Notes
1. Norman Moore, ed., The Book of the Foundation of St. Bartholomew's Church in London, the church belonging to the priory of the same in West Smithfield , Early English Text Society o.s. 163 (London, 1923). Several women figure among the miraculous cures recorded.
2. This number cannot be exact because some women have no marital status listed in the entry and because some women appear several times with a different marital status noted at different points in their lives. Some women are identified by other relationships, such as their mother or father. This occasionally seems to be related to the source of the property being discussed, though this is not consistent.
3. Carolyn M. Barron, "The 'Golden Age' of Women in Medieval London," in Medieval Women in Southern England , Reading Medieval Studies 15 (Reading, England, 1989), p. 41. For a discussion of the relative merits of remaining a widow and remarriage in both London and rural areas, see Barbara A. Hanawalt, "Remarriage as an Option for Urban and Rural Widows in Late Medieval England," in Wife and Widow in Medieval England , ed. Sue Sheridan Walker (Ann Arbor, 1993), pp. 141-164.
4. Barron, "Golden Age," p. 41.
5. Nellie J. M. Kerling, ed. and trans., Cartulary of St. Bartholomew's Hospital founded 1123: a calendar (London, 1973). Future references to this work will be noted as Cartulary , with the entry number in the document rather than the page number.
6. Edward Alfred Webb, The Records of St. Bartholomew's priory and of the church and parish of St. Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield (London, 1921), pp. 75-92.
7. This includes all individuals not designated as family members, however distant.
8. Elaine Clark, "The Quest for Security in Medieval England," in Aging and the Aged in Medieval Europe, ed. Michael M. Sheehan (Toronto, 1990), pp. 189-200.
9. P. H. Cullum, Cremetts and Corrodies: Care of the Poor and Sick at St. Leonard's Hospital, York, in the Middle Ages, Borthwick Papers 79 (York, England, 1991).
10. Such as in Cartulary, 71-5 (Mabel, widow of John Le Fundur), 89-91 (Isabel, widow of Richard le Forester, Baker) and 291-2 (Edith Hod).
11. Frederick Pollock and Frederic William Maitland, The History of English Law, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1923), 2:399-436.
12. Cartulary, 396 reads, "Grant by Agnes, widow of Everard Carpentarius, her daughter Cecily and her daughter Sibyl to SBH of land they held of SBH for 12s rent. SBH paid 60s for arrears of rent, for repairs and for the relief of their poverty."
13. Cartulary, 89-91. 89 reads "Grant by Isabel, wife of the late Richard le Forester, baker, to Richard de Basingstoke, goldbeater, of a tenement in Clerkenwell St," while 91 states "Acknowledgment by Richard de Basingstoke, goldbeater, of the payment of 40s by Isabel, wife of the late Richard le Forester, baker. According to a former agreement her tenement in Clerkenwell St., granted to Richard, now reverts to her."
14. Cartulary, 91.
15. Cartulary, 91.
16. Cartulary, 819-820. "Grant by Florence, widow of Roger le Cofrer, to Hugh de Rothewelle, master of SBH, of 5 1/2 marks annual rent for as long as 100s arrears of rent is not paid off. The arrears accumulated over eighteen years of a rent of 6 marks."
17. Cartulary, 821. "Quitclaim by SBH to Thomas de Ludea and Florence his wife of the right to arrears of rent for a tenement in the corner of St. Lawrence Jewry. Fine: 10 marks for which SBH will remit during the life of Thomas."
18. Cartulary, 809. "Quitclaim by Stephen de Maydenhuthe, master of SBH, to Lucy de Berkyngge of the right to arrears of rent of 6s for a tenement formerly of John de Lodegrashale . . . . The goldsmiths pay 4s rent."
