ABSTRACT

THE PASTON WOMEN AND GENTRY CULTURE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY

This gender and social history examines the role of the Paston family in the developing gentry culture in fifteenth-century England. A family who desired to increase their social standing, the Pastons worked to first obtain land and wealth in order to become a part of the gentry. This study primarily examines the second way that the Pastons proved their gentility; through exhibiting behavior associated with the gentry, the Pastons proved to the public that they were above the peasantry and that they belonged in the upper echelons of society. In their quest for gentility, the behavior of the Paston women was particularly important to the efforts of their family. This thesis focuses on the ways that Agnes and Margaret Paston adopted the advice present in contemporary conduct manuals and how they incorporated such behavior into their letters. By presenting an image of gentility in their letters, Agnes and Margaret participated in both the developing gentry culture in fifteenth-century England and in their family’s efforts to increase their social status. Letter writing was a venue through which medieval women could express their opinions, and in the case of the Paston women, it was a way for them to directly impact the station of their family. The exercise of gentility in which the Paston women participated demonstrates one way the creation of an individual identity impacts both social status and group formation in Late Medieval England.

Melissa Marie Morris December 2010

THE PASTON WOMEN AND GENTRY CULTURE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND

by Melissa Marie Morris

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of History in the College of Social Sciences California State University, Fresno December 2010

© 2010 Melissa Marie Morris APPROVED For the Department of History:

We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree.

Melissa Marie Morris Thesis Author

Mark Arvanigian (Chair) History

Maritere López History

Jill Fields History

For the University Graduate Committee:

Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS

I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship.

X Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me.

Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It seems that writing this thesis has taken over my life, but not in a bad way. I have dedicated a majority of my time and energy into researching, writing, and editing this thesis, but now that it is finished, I am extremely happy that I devoted so much effort towards its completion. The task has not been easy, and often not enjoyable; however, I am glad that I endured the process and completed the task that I set out to do. Although I would love to take credit for the entirety of this process, without the support of a number of others I would not have had the knowledge or the stamina to finish this task. Without them, this thesis would likely still be an unfinished product. First and foremost, I must thank Dr. Mark Arvanigian. He has spent the last three years carefully listening to my often crazy ideas, pointing me in the right direction. Without our many discussions of books and ideas, this thesis would still be an unfocused, jumbled mess. With his help, I have been able to gather my thoughts and research, and with his guidance, feel that I have a better understanding of the in England. Overall, the graduate program at California State University, Fresno has been a positive experience for me. In large part, I feel this has to do with the guiding hand of Dr. Maritere López. More than a graduate coordinator and advisor, Dr. López has pushed me and my writing to the next level. She has always been completely, often brutally, honest, telling me when I have needed to scrap ideas and start all over again. Although frustrating at the time, I realize now that her guidance has made me not only a better researcher and writer, but also a better individual. I am truly honored to have worked with Dr. López on several vi projects, including the publication of Hindsight Graduate History Journal and serving as her graduate assistant. These experiences have made my graduate school career both more enjoyable and more rewarding, while preparing me for my future endeavors. During my studies, Dr. Jill Fields has been gracious enough to not only give me guidance in the issues faced by women’s historians, but has also given me invaluable experience. By working closely with Dr. Fields, I have learned the processes behind producing an academic publication. Further, she has given me the opportunity to guest lecture in her women’s history classes, helping me to become more comfortable in front of a classroom of college students. Her confidence in me has greatly enhanced my graduate experience. Of my fellow graduate students, two in particular have impacted not only the writing of this thesis, but also my life. Michael Eissinger continuously encourages me and pushes me to continue with my research and education. He has read through this thesis a countless number of times, providing suggestions and edits that I would have missed. Jessica Szalay has been there for me in a number of ways during my time at Fresno State. From helping with Hindsight to letting me bounce ideas off of her, she has been a true friend and colleague. Without my many coffee and lunch outings with both Michael and Jessica I never would have stayed sane throughout the writing of this thesis. Most of all, my family has been an unbelievable source of strength. My grandparents Jerry and Janet Pfeiffer have given me both financial and emotional support. No matter how boring, my grandpa always reads the projects I have been a part of and asks me questions about my research. His interest in history and my research has kept me on track many times. Similarly, my grandma has always vii voiced how proud she is, marveling at the work I have put into this thesis. Their support has truly given me the strength to continue researching and writing. My parents, Larry and Cheryl Morris, have been my biggest cheerleaders throughout my life, and this process was no exception. A friend and confidant, my mom has patiently listened to my stress and frustrations, all the while encouraging me to continue to work towards my goals. Always ready with a smile and a joke, my dad often provided me with much needed stress relief by making me laugh. His reminders to never take life too seriously always helps me to put things in perspective and not get caught up in the seemingly small details. Without the love, support, and encouragement of both of my parents, I would not be where I am today. Last, but certainly not least, my husband Chris has always believed in me, even when I have doubted myself. His constant attention to detail has saved me numerous times from leaving embarrassing typos in various papers, including this thesis. But more than that, his friendship and love has encouraged me to continue on with this project, even during the times when I desperately wanted to give up. Thank you all for your time and commitment. It has truly made a difference in this resulting thesis and in my life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 CHAPTER 2: THE ENGLISH GENTRY IN THE FIFTEENTH-CENTURY: PROFESSIONS, WEALTH, AND SOCIAL MOBILITY ...... 26 CHAPTER 3: THE IDEAL WOMAN: FEMALE EXERCISES OF GENTILITY ...... 45

CONCLUSION ...... 81

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 93

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The fifteenth century was a time of contradiction in England; an expansion of royal government encouraged social movement and growth, while political events, such as the , created a tumultuous atmosphere in both the towns and countryside. Individuals and their families carefully navigated the political and social scene of the century, with many attempting to find favor with those higher in status while avoiding the direct danger of fighting or, more importantly, being on the losing side of a military dispute. It is this struggle to advance while eluding danger that largely defines the context of fifteenth-century England. A family with aspirations to climb the social ladder, the Pastons of illustrate the opportunities available in England and the often difficult path to increasing, and maintaining, one’s status. Although the Paston’s tale is representative of the life of a socially ambitious family, they are particularly important because they left an extensive collection of letters, today referred to as the , which detail the daily business of family affairs and their efforts to increase their status through activities such as securing land.1 The extant Paston Letters reflect the thoughts of several members of the medieval branch of the family, and not only contain invaluable information regarding the political and familial struggles in Late Medieval England, but also include detailed images of the personal and social experiences of the family.2 The Paston Letters have

1 The surviving Paston Letters are gathered in: Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), and Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976). 2 I focus on the Paston Letters of the fifteenth century. Later generations of the family also have extant letters and documents which I do not discuss here. Following the efforts of the family in the fifteenth century to establish themselves politically and socially, successive generations of the Pastons were important in England and were increasingly prosperous. Continuing to record their thoughts, later generations of the family similarly left letters and other documents. The letters attributed to Katherine 2

become important to modern historians due to the sheer volume of extant personal documents left by the family, many providing personal and business details of the lives of various family members. These letters create a detailed picture of the origins of a gentry family, seeking status and land to solidify their position amongst the upper echelons of society, and the manner in which they lived their daily lives. The wealth of information left by the Pastons regarding medieval life illustrates not only the personal dealings of the family but also an England in transition. Indeed, the Pastons experienced often the tumult of English politics, seeking any opportunities to raise their status. Much of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in England were dominated by war. The Hundred Years War, fought against France from 1337 to 1453, encouraged the establishment of laws and taxes in England to fund the war, leading to the growth of Parliament as a governmental institution.3 The length of the Hundred Years War clearly impacted the overall structure of English government, causing the King to update the manner in which the government did business and how it interacted with the people. The Wars of the Roses during the second half of the fifteenth century further impacted the manner in which England was ruled. Dealing with the political divisions created by the end of the Hundred Years War and the inability of Henry VI to rule, civil war ensued in England over who would ultimately hold

