carrollhistoriography

From: Subject: carrollhistoriography Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 20:59:12 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/alivingstone/411/carrollhistoriography.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 carrollhistoriography Alaina Carroll
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The Indispensable Pre-Modern Woman

History has changed. There is no disputing the fact; what = interested=20 historians a hundred years ago is now out of date and out of = style. What=20 remains important, however, is how historians have arrived at where they = are=20 today. Since the influence of the Annales School, historians are = no longer=20 content with looking at the great histories of elites. Instead, = what has=20 become more important is the analysis of less important people and = events that=20 have under-girded the great events but, until the Annales School, had = not been=20 fully studied.=20

Perhaps one of the greatest outcomes of this change in thought has = been a=20 shift in focus towards the family, particularly the pre-modern = family. The=20 family is now seen by many historians as being the building blocks of = society,=20 and essential for getting at the underlying structures of the = past. Often=20 with help from other disciplines, such as anthropology, and sociology,=20 historians are finding new ways of uncovering these blocks and bringing = back to=20 life the families of the past. Historians have begun to look at old = sources with=20 new eyes, such as legal documents, court records, and correspondence, = and have=20 uncovered a family life that is not only dynamic and revealing, but has=20 furthered our understanding of past culture.
From these studies of=20 pre-modern family a new figure has emerged out of the dusty documents of = the=20 past, the pre-modern woman. Although there have been numerous = studies=20 which place pre-modern women in the background of their families and = their=20 husbands, the research seeking to examine women in their own right is = less=20 extensive. One woman in particular, Margaret Paston, = although she is=20 often portrayed alongside her husband and family, deserves a closer look = if we=20 are to better understand the pre-modern woman. What has drawn = historians=20 to the Paston family, and recently to Margaret in particular, is the = vast amount=20 of correspondence between the family members. This correspondence = is=20 interesting not only because there is so much of it, but because of its = detail=20 and scope in covering many different aspects of family life.=20

By looking at the correspondence between Margaret Paston and her=20 fifteenth-century family, we can begin to see just how integral a part = the=20 pre-modern woman played in her family. Through a study of Margaret = Paston,=20 as a wife, mother, and a woman of the pre-modern world we, as = historians, can=20 begin to understand the indispensable role that these women played. =
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The History of the History of the Pre-modern Family
Before = a study=20 of Margaret Paston can properly be addressed, it is first important to = have a=20 grasp of the history of the pre-modern family and the changes in = historiography=20 that have guided and shaped historian=92s understanding of the = family. In=20 the past years there has been one historian that has stood out among the = rest as=20 the cornerstone for pre-modern family research. With his work, The = Family,=20 Sex, and Marriage in England 1500-1800, Lawrence Stone has taken an = in-depth=20 look at how family life was structured and maintained in pre-modern=20 England. By looking at the English family over this time period, = Stone has=20 concluded that although there were marked changes in the family over = these three=20 centuries the basic forms of the family never really changed. =
Stone=92s work=20 is largely influenced by the methodology of the Annales School and looks = closely=20 at the underlying interactions between family members and the larger=20 culture. However, Stone=92s work is still untouched by later = feminist=20 strains and remains strongly focused on the role of the male head of = household,=20 placing the pre-modern women in a subordinate role. What Stone = argues is=20 important, nonetheless, because it brings to light the preoccupation of=20 pre-modern society with maintaining the honor and prestige of the = family, and=20 the protection of primogeniture. =93The prime factor affecting all = families=20 which owned property was therefore the principle of primogeniture=85 No = study of=20 the English family makes any sense unless the principle and practice of=20 primogeniture is constantly borne in mind.=94 In Stone=92s = work, women=20 tend to take a sidelined part in maintaining this practice through good = marriage=20 arrangements and household management particularly further down the = social scale=20 from the elites.
This is a theme that will be seen often in looking = at=20 Margaret and the Paston family, as well as, the majority of research on = the=20 pre-modern family. Although he does attribute a place in the = family to the=20 wife and mother as a participant in the quest for honor, Stone asserts = that the=20 mood of the times insisted upon the subordination of the wife to her=20 husband. In addition to this, and much to his credit, Stone = adds=20 that although documents of the time presented the picture of the = subordinate=20 wife, =93the distribution of power over decision making will, in the = last resort,=20 depend on the personal characters of the husband and the wife.=94 =
Other=20 historians have followed this model set forth by Stone, and have = presented=20 similar conclusions. David Herlihy for example has focused on the=20 structure of medieval families from classic antiquity to the later = medieval=20 ages. Like Stone, Herlihy also gives attention to the importance = of=20 primogeniture in marriage and family economics. Herlihy sees = marriage, and=20 the interacting =91system=92 of families as the moving force behind this = patriarchal=20 society and states that =93the system=85 helped to ensure that = reproduction and=20 production would be carried on somewhere in society, and that this = civilization=20 would survive.=94
What is interesting about both Herlihy and = Stone=92s work is=20 their use of quantitative data to portray the pre-modern family. = Unlike=20 Stone, Herlihy also uses documents written about the lives of saints as = evidence=20 of the personal lives of his subjects. However, the use of these = sources=20 can be seen as giving a certain religious taint to Herlihy=92s work, = which may=20 devalue it among some historians. What also hurts Herlihy=92s = work, in=20 relation to Stone or other family historians, is the wide time span that = Herlihy=20 attempts to synthesize, which does not allow him to focus too long on = the family=20 structure of any one period and leaves out important analysis concerning = individual roles within the family.=20

