Women and Parliament in Later Medieval England

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Introduction: Debates and Sources

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 1-23

3. Queens and Noblewomen in Parliament

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 25-40

4. Women of the Gentry and Lesser Social Status

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 41-52

5. Women on Trial in Parliament

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 53-62

6. Female Institutions and Collectives as Petitioners in Parliament

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 63-73

7. Women’s Issues in Parliament: Dower

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 75-93

8. Women’s Issues in Parliament: Rape

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 95-114

9. Women, Parliament and the Public Sphere

   • W. Mark Ormrod

   Pages 115-124

10. Conclusion: Women Speaking Out in the Medieval Parliament

    • W. Mark Ormrod

    Pages 125-138

11. Back Matter

    Pages 139-148

    PDF

This Palgrave Pivot provides the first ever comprehensive consideration of the part played by women in the workings and business of the English Parliament in the later Middle Ages. Breaking new ground, this book considers all aspects of women’s access to the highest court of medieval England. Women were active supplicants to the Crown in Parliament, and sometimes appeared there in person to prosecute cases or make political demands. It explores the positions of women of varying rank, from queens to peasants, vis-à-vis this male institution, where they very occasionally appeared in person but were more usually represented by written petitions. A full analysis of these petitions and of the official records of parliament reveals that there were a number of issues on which women consistently pressed for changes in the law and its administration, and where the Commons and the Crown either championed or refused to support reform. Such is the concentration of petitions on the subjects of dower and rape that these may justifiably be termed ‘women’s issues’ in the medieval Parliament.

• Parliamentary History
• Queens in Parliament
• Medieval history
• women petitioning Parliament
• feminist theory
• women in politics
• history of sexual assault

“For students and researchers new to the subject this volume is an extremely useful and accessible overview of a broad range of material and topics within the overall theme. … Mark, in his characteristically generous style, would no doubt be the first to hope that others will use Women and Parliament as inspiration to explore many of the issues raised in more expansive detail.” (Laura Tompkins, Nottingham Medieval Studies, Vol. 66, 2022)

• York, UK

  W. Mark Ormrod

W. Mark Ormrod is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of York. Specialising in the politics of later Medieval England, he has authored Political Life in Medieval England, 1300-1450 (1995) and Edward III (2011). Most recently, with Bart Lambert and Jonathan Mackman, he has published Immigrant England, 1300-1550 (2019).  

Policies and ethics