Knyvett, wife of Sir Edmund Paston, are the most important of such documents for the Paston family in the seventeenth century. Her letters are discussed briefly in: Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, li. For the text of her letters see: Katherine Knyvett Paston, The Correspondence of Lady Katherine Paston, 1603-1627 (Norfolk: Norfolk Record Society, 1941). 3 Christopher Allmand, The Hundred Years War: England and France at War c. 1300 – c. 1450 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 167, 172. For more detailed information on the intricacies of the war and its impact on English and French society, see: Anne Curry, The Hundred Years War (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), and David Green, Edward the Black Prince: Power in Medieval Europe (London: Pearson, 2007). 3

the crown.4 With battles fought on English soil, people of all social classes were drawn into the conflict. The Yorkists, led by Richard, Duke of York, and the Lancastrians, under the leadership of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of , were each determined to save the crown from the incompetency of the king, leading to a drawn-out conflict.5 Such fighting often caused the families to choose sides, providing social, political, and economic opportunities for those who correctly picked the winning side.6 The turmoil created by such disturbances fomented change not only in the political structure of England but also in its organization of society. The fifteenth century was a time of change where individual families such as the Pastons could take advantage of the unsettled political situation, unify with others who possessed similar aspirations, and raise their social status. On a basic level, the wars of the fifteenth century altered the political and social structures in England; government, and by association the number of governmental officials, grew, while those in the towns and countryside responded to the hardships of extended war and the changes in monarchical power. Due to these political changes in England, society became more flexible, allowing both social movement and a regrouping of individuals due to a newly acquired status. One particular social sector who benefitted from such transformation was the legal profession. Beginning with the war campaigns of Edward I, kings increasingly utilized the gentry nobility to staff governmental posts.7 With continued warfare, the king and the government needed more individuals to perform basic services,

4 Christine Carpenter, The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the constitution in England, c. 1437- 1509 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 116, 255. 5 Ibid., 116-117. 6 Ibid., 136. 7 Peter Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 166. 4

such as tax collection, and in direct service to the king, for example, by sitting in parliament, voting to approve the raising of taxes to finance further military expeditions. To fulfill his duties, knowledge of the law was particularly important to an individual’s ability to serve, providing him with a largely proven means of social advancement.8 To obtain such an appointment required a formal education; legal acumen was necessary for such positions, a noble family lineage was not. The government’s increasing need for legal professionals presented an opportunity for individuals to not only participate in the political decisions of England, but also to raise their social position in a world previously committed to giving a governing role only to those possessing a proven family lineage. The Pastons were one such family who took advantage of the available opportunities for social advancement. For the generations prior to Clement Paston, there is no existing documentation of the standing or profession of the Paston family, so Clement forms the de-facto beginning of the Paston family story. Although the exact status of the early generations of the family is unknown, a few facts suggest that they were of humble origins. In a document titled “A Remembraunce of the wurshypfull Kyn and Auncetrye of Paston, borne in Paston in Gemyngham Soken,” the anonymous author noted that Clement was “a good pleyn husbond, and lyvyd upon hys lond … The seyd Clement yede att on Plowe both wyntr and somer, and he rodd to mylle on the bar horsbak wyth hys corn undr hym, and brought hom mele ageyn under hym. And also drove hys carte with dyvrs cornys to Wyntrton to selle, as a good husbond ought to do.”9 Although

8 M. M. Postan, The Medieval Economy and Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), 157. 9 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, xli-xlii. Davis reprinted the text as recorded by William Frere, who possessed the document in 1823. However, the original document is missing and has been lost since the nineteenth century. 5 likely written sometime between 1444 and 1466 by an enemy of the Pastons, and thus possibly suspect, the information offered therein is supported by further information reflecting the Paston’s humble origins.10 Particularly, the Paston’s continued preoccupation in their letters with obtaining land and a solidified social standing illustrates their desire to distance the family from its past. Likely with aspirations to establish his children in a higher position, Clement, with the help of his wife’s brother Geoffrey Somerton, ensured his son William Paston received a formal school education in the law.11 It is possible that Clement recognized the opportunities available to those who obtained an education, and worked the land to enable his son to achieve the status that he had not. In this way, the Pastons are one example of a family with humble origins who possessed aspirations to advance socially and actively looked for ways to establish themselves amongst the upper echelons of society. Clement’s insistence on an education for his son William created opportunities to which the family previously did not have access. As a result of this education, William Paston established himself as a legal professional, increasingly holding governmental posts and consequently opening a larger circle of influence for the Paston family.12 In spite of William’s legal prowess, however, the family needed to confirm that they had overcome their lowly past to demonstrate that they legitimately belonged to the higher social class with which they increasingly associated. As one scholar noted, exhibiting behavior representative of the socially mobile, the Pastons likely recognized that they “must

10 Ibid., xli-xlii. 11 Ibid., xlii. 12 Frances and Joseph Gies, A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998), 29, 32. 6

be vigilant and wise to advance their status, for while much will be determined by their economic success, that material flourishing is itself dependent on their social self, that is, on their reputation and its enhancement.”13 Ownership of land and wealth was an important marker of status; however, a construction of the “social self,” according to the parameters of the group to which one aspired, was vital to social mobility. Historian Anna Bryson specifically discussed the importance of the “social self” to understanding the lives of Late Medieval and Early Modern individuals. For Bryson, manners were a vital element which defined the social interactions between individuals. Additionally, Bryson noted the importance of proper behavior in the shaping of identities. For example, creating a uniform behavior code among the aspiring gentry allowed them not only to form a coherent class, but also to set themselves apart from the rest of society. In this way, both the developing gentry and the established aristocracy “managed to find or forge new cultural forms, self-images, and codes of conduct which preserved their identity and upheld their legitimacy in a changing world.”14 With the changes in society, especially regarding the increased social mobility of individuals, the gentry and the aristocracy needed to establish that they were separate from the peasants and workers of England. This was particularly done through a creation of a uniform set of characteristics for the upper classes. By participating in activities like good behavior, individuals were able to come together with others who possessed ideals similar to their own to create a unified social group. Such individuals often were in comparable economic positions, and in defining the

13 David Gary Shaw, Necessary Conjunctions: The Social Self in Medieval England (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 71. 14 Anna Bryson, From Courtesy to Civility: Changing Codes of Conduct in Early Modern England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), 24. 7

gentry, many utilized good behavior to distance themselves from their humble familial origins. Even aristocratic families who had lost their wealth and prestige participated in activities of the gentry to prove that they still belonged to the ranks of the elites of society, although they no longer possessed the high honors which they previously held. For the Pastons, and families with similar aspirations, a large part of constructing an acceptable image was through exhibiting behavior and traits acceptable for members of the upper echelons of society. Land and wealth, though important, could only partly increase the status of an individual and his family. It was this exhibition of behavior accepted by the gentry that truly set families such as the Pastons apart from both the peasants and their own humble origins. Proper manners and behavior were an integral part of establishing social status. Furthermore, the acceptance of certain types of behavior by a number of individuals has impacted the development of a variety of social groups. Recognizing the importance of changing modes of acceptable behavior and the impact of manners on the development of Western societies and nations, social scientist Norbert Elias examines the origins of concepts such as “civilized” and “civilization,” linking them to the evolution of conduct which occurred during the Early Modern period, particularly in Germany and France.15 Elias posits that manners were vital in the formation of Early Modern social groups; specifically, individual groups utilized certain types of behavior to become civilized. By identifying such behaviors as “civilized,” individuals gave such traits meaning in the social realm.16 Individual social groups thus adopted such civilized behaviors,

