{"title":"Mavis E Mate","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"daughters-wives-and-widows-after-the-black-death-book-mavis-e-mate-9780851155340","title":"Daughters, Wives and Widows after the Black Death","description":"Did the expanding economic life of England after the Black Death improve the lot of women, as is commonly thought? This study argues not.  It has long been thought that the post Black Death period offered unparallelled opportunities for women. However, through a careful consideration of economic and legal changes affecting women of all social classes and conditions,the author shows that this was not the case, taking issue with orthodox opinion. She argues that marriage at a late age was not customary for women, and that the ability of wives to supplement their income with intermittent paid labour (at harvest time, for example) was not so great as has been supposed: rather, most married women spent more time on unpaid agricultural labour on their own land than their peers had done in the pre-plague economy. ProfessorMate also demonstrates that there is little evidence to support the current belief that widowhood was the period in a woman's life when she enjoyed most power, freedom, and independence; moreover, legal changes were a mixed blessing for women, leaving some widows with a larger portion and a more secure title to land, but totally depriving others. Throughout, the book pays much attention to class as well as gender, showing how many things were determined byit, from what a woman wore or ate to the age at which she married, her power within the household, and even her vulnerability to rape.    The late MAVIS E. MATE was Professor of History Emerita, University of Oregon.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49799670300945,"sku":"CIN0851155340G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008961446161,"sku":"NIN9780851155340","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52334566998289,"sku":"NLS9780851155340","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851155340.jpg?v=1751363039"},{"product_id":"women-in-medieval-english-society-book-mavis-e-mate-9780521583220","title":"Women in Medieval English Society","description":"Written primarily for undergraduates, this book weighs the evidence for and against the various theories relating to the position of women at different time periods. Professor Mate examines the major issues deciding the position of women in medieval English society, asking questions such as, did women enjoy a rough equality in the Anglo-Saxon period that they subsequently lost? Did queens at certain periods exercise real political clout or was their power limited to questions of patronage? Did women's participation in the economy grant them considerable independence and allow them to postpone or delay marriage? Professor Mate also demonstrates that class, as well as gender, was very important in determining age at marriage and opportunities for power and influence. Although some women at certain times did make short-term gains, Professor Mate challenges the dominant view that major transformations in women's position occurred in the century after the Black Death.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52130158739729,"sku":"NLS9780521583220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780521583220.jpg?v=1757502420"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-mavis-e-mate.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}