Singlewomen and the History of Late Medieval England, c. 1300-1550

FAIN: FA-51881-05

Judith MacKenzie Bennett
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350)

Never-married women--or "singlewomen," as they were soon called--were newly prominent in late medieval England, but their place in English history and culture is still little understood. This NEH fellowship would support the final research and first draft of a book-length study of these women. Part of the book is conventional women’s history (reconstructing what can be known about the lives of these women); another part places these women at the center of the historical stage (demonstrating how the history of singlewomen alters our understandings of the histories of families, migration, and social mores in late medieval England). Scholarly in scope but written for students and teachers, the book will be concise and readable.