15 Norbert Elias, The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations, trans. Edmund Jephcott (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2000). 16 Ibid., 8. 8

which were further refined through speech and in writing.17 It is through the writing down of these acceptable forms of behavior that such traits become rooted in society and subsequently used by varied groups as a means of self definition. The process of civilization depends on the acceptance by groups and individuals of “proper behavior”; once established, individuals perpetuate such behavior by teaching its properties to their children, the first generation to grow up adhering to such types of behavior.18 The formation of civilization and civilized behavior is therefore a process, shaped by association with like individuals who consciously adopt certain characteristics deemed appropriate by the group as a whole. As established by Elias, social groups are defined by the types of behavior to which they subscribe, a process seen in the development of the gentry in fifteenth- century England. If, as Elias argued, social groups were defined and advanced by their behavior, exhibiting proper manners was vital to families with social aspirations. Families such as the Pastons thus needed guidance on the types of behavior encouraged by the elite. To obtain this information and learn how to properly behave like members of the gentry, the Pastons likely turned to courtesy literature. These texts were written with the express purpose of teaching men and women how to increase their social status, and exhibiting “good behavior” was of primary importance in this quest.19 As established by Raluca Radulescu, conduct manuals were read and used by the gentry as tools in the shaping of a group identity.20

17 Ibid. 18 Ibid., 8-9. 19 Philippa Maddern, “Gentility,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 26. 20 Raluca Radulescu, “Literature,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 100-118. 9

Members of the gentry, or individuals aspiring to it, examined such texts and used the advice contained in them as guidelines for their own behavior.21 With its goal of instructing individuals on how to act, medieval conduct literature is consequently of chief importance to understanding the mindset of socially mobile professionals. Further, these texts are vital to recognizing how such ambitious individuals gathered together to establish the gentry as a distinct social entity in fifteenth-century England. Courtesy literature was an important instructional tool for families who desired to better their social status. Rather than providing general instructions for all sectors of the population, individual texts largely focused on one specific group. For example, The Babees Book, composed during the fifteenth century, concentrated on the instruction of young noblemen, while the poem “What the Goodwife Taught Her Daughter” advised a mother how to direct her daughter on the proper behavior of young women.22 Since courtesy texts directed their advice to a specific audience, in this study I focus only on the manuals which give instructions to women of the gentry. The building of status and reputation was a task given to all members of a socially mobile family. Families like the Pastons needed to prove their gentility in two ways: first, land and wealth were necessary precursors for an increased social standing. For example, male family members, such as William Paston and his son John I, politically established the family by gaining access to the royal court and parliament, positions which could lead to money and land. However, gentility also needed to be proved in a second, less

21 Ibid., 101-102. 22 Edith Rickert, The Babees’ Book: Medieval Manners for the Young: Done into Modern English from Dr. Furnivall’s texts (London: Chatto and Windus, 1923). For a detailed discussion of “What the Goodwife Taught Her Daughter,” see: Felicity Riddy, “Mother Knows Best: Reading Social Change in a Courtesy Text,” Speculum 71, no. 1 (Jan. 1996): 66-86. 10 concrete way. The rise of the Pastons depended on others thinking that they were a part of the gentry. Public perceptions of the Paston family were vital in a society and culture that often believed that appearance echoed reality. Thus, to be a gentleman or gentlewoman, others needed to believe that the individual was a member of the gentry. The creation of an image of gentility was one way that the Paston women contributed to the overall status of the family. While their respective husbands were obtaining wealth and land, Agnes and Margaret were responsible for the family’s local affairs. In taking care of these affairs, these women directly interacted with their neighbors. This made them more locally visible, a fact which required Agnes and Margaret to present themselves in a particular way to confirm the raised status of their family. Gentlewomen needed to maintain, and enhance, the family’s position to those around them, for aspiring gentry not only desired social status but also political and economic power. Without securing gentle status in the minds of local individuals, families such as the Pastons could not hope to gain control in their localities. Self presentation was thus as important, if not more so, for the Paston women than their male counterparts, due to their visibility in the community, and it was necessary for them to present an image consistent with the gentry status that their husbands worked so hard to achieve. The Pastons needed to not only acquire physical wealth and land, but it was also necessary for them to create a public image which confirmed their gentility to their neighbors. To understand Agnes and Margaret Paston’s quest for gentility, two courtesy manuals are particularly relevant. The Goodman of Paris and The of the Tower each instruct women on the types of behavior which men considered appropriate not only for women in general but for gentlewomen specifically. Written to instruct his wife on how to behave as a member of the bourgeoisie, the 11

Ménagier de Paris, an unknown Parisian merchant writing during the late fourteenth century, recorded advice on a number of issues a wife might face on a daily basis.23 In her introduction to The Goodman of Paris, editor Eileen Power marveled at the details included by the Ménagier, for “there is hardly a side of her daily life upon which it does not touch and it depicts in turn the perfect lady, whose deportment and manners do credit to her breeding, the perfect wife, whose submission to her husband is only equaled by her skill in ministering to his ease.”24 Through presenting advice to his wife, the Ménagier recorded the types of behavior acceptable for the upper classes, and ultimately created an image of what he, and by extension his social class, felt constituted an ideal woman and wife. Similarly to the Ménagier, Geoffroy de La Tour Landry instructed the women in his life, particularly his daughters, in proper behavior. However, what makes The Knight of the Tower unique is the fact that it was translated into English from the French in 1484 by William Caxton. Although many of the elite would have been able to read French, this work’s translation into English signified both the growth of the written vernacular and the importance of this particular text. Caxton’s efforts reflect his belief that the advice in this particular book was relevant to the lives of the English. In his introduction, Caxton established the value of his work, explaining that in its instructions “I fynd many virtuous good enseygnementis & lernynges by euydent histories of auctorite & good ensa~ples for al maner peple in generally / but in especial for ladyes & gentilwymen douyters to lordes & gentilmen / For whiche book al the gentilymen now lyuyng &

23 The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier De Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by a Citizen of Paris (c. 1393), trans. Eileen Power (London: George Routledge & Sons, LTD., 1928), 1. 24 Ibid., 10. 12

herafter to come or shal be arn bounde to gyue laude praysyng & thankynges to the auctor of this book & also to the lady that caused me to tra~slate it.”25 Containing a number of examples from the Bible and other ancient sources, Caxton argued that The Knight of the Tower provided a verified tradition of acceptable female behavior, dating back to antiquity. Caxton thus not only reiterated ancient traditions of proper behavior for gentlewomen, but also encouraged contemporary Englishwomen to exhibit such behaviors. As a text recently translated into English and directed at the instruction of gentlewomen, The Knight of the Tower was likely used by the Pastons, influencing the manner in which these aspiring gentlewomen behaved, further impacting how they defined themselves privately and publicly. The study of conduct manuals adds a further element to the investigation of individuals such as the Pastons, who employed proper modes of behavior as one way to increase their social status. Although courtesy literature has long been used by historians to illustrate various elements of medieval society, only recently have historians begun to examine the individual intricacies of these manuals. Anna Bryson detailed the way in which manners changed in England as a result of the switch from the medieval concept of courtesy to its Early Modern successor of civility.26 Believing that manners define our understanding of society and the ways in which individuals identified and grouped themselves, Bryson compared medieval conduct manuals to instructional literature printed later in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Although these medieval manuals established the ideal forms of behavior for men and women, such texts had to be read and imitated to

