Abstract:Early modern women are often categorized by historians in relation to their marital status—whether they appeared as single, married, or widowed women. These identifications reflected the effects of marriage on women's legal and social status. Focusing on the records of the burgh and commissary courts of seventeenth-century Glasgow, this article shows how Scottish women's legal status existed instead on a “marital spectrum,” including liminal phases prior to the formation of marriage as well as overlapping phas… Show more
There was a wonderfully wide range of articles written this past year on British history in the post-1945 period. Political topics were among the most prevalent, with much work focused on the Thatcher and New Labour periods. Works on the Troubles and their aftermath in Northern Ireland, Scottish nationalism and devolution were also numerous. There was much analysis of other domestic political issues including electoral politics, privatisation, tax policy and constitutional matters. Foreign policy, the post-imperial Commonwealth and attitudes towards military conflicts also featured prominently. The roles of class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religion in British society were explored in much depth, as were those of parenthood and marriage. Issues related to migration, social mobility and the labour market were also prominent. Business case studies were conducted on companies large and small, with much work done on the media industry this year. The housing and mortgage markets were assessed in some detail and there were several works which employed analyses of economic geography. Historical issues involving science and medicine also featured.
Bringing together two areas of scholarship on family history—separation and blended families—this article adds a new perspective to our understanding of how kin networks in early modern England were maintained, and on the factors that influenced the ongoing processes of negotiating them. The extensive correspondence of Bess of Hardwick and her children and step-children enables an investigation into what happened when a couple at the centre of a blended family network separated. Despite their unique political circumstances, the Cavendish-Talbot family offer a useful case study to understand some of the factors shaping the lives of separated wives in early modern England. For elite families the success of the house and dynasty could be jeopardized by the breakdown of a marriage, and never more so than if the family was a blended one. While Bess’s relationships with and support for her children caused problems with her husband, their invaluable support indicates further strategies that were available to separated wives. Bess’s children advocated for her at court, supported her in legal suits and actively negotiated between their parents. The Cavendish-Talbot family relationships were complex and loyalties did not necessarily follow expected patterns. However, in their complexity, and through the large number of letters surviving between the family, they offer a unique opportunity to consider the role of family members for separated wives.
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