19. Cartulary, Appendix I, 199.
20. Clark, "Quest for Security," pp. 191-8.
21. Cartulary, 189. "Grant by John le Musters, plasterer, and Emma le Plastrer, executors of the testament of Thomas le Musters, plasterer, to Emma Viaunde, wife of the late Robert Viaunde de Cobeham, of all houses received for SBH between the tenements of William Arundel and the prior of Kelingworth in the West and North, and Aubrey, wife of the late Roger de Appelby in the South and the highroad."
22. Cartulary, 190. "Grant by Emma Vyaunde, wife of the late Robert Vyaunde de Cobbeham, to William de Westhey, painter, and Emma his wife, her daughter, of houses in Smethefeld formerly of Thomas le Mounsters, plasterer."
23. Cartulary, 449. Regrant of land from will of Thomas le Musters to William, the younger Emma and remainder to one Robert Vyaunde, son of Emma.
24. Cartulary, 640. "Grant by the same Margery to Hugh Walsshe, tailor, and Gillian his wife of a hall, two rooms, a cellar, a kitchen and two shops." This series of transactions, while occurring during the decades of plague, seems to be the result of deaths from other causes, since the dates do not directly coincide with years of plague outbreak.
25. Cartulary, 642, 644. "Grant by Margery, widow of John Tarent, to Hugh Walsshe, tailor, and Margaret his wife of a shop with solar between the tenement of Hugh in the West and that formerly of Thomas de Pertenhale in the East." "Grant by the same to Hugh Walsshe, tailor and Alice daughter of Hugh and his late wife Gillian daughter of Margery, widow of John Tarent, of the Leg on the hop in Wattelyngstrete."
26. Cartulary, 646. "Testament of Hugh Walsshe, tailor, who wishes to be buried next to his wife Margaret . . . to his wife Margery, the tenement in which he lives with two shops."
27. Cartulary, 462. "Quitclaim by Margaret, widow of John Godefrey, carpenter, to Nicholas de Acton, clerk, of her right to a house and one-third of a yard."
28. Cartulary, 463. "Grant by Nicholas de Acton, clerk, to Margaret, widow of John Godefrey, carpenter, for life of a shop between the tenement of Nicholas held of Robert de Kestevene, tailor. Rent: One rose."
29. Cartulary, 409, 410. "Quitclaim by Joan de Mymmes, wife of the late William de Mymmes, to SBH of her right to property . . . because the rent has not been paid. Joan grants to SBH the payment which she receives from Henry Marescallus." "Promise given by Henry Marescallus to Joan, widow of William de Mymmes, to keep in good repair a house and solar . . . If Henry does not carry our repairs or does not pay the rent, he must pay 100s to the fabric of St. Paul's."
30. Cartulary, 214 (Joan de Byddyk, widow of Adam de Byddyk), 217 (Alice, widow of Stephen de Honilane), 220 (Emma Sprot, widow of John Sprot), 223 (Aubrey de Appelby, widow of Roger de Appelby).
31. Cartulary, 214. One mark silver.
32. Cartulary, 217. "5s., 6s. to the prior of St. Bartholomew, 6d. to the fabric of the Church of St. Sepulchre."
33. Cartulary, 220, 222. "Quitclaim by Emma Sprot . . . to William Arundel, horsedealer, of her right to the tenement." "Grant for life by William de Aroundel, horsedealer, to Emma Sprot, widow of John Sprot, of a shop between the tenement of the same William in the East . . . ."
34. Cartulary, 229.
35. Cartulary, 228. "Letters Patent granting permission to William de Arundell to give two messuages, fourteen shops, eight solars and 13s 4d in annual rent in order to provide for a chaplain to pray for the souls of the said William, his wife Christine, of Thomas de Sibethorpe, and of brother William le Rouse, in the Chapel of St. Katherine which is on the North side of SBH and which is newly built by the said William." Dated 5 May 1325. An entry referring to his wife Christine as a widow is dated 3 March 1328.
