Dr Emma Cavell: Aristocratic marriage in England and the March of Wales in the 12th & 13th centuries

This talk will explore the marriages of noblewomen in English and Marcher society in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, from the creation of a union to its end. It will look at what arrangements were put in place for the couple's union, including the maritagium (marriage portion in land) - the original Anglo-Norman landed provision carved out by the family or guardian of the woman - and consider how far life on the militarised Anglo-Welsh frontier affected these arrangements. It will also discuss what is known of the wedding ceremony itself. Although married women had, in theory, no independent legal identity from their husbands under common law, in practice they played an important role in the management of households and estates, and were expected to engage in a working partnership with their husbands. There is plenty of evidence to show that society, and the women themselves, took these roles seriously. Once widowed, noblewomen might find themselves subject to strong pressure to remarry (such as to an Angevin royal favourite!), but many were able to take control of their own marriage rights. Some women entered new unions soon after their husband's deaths, while others retained their independence, operating with full legal capacity.
Dr Emma Cavell is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Swansea University. She specialises in aristocratic women of the Welsh borderlands, law and litigation in England and Wales, and Jewish women in medieval England. Her recent publications include 'Widows, Native Law and the Long Shadow of England in Thirteenth-Century Wales' (English Historical Review) and 'The Measure of her Actions: A Quantitative Assessment of Anglo-Jewish Women's Litigation at the Exchequer of the Jews, 1219-81' (Law and History Review)