Will Coster=92s work, similar to Stones work, focuses again on the = English=20 family between 1450 and 1800. Like Stone, Coster=92s work is = primarily=20 concerned with showing the changes, which took place within the family = during=20 this time period. On the other hand, Coster does not give = primogeniture=20 and honor the importance that both Herlihy and Stone used to describe = the=20 family. Instead, Coster tends to look at the growing individuality = and a=20 closing off of kinship ties within England. What sets Coster work = apart=20 from Stone and Herlihy, and what gives it value is that it is largely = devoted to=20 the historiography of the pre-modern family, and attempts to =93impose = order on=20 the chaos of historical events and circumstances,=94 and to = analyze past=20 historians work for conflicts and contradictions within the=20 historiography. For example Coster looks at the issue of = primogeniture=20 versus individualism and the ways it has been addressed in several = studies after=20 Stone=92s including Alan MacFarland and C. Durston.
Although these = studies are=20 useful in setting the background for a discussion of the pre-modern = family, they=20 are limited in furthering the study of women in the pre-modern world = because=20 they do not give detailed attention to the individuals within the family = and=20 only provide models for other historians to follow. What has grown = out of=20 these broader studies of the family has been an interest in looking at=20 particular individuals and instances of the lower and middle classes to=20 demonstrate how women were viewed and how they maneuvered within their = male=20 dominated world. Partly, these works can be seen as changes in=20 historiographic trends as the introduction of feminist theory, = and =20 Post Modern theory began changing the ways historians looked at history, = and=20 moving them away from model based broad histories such as Stone=92s and = Herlihy=92s.=20

Examples of the new ways in which historians began to use these ideas = to=20 reconstruct the lives of individual women and families in the past are = the works=20 of Gene Brucker and Steven Ozment. Following with Stone=92s model = of=20 primogeniture, and using the influence of feminist theory, Brucker=92s = work,=20 Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence shows us = how=20 important marriage was to social class and preservation of honor among = the=20 Italian gentry, as well as, =93such themes as love, marriage, and the = moral=20 conventions governing relations between the sexes.=94 Unlike = Stone=92s model,=20 however, Brucker=92s work pays close attention the social boundaries = drawn by=20 medieval society and the part they played in structuring marriage and = family.=20
Very similar to Brucker=92s study of class and marriage, and the = love between=20 individuals which often blurred the lines, Steven Ozment uses the story = of Anna=20 Buschler, a Burgermiester=92s daughter in Reformation Germany, to show = that women=20 were not always submissive wives and mothers. On the contrary, = Ozment=92s=20 work, not only mirrors Brucker=92s in its focus on love affairs, but = also goes=20 more deeply to explain how marriage between social classes was = considered taboo,=20 and how marriage within class rank was to be maintained. = This may=20 seem in opposition to the strict code of honor put in place by Stone. = However,=20 Stone also spends considerable time discussing the frequent occurrences = of=20 extramarital affairs explaining them much like Brucker and Ozment as = taboo but=20 not uncommon in pre-modern society.=20

Other work by Ozment is perhaps more useful when discussing the = importance of=20 women=92s roles, however. For instance his study of Magdalena and = Balthasar,=20 a married couple in Nuremberg in the sixteenth-century, shows the = relationship=20 between husband and wife and the partnership that existed between = them. =20 These letters attest to a strong emotional bond of affection that = existed=20 between husband and wife, which is in contrast to Stone and Herlihy=92s = assumption=20 that love and affection were secondary concerns of the pre-modern world. = The=20 letters also provide evidence of the leading role of Magdalena as a = household=20 manager and an indispensable part of the household. =93When = Balthasar was on=20 the road, Magdalena became his Nuremberg distributor, bookkeeper, and = collection=20 agency=85over the years such responsibilities grew into a virtual=20 partnership=94 between husband and wife.=20

