Hidden Lives of Tudor Women - A Social History

The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress; of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife; when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best.


Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before. Historian Elizabeth Norton explores the life cycle of the Tudor woman, from childhood to old age, through the diverging examples of women such as Elizabeth Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister; Cecily Burbage, Elizabeth's wet nurse; Mary Howard, widowed but influential at court; Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of a controversial queen; and Elizabeth Barton, a peasant girl who would be lauded as a prophetess. Their stories are interwoven with studies of topics ranging from Tudor toys to contraception to witchcraft, painting a portrait of the lives of queens and serving maids, nuns and harlots, widows and chaperones. Norton brings this vibrant period to colorful life in an evocative and insightful social history.

Perioada Tudor evoca imagini ale reginelor si ale femeilor nobile in rochii de curte elaborate; a intrigilor palatului si a politicii dramatice. Dar daca erai femeie, era si un moment in care moartea in timpul nasterii era abundenta; cand casatoria era de obicei un contract legal, nu o chestiune de dragoste, iar educatia pe care ai putea spera sa o primesti a fost minima in cel mai bun caz. Cu toate acestea, secolul Tudor a fost, de asemenea, dominat de femei puternice si dinamice, intr-un mod in care nici o era nu a fost inainte.