Magna Carta and Women Flashcards
How many times does femina appear in Magna Carta?1
Once
How many women named in Magna Carta?
There are no women named in the Magna Carta. There are three women mentioned, Queen Isabella (Johns wife) and King Alexander II’s of Scotlands sisters.
Did women swear fealty to the king?
No, men swore fealty to the king, women did not. Therefore whereas men could be outlawed women could not and were waived instead
How does Bracton (Laws and customs of England) justify women’s absence?
Biblically
Were women central at the time to history?
Women were not at Runnymede
No women signed the Magna Carta
Women were unlikely to be named in historical documents
Women were less likely to write documents
What did Harris 2015 argue about Magna Carta and Women’s rights?
Magna Carta bridges the gap to women’s rights of widows, it was a nod to inclusion and women’s rights (even if that is not what it was intended to do)
What does Holt argue about Magna Carta and women?
That adaptability was its greatest quality and that women could claim it to forward their rights
What was the status of queens before Richard and John?
Eleanor of Aquitaine was ruler in her own right of 25% of France and very powerful
Mathila of Boulogne (Queen of King Stephen) was very powerful.
John and Richard kept their wives at arms lengths.
What was queens gold?
It was a tax introduced by John on Isabella of Angouleme money in order to seize and use it
What did Henry II charter of liberties say about widows?
That widows should not be married off if they didn’t want to. Therefore Magna Carta rights were little new
How did John and Richard go against Henry II charter or liberties?
Because of the financial urgency to get money, they started to sell widows and charge fines for staying single therefore going against Henry II charter
Who was Ralph de Cornhill’s widow?
She was a widow who paid £166 to stay single and not be married to Gedfrey of Louvain (Flemish)
Who liked the marriage market?
Nigel Saul claims that the Barons hated the marriage market as it took control away from them regarding their ability to secure their childrens inheritance.
What did Clause 6 of Magna Carta Say?
Marriage to a lower standing person was not allowed without consent and kin have to be told
What did clause 7 of the Magna Carta say?
Widows should be allowed to stay in their homes for 40 days and have her dower immediately on her husbands death
What did clause 8 of Magna Carta say?
A widow should not be compelled to marry
What did clause 54 of the Magna Carta say?
That no man should be arrested or tried on a womens appeal
What did the four womens clauses effect?
Ban on disparagement may be interpreted as giving women agency, but acutally it was more to do with barons control.
It made women not people (as their testimony was worth less)
What does the womens convention at Seneca Falls 1848 say about Magna Carta?
Becuase the constitution was based on the Magna Carta, that they had to be aware of the Magna Carta and its effects on rights
Who was Helena Normanton (1882-1957)?
Made use of the Magna Carta as an idea. Argued comparing the struggle for womens rights against the government to Barons struggle against John
She was admitted to Inns of Court in 1919 after the removal of the Sex Disqualification Act
Who was Maud Arncliffe Sennet?
She was a suffragette, she kept a scrapbook and in it was the front cover of the WSPU paper from 27th January 1911. It was the Barons forcing John to sign Magna Carta. The paper had articles on justification of violence and later Maud was arrested for putting a stone through the window of the Daily Mail window for not reporting a WSPU meeting
Who was Queen Caroline?
She was the very popular queen of King George IV. She was pictured in a cartoon leaning on an anchor with the words magna carta, bill of rights, constitution and the people on it.
What did Edward Cooke say about the word homo?
That it was notable that it must apply to women as well as men
Who was Nicola de la Haye?
Appointed sheriff of Lincolnshire by John in 1216