What is valuable about the research of Ozment and Brucker, and what = will=20 provide the stepping-stones for my own exploration of Margaret Paston, = is that=20 they rely on letters and documents written by the individuals they = represent,=20 which are able to provide more detail than demographic used by Stone. = Unlike the=20 broad histories of Stone and Herlihy=92s which spans the time period of = several=20 centuries, these sources are also useful because of their ability to = place their=20 subjects within the context of their environment and providing the = framework for=20 an understanding of pre-modern society as championed by the Annales=20 School. These works are also helpful in moving the focus of = historians=20 away from the studies of the family, and on to more in-depth looks at = the roles=20 of women to the pre-modern world.=20

Helen Jewell has also looked extensively at the ways in which = medieval women=20 operated within their patriarchal framework in the context of both = cities and=20 countryside, separating her study further to make the distinction = between=20 royalty, nobility, and land gentry. This is a divergence from = Stone who=20 tends to ignore the dynamics of women=92s roles, and chooses to focus = male=20 centered activities. Like Stone, and the other historians of the = family,=20 however, Jewell puts strong emphasis on the importance and value of = marrying=20 well, particularly among the landed gentry and the noble class.=20

By breaking her argument down into social standings of women, = Jewell is=20 able to provide interesting analysis into the lives of the gentlewoman, = of which=20 Margaret Paston is a part. Jewell is persistent, however, in = keeping with=20 the traditional view of the subordinate wife, =93During her = marriage, the=20 noblewoman generally subordinated herself to her husband=92s = interests=85most=20 married households were male dominated,=94 although she does allow = for some=20 variability in this standard. Although, Jewell=92s work is not lacking = in source=20 material (she makes excellent use of the Paston letters as well as other = families correspondence) it cannot provide the reader with the personal = flavor=20 of more individual based works like Ozment and Brucker=92s. What = it can do,=20 however, is to isolate women from their background roles within the = family, and=20 make their personal contributions to the family unit and to society more = clearly=20 seen and understood.=20

This scholarship leads us finally into a discussion of the Paston = family, and=20 Margaret Paston=92s role as an indispensable figure within the = household. As=20 will be shown through the examples of historiography on the Paston = family, the=20 role of women, particularly the role of Margaret, has been downplayed = even in=20 more recent feminism and women=92s studies that have tried to give them = voice.=20

The Paston family is nonetheless interesting, however, despite its = focus on=20 the male characters of the family, which are seen as the true protectors = of the=20 family=92s interests. Because they were a family which came from = modest=20 beginnings and were able to work their way up through the social ranks = by good=20 marriage and strategic social ties. The Pastons are in a sense the = perfect=20 embodiment of Stone=92s model family, in which family members work as a = unit to=20 preserve and enhance the primogeniture of the family, and much of the = research=20 has upheld the position of a subordinate wife (Margaret) put forth by = Stone.=20
When studying the historiography of the Paston family, it is best to = start=20 at the beginning when the letters first became important to = historians. In=20 this case, it was the historian, John Fenn who first began work on the = Paston=20 letters in 1787. Like many of the earlier works, Fenn=92s edition = is mainly=20 a translation of the letters into more modern (by eighteenth-century = standards)=20 spelling. Fenn also attempts a brief summary of each of the = letters, which=20 is helpful to the reader in discerning the letters.
Fenn=92s work is = flawed,=20 however, partly because it is a product of a time when historians were = concerned=20 mainly with the collecting and reading of primary documents not with = analyzing=20 them closely for content. It is also flawed in its representation = of the=20 letters themselves because it does not present the letters in a = chronological=20 order, making the letters hard to connect and use as a complete = source. =20 Fenn=92s work is invaluable, however, in its ability to provide future = historians=20 with a translated primary source, which can be used to further research. =

As we have seen with the history of the family, the effects of = changing=20 thoughts and theories within the discipline have also altered the = history of the=20 Paston family. for example, the Annales Schools emphasis on studying = history=20 from the ground up, influenced several historians of the fifties and = sixties to=20 use the Paston=92s as an example of culture in fifteenth century = England. =20 These studies used the Paston family as an example of the underlying = structure=20 of society that the Annales saw as so important in looking at the past.=20

One such study was Percival Hunt=92s Fifteenth Century England, in = 1962, which=20 begins with an in-depth discussion of England=92s towns, social classes, = and=20 music. The second half of Hunt=92s book then provides examples of = these=20 institutions through case studies of well-known families including the = Pastons,=20 who as mentioned before are often seen as a model gentry family. = Similar=20 to Fenn, Hunt does not attempt an analysis of the letters or their=20 content. More significant to this study, however, is Hunt=92s = dismissal of=20 Margaret Paston by simply describing her as =93busy, how honorably busy, = she was.=94=20