25 La Tour Landry, The Knight of the Tower, 1.1. 26 Bryson, From Courtesy to Civility. 13 have true relevance in society.27 Late Medieval and Early Modern English society was influenced by the evolution of social behavior; where medieval society emphasized the concept of “courtesy,” early modern society focused on the concept of “civility.” A comparison of the behavior encouraged in courtesy texts from both the Medieval and Early Modern periods demonstrates how pervasive good manners, and the manuals which provided instruction on such topics, were to English society. Good manners, as defined in courtesy literature, impacted the transition of English society from the Medieval to the Early Modern, largely through reshaping the image of how an individual should properly behave. As a group of professionals who used their education to increase their social standing, the gentry were more likely than those belonging to a lower social class to have access to conduct manuals and their content. Such access allowed the gentry to use this information to create a distinct identity separate from the illiterate masses. Manners became one way for specific groups to identify themselves, thus impacting the overall structure of society and its constituent social classes. Yet, tracking the acceptance and use of such types of behavior is quite difficult, largely due to the content of extant sources. Details linking the impact of the advice contained within conduct manuals are sparse. However, personal letters provide one valuable source of information regarding the ways that individuals subscribed to the ideals contained within courtesy literature. Letters were more than a method of communication; their composition reflects the personality of an individual through both the information he or she chose to include within the letter and the manner in which such information was structured. Agnes and Margaret Paston must have structured the information contained within

27 Ibid., 107. 14 their letters, and their decisions to exhibit proper behavior as described in contemporary conduct manuals demonstrates their acceptance of such advice and the role that these manuals had in the formation of social groups. As a cross between a public and a private document, letters provided women with a venue to discuss their opinions with others, often the men and women in their family or social class. Conversely, as semi-public documents, letters were a venue through which women could create a public image. Through their descriptions and their choices in structuring extant letters, women demonstrated the social conventions to which they subscribed. Using the clues left in extant letters, this study looks at the way the Paston women presented themselves in their letters and how their adherence to proper behavior contributed to the growing class consciousness of the gentry. Although conduct manuals provide the foundation for a study of the role of behavior, specifically women’s behavior, in the establishment of the English gentry, it is the Paston Letters which can show how an individual family used such advice in their daily lives. The letters of Agnes and Margaret Paston demonstrate the power of presenting a proper public image and how the adherence to social conventions, like good behavior, was used to develop class consciousness among individuals. In this way, the Paston women were acutely aware of their social position, while their sex was a secondary factor in their lives. Thus their position as aspiring members of the gentry figured prominently in their correspondence, as Agnes and Margaret each demonstrated their gentility to others. For this reason, the Paston Letters form the crux of my argument. Yet to recognize the true significance of these letters, letter writing as a genre must first be understood. Letters are invaluable to historians as sources which provide a deeper understanding of an individual interpretation of events. Specifically, for women, 15

letters provided a rare venue to express opinions to others. Yet the letter is a complex document, impacted by the writing style of the author, by the way the author chose to structure it, and by whether the letter was autographed or dictated to a scribe. Each of these various elements impacted both the content of the letter and the image created by its author. Further, it is the descriptions contained within a letter and its structure that provides insight into the life of an individual. In this way, letters possess meaning, or “epistolarity,” and it is this meaning that sets the letter apart from other written documents. A pioneer of the study of the letter and its form, the historian Giles Constable establishes the early foundations for the study of medieval letters.28 For Constable, “the essence of the epistolary genre, both in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, was not whether a letter was actually sent but whether it performed a representative function.”29 Individuals composed and sent letters for a myriad of reasons and wrote them in various forms; such variety makes a specific definition of the epistolary genre difficult, if not impossible. Eschewing the urge to define the epistolary genre concretely, Constable simply explained it as literature which represents the author to his or her audience. For Constable, the act of sending a letter was not necessary for a letter to be included in the epistolary genre. Rather, it was the author’s construction of his or her thoughts in the letter format which gave the letter its meaning. In Constable’s definition of the epistolary genre, it was an individual’s decision to compose his or her thoughts in the letter format that both gave it value and separated it from other documents. When a letter was sent, it served as the written form of verbal communication between author and recipient; it was only physical distance

28 Giles Constable, Letters and Letter-Collections (Brepols: Turnhout, 1976). 29 Ibid., 13. 16 between the two that confined the communication to the form of a letter. The letter was one manner of communication; on a basic level, it enabled individuals to relay information to others, while allowing them to insert their personality throughout the text of the letter. The study of the epistolary genre has greatly expanded since Constable, with historians and scholars of English literature contributing new scholarship to the growing field.30 Cultural historian Janet Altman, for example, further explained epistolary theory by looking at what she terms the “epistolarity” of correspondence.31 Defined as “the use of the letter’s formal properties to create meaning,” Altman detailed the various ways in which letters have been used, particularly in literature, although actual letters possessed many qualities utilized by fiction writers.32 Altman detailed six elements of the epistolary genre she believed were most important to the epistolary genre. Of greatest relevance to the dissection of both the form of the letter and the manner in which it was written was her discussion of epistolary discourse and its main characteristics.33 Among

30 For further studies on letter writing during the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, see: Roger Chartier, Alain Boureau, and Cécile Dauphin, Correspondence: Models of Letter-Writing from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), Karen Cherewatuk and Ulrike Wiethaus, ed., Dear Sister: Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre (Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 1993), Eleanor Duckett, Women and their Letters in the Early Middle Ages (Baltimore: Barton-Gillett Company, 1965), Elizabeth C. Goldsmith, ed., Writing the Female Voice: Essays on Epistolary Literature (Boston: Northeast University Press, 1989), Claudio Guillén, “Notes Toward the Study of the Renaissance Letter,” in Renaissance Genres: Essays on Theory, History, and Interpretation, ed. Barbara Kiefer Lewalski (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986), and Barbara Kiefer Lewalski, ed., Renaissance Genres: Essays on Theory History, and Interpretation (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986). 31 Janet Gurkin Altman, Epistolarity: Approaches to a Form (Columbus: Ohio State University, 1982). 32 Ibid., 4. 33 Ibid., 117. Altman establishes six key characteristics of the epistolary genre which include: (1) epistolary mediation, where the letter serves as a way to separate or connect individuals, (2) confidence and confidants, (3) the weight of the reader, (4) epistolary discourse, (5) epistolary closure, and (6) the epistolary mosaic, or the manner in which the letters are arranged within a specific text. 17

its core elements, Altman stressed the temporal limitations of the letter. In this respect, there are three moments relevant to the lifecycle of a letter: first, an event occurs; next, the author of the letter writes about the event that happened; last, the recipient of the letter reads about the event at a later point in time.34 Thus the cycle of a letter is more complex than just author, recipient, and immediate text. The passing of time is a crucial element in the cycle of a letter, and this is important to remember when studying its content because this time lapse impacted both the way a letter was written and received. An author writes about an event after it occurs, giving him or her an opportunity to decide the manner in which to present it. This time allows for reflection of the authors; letter writers have time to digest the details of an event, enabling them to decide how they are to recount their tale to the letter’s intended recipient. Medieval letter writers were keenly aware of this time lapse; for example, in a letter to Margaret Paston, Alice Crane noted, “at the makyng of this letter I was in good hele.”35 The acknowledgement of the gap in time between the composition of a letter and its reading by the intended recipient must have weighed on the minds of the authors, impacting the manner in which they composed their thoughts. The conscious decision to compose a letter in a specific way, choosing to include some details over others, provides insight into the author’s personality. Furthermore, a recipient has the opportunity to re-read a letter, digesting and reinterpreting the information present in the text. The relationship between the letter’s author and its recipient is thus impacted by time and space, ultimately influencing the contemporary meaning of a letter and its historical epistolarity.

