Author : Allyson M. Poska
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191514748
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (915 download)
Book Synopsis Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain by : Allyson M. Poska
Download or read book Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain written by Allyson M. Poska and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2005-12-08 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While scholars have marvelled at how accused witches, mystical nuns, and aristocratic women understood and used their wealth, power, and authority to manipulate both men and institutions, most early modern women were not privileged by money or supernatural contacts. They led the routine and often difficult lives of peasant women and wives of soldiers and tradesmen. However, a lack of connections to the typical sources of authority did not mean that the majority of early modern women were completely disempowered. Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain explores how peasant women in Galicia in north-western Spain came to have significant social and economic authority in a region characterized by extremely high rates of male migration. Using a wide array of archival documentation, including Inquisition records, wills, dowry contracts, folklore, and court cases, Poska examines how peasant women asserted and perceived their authority within the family and the community and how the large numbers of female-headed households in the region functioned in the absence of men. From sexual norms to property aquisition, Galician peasant women consistently defied traditional expectations of women's behaviour.