Other historians of this time followed closely in Hunt=92s footsteps, = and=20 placed the Pastons within the context of English culture of the = time. H.S.=20 Bennett, who has published two works dealing with the Paston family, is = able to=20 isolate Margaret more easily and gives her role in the family some=20 consideration. However, Bennett still places Margaret = in a=20 background role, as a wife who is commanded solely by her husband; = =93She received=20 her husband=92s instructions, carried them out, reported action=85with = great=20 efficiency.=94 What is significant about Bennett=92s work is = that he is=20 among the first to look at all of the members of the Paston family and = to begin=20 to draw some connections about what pre-modern family life might have = been like.=20

Building on the work completed by Bennett, Richard Barber has taken = the=20 interactions between family members a step farther. Barber=92s = work, The=20 Pastons: A Family in the Wars of the Roses published in 1986, has taken = the=20 methods used by Ozment and Brucker and has used the actually letters of = the=20 Pastons to show how the family interacted and survived their changing = society=20 against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses. Through Barber=92s = full=20 translation of the letters, the reader is able to see the = interdependence=20 between Margaret Paston, her sons, and her husband as they fight to keep = their=20 lands and social position intact. Barber=92s work puts Stones = statements=20 about the preservation of honor at all cost in a real life = perspective=20 through the presentation and analysis of the Paston letters.=20

Other historians have chosen not to focus on the letters as = exclusively as=20 Barber, however, but have chosen to study the Pastons as a model family = of the=20 pre-modern world. Frances and Joseph Gies, who have studied and = written on=20 the Pastons for nearly thirty years, have provided us with a closer=20 understanding of how the Pastons measured up with other families in the=20 pre-modern world. The Gieses=92 work also begins to reflect the growing = influence=20 of feminism and has begun to recognize the influence of Margaret Paston = as an=20 equal in the family.=20

What is interesting about the work of Gieses is the progression of = their=20 research since 1978. Beginning with a study of medieval women, the = Gieses=20 use Margaret Paston as an example of a model wife in the Middle Ages, = and use a=20 powerful statement: =93woman was the partner of man, often his equal, = sometimes=20 more than his equal,=94 to describe Margaret, and women in the = family.=20 Unfortunately, this is a theme that is quickly lost as their research = continues=20 through a study of marriage and family where the power of women is = downplayed to=20 the point where =93the egalitarian family in which husband and wife = share=20 authority=85 is a modern invention.=94 Finally, their last = work, which=20 focuses exclusively on the Paston and their conflicts over property and = status,=20 goes even further to call John Paston =93a more absolute monarch over = his wife,=20 his children, and his estate than Henry VI ever was over his kingdom.=94 =

Other works have used changes in methodology to look more exclusively = at the=20 Pastons as an individual family, and have tried to draw some conclusions = about=20 the individual characters of the family and how they affected the = fortunes and=20 misfortunes of the Pastons. Colin Richmond has published three = volumes on=20 the Paston family, beginning with an overview of the family, continuing = with a=20 work exclusively on the struggle over Fastolf=92s will, and finally, a = work that=20 looks closely at the characters of the family including an extensive = discussion=20 on Margaret.=20

Building on Stone, Richmond=92s work personifies the importance the = Pastons=20 placed on maintaining and furthering their social status, which included = time=20 spent arranging profitable marriages for their children. What is = unique=20 about Richmond=92s work is the characterization that he places on = Margaret. =20 Unlike historians before him, Richmond places Margaret in a = condescending=20 attitude, claiming that Margaret never identified herself as a true = Paston,=20 thinking that she had married beneath her rank, and like Stone = continues=20 to place women in a marginal role. What is also unique about = Richmond=92s work is=20 the hint of post-modernism that pops up in his belief that the Paston = letters=20 and his work are unable to present a real picture of the Pastons and can = only=20 provide an understanding that historians can build upon.=20

Despite these views, Richmond=92s work has helped to provide the = basis for the=20 most recent trend in Paston historiography, women=92s studies and = feminism, which=20 has begun focusing more closely on Margaret Paston, who because of her = extensive=20 correspondence to her husband and her sons, makes her a compelling case = study=20 for feminist historians trying to understand the pre-modern woman. = Unlike=20 Richmond, some feminist historians have placed Margaret in the = glorifying role=20 of medieval hotel manager. These historians have also expanded = upon the=20 Gieses=92 previous statement about the position of women within the = family by=20 stating, =93Margaret and John seem to have had a good marriage, a true = partnership=20 in which each was able to trust and rely upon the other.=94=20

Unfortunately, these histories usually place Margaret along with = other=20 notable women of the pre-modern period and therefore are unable to give = her the=20 time and attention that would allow the reader to understand her = fully. My=20 own research will focus more exclusively on Margaret and her role within = her=20 family. By removing Margaret from her position in the background = behind=20 her husband and sons, this study will bring to light the indispensable = role that=20 Margaret played in keeping her family together.

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