34 Ibid., 118. 35 Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976), no. 711. 18

In her work, Altman provided for ways to recognize and study the various elements of letters, but her focus on fictional letters begged further study into the lives and experiences of real correspondents. Furthering the work of predecessors such as Constable and Altman, Gary Schneider applied the definitions of epistolarity to circulated letters in Early Modern England, revealing a developing epistolary culture.36 For Schneider, letters embodied face-to-face contact when such personal interaction was not possible due to distance; as a form of personal contact, letter writers thus infused their personality, emotions, and behaviors into their letters.37 Building on Constable’s earlier work, Schneider noted that senders of letters utilized this form of communication to create a defined representation of not only themselves but also their culture and its established social customs to their recipient. Most noticeably, in these letters authors “frequently employed body parts, body motions, and body images as epistolary metaphors of demeanor and behavior in order to represent convincingly the operations, actions and performance of the sender. These epistolary exchanges obeyed the customs, courtesies, and civilities of early modern society in all its environments – in intimate circumstances, in patron-client relationships, and in official contexts.”38 Information contained within letters thus demonstrates the cultural behaviors and customs accepted by the author. It is thus the realization that the authors infused their culture and personality in their letters that separates Schneider’s work from Constable’s. Letters not only conveyed information; they simultaneously included mental images of social convention as adapted by the author of a letter. In a

36Gary Schneider, The Culture of Epistolarity: Vernacular Letters and Letter Writing in Early Modern England, 1500-1700 (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2005). 37Ibid., 110. 38Ibid., 115-116. 19

variety of letter types, both personal and business, polite behavior was exercised by the author. The portrayal of such behavior confirmed to individuals, specifically the letter’s recipient, of the social standing of the author. Further, the inclusion of proper manners echoed the types of behavior which the author of a letter exhibited in his or her daily life. The decision of which information to include ultimately impacted the image of the author which the recipient gathered from the letter; for example, in order to uphold the public status of the author, he or she often included social conventions, like polite behavior, to reinforce their position. In this way, a letter served as a representational microcosm of contemporary social courtesy and the degree to which individuals subscribed to and utilized proper behavior. The intricacies involved in examining both letters and conduct manuals as documents influence a study of the impact of proper behavior on the lives of medieval individuals and their efforts of group formation. As historical documents, letters possess both strengths and weaknesses; however, letters still provide personal insight into how individuals, particularly those who did not have a public voice like Agnes and Margaret Pastons, used courtesy literature. Furthermore, the construction of such letters demonstrates how individuals transferred the behavior they learned from conduct manuals to their daily lives. Yet the question remains, how did the Pastons utilize their letters to present an image of gentility? Through their correspondence, the Pastons created a detailed picture of not only the daily lives of medieval individuals but also the efforts of a family desiring to raise their social status. As the authors of a number of letters, the Pastons provide insight into many issues faced by socially mobile individuals and how such persons interacted with others to establish the gentry as a defined class during the fifteenth century. 20

With the wealth of information left by the Pastons, the family has been the focus of several historical studies. In his foundational study of the family and their letters, The Pastons and their England: Studies in an Age of Transition, H.S. Bennett primarily focused on the society of the fifteenth-century and how the Pastons fit into the social fabric of England.39 Particularly, Bennett aimed to explain the everyday life of the Paston family.40 To do so, Bennett divided medieval society into specific elements, like marriage, parenting, housing, and education, using each topic to develop their influence on the Pastons and their letters by comparing this information to other texts, both literature and political documents. Covering a wide range of topics, Bennett examined varied social elements such as marriage and the family, alongside vastly different factors like the condition of roads and bridges in the countryside. By covering a wide range of topics, Bennett provided a sweeping overview of the many details of medieval life. Through the lens of the Paston Letters, Bennett not only created a picture of the lives of the Paston family but also an image of English society as it impacted the family and others in a similar economic, political, and social position. Bennett utilized the wealth of information in the Paston Letters to describe the structure of society; however, with the focus on medieval society, he was not able to also explain the intricacies of the lives of members of the family. Instead, their letters were used to create a larger picture of life in England during the fifteenth century. For example, in a chapter devoted to the experiences of the daily lives of the Paston women, Bennett superficially recounted the tasks and chores these women were responsible for managing. In introducing these women as housewives,

39 H.S. Bennett, The Pastons and their England: Studies in an Age of Transition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951). 40 Ibid., ix. 21

Bennett stated that “Margaret Paston, as well as all women of a humbler station of life, was obliged to scheme and plan in order to keep her kitchen and pantry well supplied.”41 From this point, Bennett proceeded to explain how Margaret Paston managed to maintain the family cellars. This created an image of the activities in which medieval women were involved on a daily basis, yet Bennett merely briefly explained what these activities were rather than providing any in-depth analysis of the way that Margaret experienced these responsibilities. Thus, with the wide range of topics and the lack of detailed explanations, Bennett developed an introductory work regarding gentry society as reflected in the Paston Letters. For Bennett, the Pastons were the means to explain the larger forces at work in the fifteenth century. Through their letters, the Paston family describes the quality of life for individuals and the structure of society in fifteenth-century England. Although their letters present information which can create a better understanding of society as a whole, it was the lives of the individual Paston members that ultimately influenced the writing of their letters and the content each included in their correspondences. However, the personal experiences of the Pastons impacted the information contained within their letters. Historian Colin Richmond produced a massive three-volume project to examine in detail the family’s experiences.42 Although each of Richmond’s volumes chronicled different aspects of the lives of the Pastons, he clearly established his goals for the three in the introduction to his first volume, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase. For

41 Ibid., 52. 42 These three volumes include: Colin Richmond, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: Fastolf’s will (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), and The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: Endings (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000). 22

Richmond, the details of the lives of the Pastons presented a pleasurable opportunity to examine the fifteenth century in a unique, and entertaining, way. Richmond desired to present the numerous details of the lives of the Pastons, both the major events and the minutiae, in a narrative manner, eschewing analysis in his personal belief that too much analysis smothered the enjoyment of both the student of history and the reader.43 Furthermore, Richmond wanted to stay true to the voices of the Pastons, allowing them to speak through the direct text of their

letters.44 Thus the letters were extensively quoted in order to recreate the experiences of various members of the family. Richmond’s narrative clearly established the details of the social, political, and economic rise of the Pastons, their subsequent struggles in maintaining their increased status, and the eventual reinstatement of their property holdings and position as a gentry family. However, in focusing solely on the lives of the Pastons, Richmond often ignored the larger context of the fifteenth century. Instead of comparing the experiences of the Pastons to their peers, Richmond established the Pastons as the archetype of the gentry. For example, in noting the long life of matriarch Agnes, Richmond described the impact this had on her children, specifically her eldest son, I.45 With Agnes alive, John I had a smaller inheritance, for one-third of the family lands were committed to maintaining the livelihood of his mother as dowager. Rather than offering examples of similar situations, Richmond noted that a majority of the widows of the gentry often survived their husbands by a number of years, stating, “all, therefore, seems to be true to fifteenth-century