36. Cartulary, 235. "Grant by William le Rouse, master of SBH, to William de Arundel, horse-dealer, and Christine his wife of a tenement . . . . This grant is for the joint lives of William and Christine. Rent: 1d."
37. Cartulary, 746, 726, 1042, 1143-4 are some examples.
38. Cartulary, 71-5, 1514, 1521 are some examples.
39. Clive Burgess, "'By Quick and by Dead': wills and pious provision in late medieval Bristol," English Historical Review 305 (1987), 837-858, discusses such arrangements in this article addressing the inadequacy of wills in assessing pious donations. St. Bartholomew's had at least three chapels, which Rotha Clay believes may have been attached to the wards. Rotha Mary Clay, Medieval Hospitals of England (London, 1966), p. 114.
40. Margaret Wade LaBarge, "Three Medieval Widows and a Second Career," in Aging and the Aged in Medieval Europe (Toronto, 1990), ed. Michael M. Sheehan, pp. 159-172.
41. Descriptions of the functions and duties such women might have served are detailed in Clay, Medieval Hospitals, pp. 152-6. Also, Cartulary, 1577 may be such a case. "Grant by Ralph de Bidun to SBH of a hermitage on his land at Tikenham and the land within the enclosure belonging to the hermitage, on condition that SBH will accept Ralph, his mother Agnes and John de Bineham into the brotherhood."
42. Cartulary, 11, 562.
43. For further information, see Luke Demaitre, "The Care and Extension of Old Age in Medieval Medicine," in Aging and the Aged, pp. 5-22.
44. Roberta Gilchrist, Gender and Material Culture: The Archaeology of Religious Women (New York, 1994) discusses such double monasteries. St. Bartholomew's medieval site is now covered by a modern hospital complex, so discussions of its original buildings are largely supposition.
45. Vern L. Bullough and Bonnie Bullough, "Medieval Nursing," Nursing History Review 1 (1993), 89-104, offers more information on the role of nurses in the Middle Ages.
46. Cartulary, 593. "Grant by Isabel, daughter of Edward de Bray, to SBH of a tenement between the land of master Richard de Wendovre, canon of St. Paul's, and that of Roger Albyn, fishmonger . . . . SBH promises to give her a sister's portion."
47. Clay, Medieval Hospitals, pp. 167-171, discusses records from other institutions that detail provisions for brothers, the ill, and boarders.
48. Cartulary, 726. "Grant by Ralph de Quatremaras and Aubrey his wife to SBH of their tenement . . . and their orchard."
49. Cullum, Cremetts and Corrodies, p. 20.
50. Cullum, Cremetts and Corrodies, p. 21.
51. Cullum, Cremetts and Corrodies, p. 21.
52. 52. Cartulary, 1439. "Grant by the same [Henry Cementarius, son of Osbert Clericus de Barlingia] to the same [SBH] of two-thirds of his land provided SBH will feed and close him. Henry will only work for SBH. If Aubrey, wife of Henry, dies before him, her livestock will be added to this grant."
53. Cartulary, 107. "Grant by Christine, widow of Walter de Chaure, clerk, to Bartholomew, master of SBH, on the advice of her friends and neighbors, of all the houses held by Walter next to Smithfield, on condition that her sons Ralph and John will be in custody of SBH until they will come of age. SBH must keep her sons in good condition giving them a reasonable quantity of food, clothes and shoes. The houses will be given to them when they will come of age or to the one who survives. If they both die while still in SBH, the property will remain with SBH. Christine will leave her copy of this deed with Geoffrey de Faber, her executor" (c. 1260).
54. Cartulary, 107.
55. Cartulary, 107.
56. Moore, Foundation, p. 19.
57. Cartulary, 107.
58. Clay, Medieval Hospitals, pp. 236-8. "The citizens, under the leadership of the Lord Mayor, made an urgent petition to Henry VIII (1538) for the re-foundation of certain hospitals."
59. Clay, Medieval Hosiptals, p. 238.