Ladies-in-Waiting in Medieval England

Author: Caroline Dunn

Hardcover

Examines how ladies-in-waiting were selected and rewarded for service, explores their political roles, and illuminates their daily lives.

This book presents the first scholarly treatment of medieval English ladies-in-waiting. It will appeal to specialists in medieval monarchy and women's history, as well as literary scholars who will benefit from the historical background of women's roles in courtly life.

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Summary

Examines how ladies-in-waiting were selected and rewarded for service, explores their political roles, and illuminates their daily lives.

Description

Ladies-in-Waiting in Medieval England examines female attendants who served queens and aristocratic women during the late medieval period. Using a unique set of primary source based statistics, Caroline Dunn reveals that the lady-in-waiting was far more than a pretty girl sewing in the queen's chamber while seeking to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor. Ladies-in-waiting witnessed major historical events of the era and were sophisticated players who earned significant rewards. They had both family and personal interests to advance – through employment they linked kin and court, and through marriage they built bridges between families. Whether royal or aristocratic, ladies-in-waiting worked within gendered spaces, building female-dominated social networks, while also operating within a masculine milieu that offered courtiers of both sexes access to power. Working from a range of sources wider than the subjective anecdote, Dunn presents the first scholarly treatment of medieval English ladies-in-waiting.

Critic Reviews

'Caroline Dunn's richly fascinating book documents the careers of nearly 1200 elite female servants in royal and aristocratic households in England between 1236 and 1536. She devised a sophisticated methodology to convincingly argue that ladies-in-waiting were liminal but essential, vital to creating and maintaining networks of family alliances that comprise monarchy.' Theresa Earenfight, editor of Elite and Royal Households in Medieval and early Modern Europe
'This landmark work offers a rich perspective on ladies-in-waiting in the late medieval English court. A real strength of this book is the focus on the women themselves including their experience of life at court, their role in ritual and ceremonial and the rewards they gained from service to the queen.' Ellie Woodacre, author of Queens and Queenship
'Caroline Dunn takes us as never before into the world of honourable service of ladies-in-waiting. We see the inner workings of these establishments through the lives of some 1200 ladies, the links between families, kin, service, and their daily routine. This is a major contribution to our understanding of the significance of the domestic and access to power in the great household.' Chris Woolgar, author of The Great Household in Late Medieval England

About the Author

Caroline Dunn is Associate Professor of Medieval History at Clemson University. She is the author of Stolen Women in Medieval England: Rape, Abduction, and Adultery c. 1110-1500. She was awarded the Bonnie Wheeler Fellowship in 2020.