43 Richmond, The First Phase, ix. 44 Ibid., x. 45 Richmond, Fastolf’s will, 8. 23

English gentry form.”46 Richmond neither supported nor verified his claim. In fact, this weakness is evident throughout volumes one and two, The First Phase and Fastolf’s will. Therefore, while Richmond created a detailed history of the Pastons’ lives and experiences, his assumptions regarding them as the archetypal gentry family in Medieval England may be overreaching. The narrative style of these volumes compromises his argument, by not contextualizing the Paston’s experiences with those of a similar status. In spite of this weakness, Richmond’s committed focus to explaining the lives of the Pastons created a broad history of the family, providing a basis for a deeper contextual examination into specific elements of the family. Through the works of individuals such as Bennett and Richmond, the lives of the Pastons are widely known, creating a foundation for further research into both this family specifically and the gentry more generally. As we have seen, the details found in the Paston Letters have encouraged the composition of a number of historical studies focused on the experiences of the family and also how they viewed fifteenth-century politics, economics, and society.47 However, of the scholarship previously produced on the Pastons, no study has examined the impact that courtesy literature had on the Paston women, particularly Agnes and Margaret, and the way that their adherence to such ideals allowed them to participate in the growing gentry culture of fifteenth-century

46 Ibid. 47 The Pastons have been examined by historians in a number of contexts. Below is a list of some good examples of the variety of scholarship produced using the Paston Letters. For more information on the lives of the Paston family, see: Helen Castor, Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During England’s Tumultuous Wars of the Roses (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006) and Frances and Joseph Gies, A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998). For a condensed discussion of the experiences of the Pastons and the context of their letters, see: Charles W. Turner, “The Paston Letters,” The Sewanee Review 5, no. 4 (Oct. 1897): 425-437. For an example of how the details found in the Paston Letters have been used to explain the lives of individuals in fifteenth-century England, see: Peter Fleming, Family and Household in Medieval England (New York: Palgrave, 2001). 24

England. In the remainder of this study I focus on understanding both the rising gentry class and the ways in which women like Agnes and Margaret Paston contributed to the group’s culture through their adherence to idealized behavior as presented in contemporary courtesy literature. In Chapter 1, I examine the background of the Paston family and their efforts to raise the status of the family. Additionally, I detail the Pastons’ means of social mobility, including how they were able to capitalize on the social turmoil of the fifteenth century, thus gaining land, wealth, and political power. In Chapter 2, I narrow the focus to Agnes and Margaret Paston, examining the manner in which each presented herself in her letters. I then compare the idealized images presented in contemporary conduct manuals with the way the Paston women constructed the thoughts in their letters. This comparison demonstrates the importance of such advice and its impact on how women used such presentations to enhance their family’s social position. Agnes and Margaret Paston both contributed to the establishment of the gentry as a distinct social entity, proved through their adherence to behavior adopted by the gentry as a group. The Paston women were not alone in their efforts, as evidenced by the use of proper behavior by other women in families similarly working to establish themselves amongst the gentry. These aspiring women’s choices to exhibit proper behavior illustrates that women did have an active role in the creation of a unified gentry culture. The Paston family survived the tumult of the political situation of fifteenth- century England, navigating its economic and social situation to increase their status and wealth. The Paston men were not the only members responsible for the rise of the family; Agnes and Margaret participated in activities, including the exhibition of proper behavior, to establish the family in a better social position. This adherence to proper behavior, which women in a similar position also 25 displayed, demonstrates the ways society impacted the development of the gentry as a distinct group. The experiences of the Paston Letters thus provide the perspective of one family and how they fit into this development of the gentry as a separate social group.

CHAPTER 2: THE ENGLISH GENTRY IN THE FIFTEENTH- CENTURY: PROFESSIONS, WEALTH, AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

The Paston family desired to secure their position amongst the landed elite of England. In this respect, they were hardly unusual amongst the gentry population. Social and political changes in the landscape of Late Medieval England encouraged movement between social classes. A growing number of professionals, significant to the evolving nature of the government, desired to parlay their social position as they became increasingly important in the political

world.1 As a member of this growing professional class, William Paston established a legal practice which allowed him to begin the process of acquiring land.2 Land remained the key element in determining position, power, and status, and amassing it was a necessary precursor for William and other professionals to achieve high status. In addition to obtaining land, there were many other elements vital to securing a family’s position in the gentry. Behavior and manners might demonstrate a family’s social quality, as well. The exhibition of polite behavior, an element of the process of gentrification, allowed the nouveau riche of the professional classes to show that they were worthy members of the gentry, in spite of any questionable family lineages or other obstacles. All members of the Paston family, male and female, recognized the importance of proper behavior as a supplement to their efforts in acquiring land. The adoption of these processes of gentrification allowed the Pastons to, in a sense, “rewrite” their family genealogy, enabling them to participate in the developing gentry culture.

1Peter Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 200. 2Colin Richmond, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 23. 27

This manifestation of proper behavior, along with the acquisition of land, was critical in the process of gentrification, and also the defining of the gentry as a social class, distinct from the nobility and the peasantry. The origins of the gentry class has been hotly debated amongst historians, with some tracing its origins as far back as Anglo-Saxon England, while others have argued that the gentry coalesced as a class much later, really in the sixteenth century, further defining itself socially, politically, and economically thereafter.3 With the varying dates for the origins of the gentry, it becomes difficult to trace the beginnings of the group as a social and political entity. Recognizing the debatable origins of the gentry, Peter Coss places the development of the gentry in the political context of Late Medieval England, arguing that the growing royal government encouraged the formation of a lesser nobility to fill the new positions it created, particularly as a result of the exigencies of war.4 Coss supports this through an examination of the rising influence of the Commons and the involvement of the localities in the government. Christine Carpenter similarly recognizes the importance of this time to the development of the gentry. In studying the dynamics of the landed elite in Warwickshire, Carpenter clearly establishes the fifteenth century as a time of change and expansion for the gentry.5 Although studying a single county,

3 For a brief example of an argument for the earlier establishment of the gentry see, John Gillingham, “From Civilitas to Civility: Codes of Manners in Medieval and Early Modern England,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Sixth Series, 12, (2002): 267-289. Describing the concept of courtesy literature, Gillingham argued that a focus on polite behavior emerged in manuals beginning in the twelfth century. For Gillingham, these instruction manuals in the twelfth century were connected to instructing the population on how to be gentle, which he believed was connected to the concurrent rise of the English gentleman. 4 Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry, 15. 5 Christine Carpenter, Locality and Polity: A Study of Warwickshire Landed Society, 1401-1499 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 17-95. In her chapter, “Who Were the Gentry?” Carpenter compares the situation of the Warwickshire gentry at three different years throughout the fifteenth century, 1410, 1436, and 1500. Carpenter clearly establishes an evolution of the landed elite at 28

