Women and Authority in Early Modern Spain: The Peasants of Galicia

by Allyson M. Poska

Overview

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 nd 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 acquisition, Galician peasant women consistently defied traditional expectations of women's behaviour.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199265312
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/09/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	281
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Allyson M. Poska is Professor of History at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Gendering Peasant Society1. Women without Men2. Single Women and Property3. Sex and the Single Woman4. 'A married man is a woman': Gender Tensions in Galician Marriages5. Widowhood6. Modelling Female Authority7. Beyond FinisterreBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"A fascinating study."—Grace E. Coolidge, The Sixteenth Century Journal

From the Publisher