
Von Menschen und ihren Zeit, 1990
Over the course of the year 1323, the city of Ypres repeatedly purchased construction materials f... more Over the course of the year 1323, the city of Ypres repeatedly purchased construction materials from a woman identified alternatively as Beatris Hauwers and as Beatris wife of Jean le Hauwere. 1 (See #1 on the handout.) The wording in the second example subtly shifts the focus away from Beatris herself to Jehan, her spouse, who is not even present for the transaction in question. In contrast, the former description, Beatris Hauwers, which appears four times more often than the latter, implies agency. This is because the focus here is not on situating her (as 'other') within a network of patriarchal family relations, but simply on the person herself, from whom the city happened to be buying the construction material it required.
Cities in medieval Flanders were often so populated that clerks making notations in mundane admi... more Cities in medieval Flanders were often so populated that clerks making notations in mundane administrative records could not identify everyone who came before them. They thus had to ask even women to identify themselves. Women, for their part, could consequently avoid being slotted into gendered categories – “daughter,” “wife,” “widow”– that marked them as the “Other.” Being relatively free to choose which identificatory information was most useful within a given context militated against the rigid socially constructed formulas of identification. The minimal use of such formulas failed to shift “otherness” from officials to the faceless (but not nameless) individuals who populated their records.
Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affor... more Widowhood has long been regarded as the most emancipated condition that women might enjoy, affording them a freedom, agency and access to the public sphere denied their single or married counterparts. A corollary of this assumption is that most women documented as active participants in public life should be identified as widows. Based on a large corpus of references to female activity in bailiffs’ accounts and in town records and ordinances, however, this essay argues that in pre-Burgundian Flanders widowhood in no way constituted a privileged status, either morally, socially, or legally. Flemish women were educated in order that they might achieve gainful employment; they married late and maintained control of property in marriage. Married women functioned as legal persons; they participated publicly, independently and routinely in Flemish urban life to such a degree that their subsequent activities as widows can only be understood as being in fundamental continuity with their prior behavior as wives. This, in conjunction with the ambiguity and instability of terms for ‘women whose spouses are deceased’, destabilised the very concept of ‘widow’ itself.
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 1983
... Donald E. Queller and Ellen E. Kittell. ... 'as contes des baillius darrainement pas... more ... Donald E. Queller and Ellen E. Kittell. ... 'as contes des baillius darrainement passés, pardevant les foiaules gens mondit seigneur : c'est à savoir mon signour Sohier de Bailleul, mon signeurWauter de Coder, chevaliers, maistre Jakemon de Donse, recheveur de Flandre, Lotin de ...
Continuity and Change, 2013
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern …, Jan 1, 2000
In the mid-thirteenth century, the aldermen of Douai began issuing a series of ordinances for the... more In the mid-thirteenth century, the aldermen of Douai began issuing a series of ordinances for the regulation of the city's social and economic life. 1 They often addressed issues concerning particular groups -citizens, practitioners of a certain trade, those who brewed beer, and so forth. Typically these ordinances paired terms that explicitly specified both genders, such as borgois u borgoise, taneres u taneresse, cervoisiers ne cervoisiere, cils ne celes, or hom ne feme. 2 What makes such dyadic reference unusual is the status with which it invests both members of the dyad. The aldermen's routine use of genderspecific dyadic formulas reveals that the social and economic participation of women in Douai was perceived not as exceptional or "marked," but rather as the norm, virtually on par with that of males. And while dyadic usage in no way implies the existence of a golden age for women in this city, 3 its prevalence suggests nothing less radical than the claim that the city did not reckon its population in terms of patriarchally headed households, but rather in terms of workers. The constant reiteration of both genders renders implausible any assumption that one (the female) is conventionally subsumed into a household publicly represented by the other (the male). The prevalence of dyadic usage in the thirteenth century also calls into question, at least for the Douaisian experience, the argument that women's position in medieval society began to deteriorate seriously in the twelfth century with increased urbanization and with the spreading influence of institutions, such as bureaucracies and the universities, which tended to marginalize and exclude women. 4 There is no need to prove that women can be found at virtually all levels of Douaisian or any other society; this has been well documented by others. The present essay instead focuses on gender-inclusive usage in the