Carpenter’s analysis can be utilized in various parts of England, including the county of Norfolk where the Pastons exhibited their ambitions. For D.A.L. Morgan, however, the fifteenth century marked the establishment of the gentry as separate from the lower classes, particularly the yeomen, by giving the gentleman “the exercise of rule.”6 Changes in government allowed the lesser nobility, which was increasingly identified as the gentry, to establish itself as an entity separate from the nobility and peasantry. It was this opportunity for growth and improvement that allowed the Pastons the chance to better the position of their family. In order to understand the evolution of the gentry in England, it is important to recognize the dynamics of the population that constituted the group. According to Coss, there are three major elements that define the gentry: land, territoriality, and a feeling of social difference.7 In regards to the feelings of social difference, Coss argues that the gentry was determined by the existence of the nobility.8 By the mid-fifteenth century, likely feeling threatened by those attempting to usurp their elevated positions, the nobility became increasingly stratified, creating newly classified groups to separate the gentry from the nobility.9 The gentry looked to the nobility for guidance as to how to behave as a member of the upper echelons of society while the nobility increasingly separated themselves from the rising

these varying points throughout the century, but suggests that it was this period that solidified the position of the gentry in local and national society. 6 D.A.L. Morgan, “The Individual Style of the English Gentleman,” in Gentry and Lesser Nobility in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Michael Jones (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), 19. 7 Peter Coss, “The Formation of the English Gentry,” Past and Present, no. 147 (May, 1995): 47- 48. 8 Ibid., 48. 9 K. B. McFarlane, The Nobility of Later Medieval England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973), 122. 29

professionals. However, for the gentry, the nobility continued to be a model whose actions the gentry often imitated to solidify their standing. For example, those aspiring to the gentry often looked to the ranks of the nobility for ways to acquire property. Although the well established families often possessed a variety of reasons for selling their land, childlessness was one of the most compelling reasons for parting with family property.10 For those desiring to gain land, and the status that accompanied it, the failure of a family line provided an opportunity to increase income and position. Furthermore, the nobility provided the ideal image to which the rising families aspired, and obtaining property constituted the first concrete manifestations of increasing one’s status. Along with the numerous families who desired to be a part of the elite, the Pastons recognized the importance of land possession to self-presentation. As a lawyer, William Paston recognized the connection between land and status, and began the process of procuring property with the money he earned in the legal profession.11 Professional earnings enabled men such as William to purchase a better life, especially through obtaining material goods that were previously reserved for the nobility.12 With high aspirations, William undertook the process of acquiring land from those who had it, and as a lawyer, he understood the ways that the law could be used to achieve a desired result. It is possible that William utilized devious means in trying to obtain land, especially from those he deemed vulnerable. Helen Castor notes that “the political, social, and financial value of manorial land was such that no one would willingly relinquish any sort of a claim

10 Chris Given-Wilson, The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages (London: Routledge, 1996), 129. 11 Richmond, The First Phase, 23. 12 R. H. Gretton, The English Middle Class (London: G. Bell and Sons, LTD., 1917), 10. 30

to its possession, and the heirs of whoever sold the property, or of those who had owned it in the past – even the distant past – might allege that they had been unlawfully deprived of their rights.”13 While gaining manorial land was particularly important to those desiring to raise their social status, the process could be difficult and costly. As a lawyer, William had at his disposal legal means that could be used to gain land in the most efficient way. Yet doing so was not without potential conflict. The ambition of the Pastons for power, land, and prestige was not always received well by those around them, particularly those that the family had manipulated in order to achieve their goals. William was particularly astute at this game, and in the process, created certain enemies. For example, in a petition to King Henry VI, Juliane Herberd “widue, or Norwyche, doughter and heire to Henry Herbard and to Margaret his wyf” accused William of depriving her “of a mesuage with xix acres of lande arable, vij acres of heth, with the appurtenauncez, in Plumsted.”14 William, after offering a sum that Juliane believed was too little for her property, “by fals emaginacion sodeynly sent the same Juliane vnto prison to one of the countours of London, and there kept hire in prison xiij nyghtes and more, feterid by bothe feet, and thretenyd the same Juliane to kepe hir there all the dayes of her lyffe.”15 From Juliane’s descriptions, William was painted as a sinister man who was willing to do whatever was necessary in order to gain the property that he desired, even if it meant taking advantage of a defenseless widow. In one of William’s few remaining personal letters, he referred to the situation

13 Helen Castor, Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During England’s Tumultuous Wars of the Roses (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006), 36. 14 Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976), no. 870. 15 Ibid. 31

with Juliane when asking for deliverance from three of his enemies, of which Juliane was one. In William’s words, “I haue nought trespassed a-geyn noon of these iij, God knowith, and yet I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem to my gret vnease.”16 The opinion of Juliane and William obviously differed regarding the situation. Yet the issue does not hinge on which party was giving an accurate retelling of the situation. Instead, the character of William and his strong desire for land was demonstrated through his involvement and treatment of Juliane Herberd. William was far more concerned with the landed status of his family than in the treatment of a lowly widow; he knew that possessing property was in the long term a more critical manifestation of wealth and status. It is possible that in this situation William acted as a greedy newcomer, thinking first of himself and his family while ignoring the livelihood of a widow. If Juliane’s version of events is accurate, it did not matter to William that he had to take drastic measures in order to obtain her land. William’s letter regarding the situation demonstrates that he believed he did not do anything wrong, and if he did recognize the unlawfulness of his actions, he clearly showed no remorse for the measures taken. Regardless of the implications, William participated in strong actions to obtain the property that he desired. For members of the rising professional class, land was a commodity that was desired precisely because it could be passed on to future generations, who then could work to further strengthen the family name. In regard to the Pastons, a fixation on increasing the family estate and status was passed on from William to not only his male children, but also to his wife Agnes and his sons’ wives, especially his daughter-in-law Margaret. In a letter encouraging her son John I to

16 Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), no. 4. 32

acquire more land, Agnes opined that “John Dam told me that þe Lady Boys will selle a place called Halys, but he seith sche speketh it prevyly and seith it is not tayled; as John Dam knoweth will, she hath seide as largely of oþer thyng þat hath not be so.”17 Agnes had learned of the possibility that Lady Boys wished to sell some of her property, and informing John of this rumor would allow him to take the opportunity to convince Lady Boys that she did indeed want to sell her land. Gaining property appeared to be a point of focus for Agnes in 1452, for in the same letter she similarly noted to John that John Dam “herd seyn Sere hath sold Heylysdon to Boleyn of London, and if it be so it semeth he will selle more; wherefore I preye you, as ye will haue my loue and my blissyng, þat ye will helpe and do youre deuer that sumthyng were purchased for youre ij bretheren.”18 For Agnes, the fact that John Fastolf had recently sold some property meant that he was likely to be willing to sell more in the near future.19 Acquiring such land would not only increase the immediate situation of John, but it would also allow for the provision of his younger brothers. Agnes was concerned with the overall image of the heir of the Paston family; however, she wanted her younger sons to be similarly provided for. Agnes clearly understood William’s desire to increase the family landholdings and she continued to pursue this goal after his death.

