Table Of ContentDaughters of London
Later Medieval Europe
Managing Editor
Douglas Biggs
University of Nebraska – Kearney
Editorial Board Members
Kelly DeVries
Loyola College
William Chester Jordan
Princeton University
Cynthia J. Neville
Dalhousie University
Kathryn L. Reyerson
University of Minnesota
VOLUME 8
Daughters of London
Inheriting Opportunity in the Late Middle Ages
By
Kate Kelsey Staples
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
Cover illustration: Detail from Civitas Londinum, c. 1560, including places and streets like
Chepesyde, Maidenhed lane, Distaf lane, S. Pancrees lane, and Bowe church. From the John R.
Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Staples, Kate Kelsey.
Daughters of London : inheriting opportunity in the late Middle Ages / by Kate Kelsey
Staples.
p. cm. — (Later medieval Europe ; 8)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-20311-2 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Women—England—London—History—To 1500. 2. Women—England—London—
Legal status, laws, etc. 3. Marital property—England—London. 4. Inheritance and
succession—England—London. 5. England--Social conditions—1066-1485. I. Title.
HQ1147.G7S73 2011
305.409421’20902—dc22
2011001409
ISSN 1872-7875
ISBN 978 90 04 20311 2
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
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Fees are subject to change.
contents v
For mom and dad
vi contents
contents vii
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .ix
List.of.Figures.and.Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .xi
List.of.Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Chapter.One:.Urban.Daughters,.their.Opportunities,.and.
London.Wills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1
Women,.Family,.and.Inheritance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..7
Daughters.and.Burgage.Tenure.in.Late.Medieval.Towns. . . .. 10
Wills.and.Social.History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13
The.Husting.Wills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18
Inheriting.Opportunity.in.London:.A.New.Framework. . . . .. 30
Chapter.Two:.Testators.and.their.Influence.in.Late.Medieval.
London. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 33
Types.of.Bequests.in.the.Husting.Wills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 43
Conditions.Placed.on.Bequests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51
The.Influence.of.Gender.on.Bequests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55
The.Influence.of.Occupation.on.Bequests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 63
Conclusions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69
Chapter.Three:.Prospects.of.Power:.Inheriting.Real.Estate.and.
Real.Opportunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 71
Legacies.of.Real.Estate.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 71
Types.of.Inheritance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 82
Presence.of.Siblings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 98
Change.Over.Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 100
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 109
Chapter.Four:.Envisioning.Daughters’.Lives.Through.
Movable.Legacies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 111
Money.and.Annuities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 114
The.Legacies.of.Movable.Goods.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 119
The.Meanings.of.Goods.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 126
viii contents
Function.and.Meanings.of.Domestic.Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 134
Sibling.Rivalry?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 140
Change.Over.Time.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 141
Conclusions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 145
Chapter.Five:.Reinterpreting.Daughters’.Economic.Power.in.
Late.Medieval.London.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 147
Studying.Women.and.the.Economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 148
Considering.Women.as.Investors.and.Managers. . . . . . . . . .. 152
Concentrating.on.Women.in.Urban.England. . . . . . . . . . . .. 158
Considering.London.Women.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 160
Thinking.Anew.About.Women’s.Experiences. . . . . . . . . . . .. 164
Appendix.One:.Testators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 171
Appendix.Two:.Recipients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 179
Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 187
Index.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 201
