The Tie that Binds

Peasant Marriages and Families in Late Medieval England

Bibliographic Data

ID3226629
AuthorsJudith M Bennett, Judith Bennett (0000-0002-5033-0804, corresponding author)
Year1984
Volume15
Issue1
Pages111
Publication date1984-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Interdisciplinary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1953 • E-ISSN: 1530-9169
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/203596
OpenAlexW2335394516
LanguageEN
Citations received5

The Tie that Binds: Peasant Marriages and Families in Late Medieval England On the last day of May 13 19, Henry Kroyl senior attended his manorial court at Brigstock, Northamptonshire, and transferred a semi-virgate of land to his son Henry Kroyl junior and his son's intended wife, Agnes, the daughter of Robert Penifader. At the same session, the younger Kroyl endowed his bride with a small house, an adjoining yard, and six rods of land. Because the marriage that lay behind these transactions united the children of two prominent villagers, the Brigstock records contain nearly 2,000 references to the activities of Kroyl junior, Agnes Penifader, and the members of their immediate families. By using these legal proceedings to reconstruct the social spheres of the Kroyls and Penifaders, this article examines how this marital union changed the social networks of the principals, their parents, and their siblings.1 Medieval marriage was both a private matter and a public institution. Although it technically required only the couple's consent, it usually involved the assistance of parents, the participation of neighbors, and the approval of administrators. Marriage disintegrated old families by removing members to create a new family, but it also forged human links that could strengthen social

Archaeology · Demographic economics · Economics · Genealogy · Peasant · Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Medieval Literature and History