Other Titles
The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval EuropeAbstract
Carolingian ideas of "home" and "family" encompassed a wide range of meanings from physical buildings to kin and free and unfree dependents. Kinship ties played a vital role, both socially and politically, and marriage practices reflected that; Carolingian reforms respected parents' strategies concerning their children's marriages. The Frankish economy was structured around nuclear households, from peasant tenancies to the huge estates presided over by noble men and women. Male and female activities in both production and consumption were partially, but not completely gender-specific. Dowries provided some economic independence for women, but female wealth often depended on contingent factors such as family size and the attitudes of male relatives. The ordered conjugal household was an important image in Carolingian moral thought, with married women holding a subordinate, but honored position. Frankish ideology focused more on elite women's role in the management of dependents and social networks than on purely "housewifely" activities.Citation
Stone R (2013) 'Carolingian Domesticities', in Bennett J, Karras RM (ed(s).). The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: Oxford University Press.Publisher
Oxford University PressAdditional Links
http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199582174.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199582174-e-004DO - 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199582174.013.004Type
Book chapterLanguage
enISBN
9780199582174ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199582174.013.004