17 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 25. 18 Ibid. 19 Sir John Fastolf was an individual who would ultimately influence the efforts of the Paston family. Fastolf fought in France during the Hundred Years War and he gathered extensive wealth in both England and France from his service. He was a distant relative of Margaret Paston, and John I’s marriage to Margaret introduced Fastolf to the Pastons. John I served Fastolf near the end of his life, and it is the dispute over Fastolf’s inheritance that occupied much of the energy of the Paston family after Fastolf’s death. For more information on Sir John Fastolf, see: Helen Castor, Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During England’s Tumultuous Wars of the Roses (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), especially 136-161, Frances and Joseph Gies, A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998), especially 99-161, and Colin Richmond, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: Fastolf’s will (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 33

William and Agnes instilled in their children a desire for property in order to solidify the family’s status as members of the gentry and not just residents of the rising professional class. Purchase was not the only method for the gentry to obtain land and prestige. In families with high aspirations, marriage was an avenue through which they could easily increase their landholdings and their status. Reoccurrence of plague during the late fourteenth century, and the general tendency for aristocratic lines to fail often left heiresses rather than heirs in charge of the family property.20 These heiresses became a desirable commodity for status building purposes. Making a successful marriage match became increasingly important, for the right decision “could provide an alliance with a family which had influence with the king or the nobility, standing and power in the locality, social status, money and lands, and it was through marriage that the family name and patrimony were

maintained.”21 The stakes were relatively high in obtaining a beneficial marriage match, but for those seeking to increase their social status, the time and effort devoted to securing a beneficial marriage was vitally important. The marriage game was one that the Pastons understood well. Beginning with the founding ambitions of William, the Pastons strove in successive generations to secure propitious marriages for themselves and their children. The marriages of William to Agnes Barry, and their son John I’s marriage to Margaret were especially important to the rise of the Paston family.22 Agnes was an heiress whose marriage settlement included valuable lands around Paston, near

20 S.J. Payling, “Social Mobility, Demographic Change, and Landed Society in Late Medieval England,” The Economic History Review 45, no. 1 (Feb., 1992): 52. 21 Peter Fleming, Family and Household in Medieval England (New York: Palgrave, 2001), 31. 22 Richmond, The First Phase, 117. 34

those added by William through the property market.23 William’s marriage to Agnes had improved the standing of the family early on in its rise into the gentry; however, it was the marriage of his heir John I to Margaret that ultimately proved more beneficial to the ambitions of the family. The marriage of their son John was obviously of great importance to both William and Agnes, for in reporting to her husband about the initial meeting between John and Margaret, Agnes wrote that “as for þe furste aqweyntaunce be-twhen John Paston and þe seyde gentilwomman, she made hym gentil chere in gyntyl wyse and seyde he was verrayly yowre son. And so I hope þer shal nede no gret treté be-twyxe hym.”24 Similar to her mother-in-law, Margaret was the heiress of her father’s property, although the property that she brought was more significant and more important than those contributed by Agnes.25 Aside from providing additional lands to the Paston family, Margaret also placed her husband in a position to make connections with her father’s powerful friends, including Sir John Fastolf, whose acquaintance would prove decisive to the fate of the family.26 The addition of Agnes and Margaret to the family benefitted their husbands with additional property and prestige during their lifetimes, and in this respect, William and John made successful matches to strengthen their ambitions. These Paston women were vital to the initial social advancement of the family. Yet Agnes and Margaret provided more than physical assets to the family, and as heiresses of the landed elite, they recognized the varied elements that went into being members of the upper

23H.S. Bennett, The Pastons and their England: Studies in an Age of Transition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), 2. 24 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 13. 25 Richmond, The First Phase, 121. 26 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, xliv. 35

echelons of English society. In more than one respect, the Paston women aided their husbands in establishing the family in the ranks of the gentry. The Pastons were not the only rising family that worked the marriage market to their advantage. Evidence from extant sets of gentry letters confirms this general point. The correspondence of the Plumpton family, for example, demonstrates a similar desire of the male heads of the family to secure advantageous matches for their children.27 Unlike the Pastons, the Plumptons contracted early marriages for their children, generally involving girls younger than twelve and boys younger than fifteen.28 For example, Sir William Plumpton’s first marriage to Elizabeth Stapleton was arranged by his parents in 1416 when both were still in their minorities.29 Taking an active hand in the marriages of his descendants, Sir William capitalized on the heiress status of his two granddaughters, Margaret and Elizabeth, in order to obtain advantageous marriages and thereby promote family interests after the death of his legitimate heir.30 Both girls were still young at the time of their marriages, and their matches were clearly manipulated by Sir William. The control of Sir William over his granddaughters was evident in a letter addressed to him from Bryan Rocliffe, the father of John Rocliffe who eventually married Margaret Plumpton. Recognizing the youth of Margaret, Bryan Rocliffe noted that “your daughter any myn, with humble recomendations, desireth your blessing, and speaketh prattely and French

27 These letters are compiled in: Thomas Stapleton, ed., Plumpton Correspondence: A Series of Letters, chiefly domestick, written in the reigns of Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII, and Henry VIII (London: Johnson Reprint Company, 1968). 28 Keith Dockray, “Why Did Fifteenth-Century English Gentry Marry?: The Pastons, Plumptons and Stonors Reconsidered,” in Gentry and Lesser Nobility in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Michael Jones (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), 64. 29 Stapleton, ed., Plumpton Correspondence, xliii. 30 Dockray, “Why Did Fifteenth-Century English Gentry Marry?”, 67. 36

and hath near hand learned her sawter. Sir, Henry Suthill hath knowledge of her feofment, as a man tould me secretyly, but for all that I trust all shalbe well.”31 Sir William took great pains to secure the betrothal of his granddaughter Margaret, while keeping this agreement secret in order to solidify a marriage for Elizabeth. His decisions were clearly calculated, devised in such a way as to strengthen the position and prospects of the family. For the Plumptons, marriage was a commodity that was capitalized on in both the matches of male and female children. During his lifetime, the marriage matches of his descendants were extremely important to Sir William, particularly regarding how these marriage connections could strengthen his position politically and socially. For gentry families, like the Pastons and the Plumptons, the marriage market was a valuable commodity that could be utilized to their own advantage to further their family interests, both financial and social. Marriage provided one avenue for ambitious families such as the Pastons to gain access to the land, prestige, and connections that were necessary to solidify their position in the gentry. However, marriage was not the only element required to gain entry into the higher social classes. Coss argues that the power of the gentry was territorial in nature, as determined through four components which he termed “collective identity, status gradation, local public office and authority over the populace.”32 It was through these four elements that the gentry formed a unified group identity during the Late Middle Ages. As a lesser nobility, the gentry needed the nobility to define its existence. Building on this foundation, through the development of a group identity based on status, the gentry separated

31 Stapleton, ed., Plumpton Correspondence, 8. 32 Coss, “The Formation of the English Gentry,” 48. 37

themselves from the nobles, yeomen, and the peasants. From this argument, we can define the gentry as a land-owning group, dependant on the existence of the nobility, whose members possessed a territorial focus that allowed the group to develop a common identity due to their shared experiences and conditions. Yet the beginnings of the gentry encompassed an evolution of traits and characteristics, and the process was not instantaneous. To solidify their exalted position in society, this land-owning class needed to establish itself as a group distinct from other elements of the English population. In order to unify, the gentry required a shared set of characteristics to publicly mark their positions as superior and worthy of owning land. Thus a development of a gentry culture by the group was meant to develop their position as separate from the rest of society, including those higher and lower in status. Through learned traits such as proper behavior, the gentry created a unified public front that embodied a prospering middling class located squarely between the peasants and nobility. The process of solidifying the gentry as a class with significant prominence in English society required the development of standard actions and characteristics which the group would possess as a whole. This gentrification process allowed for the adoption of a gentry culture among its members which clearly delineated them from the rest of society. In explaining the varied elements that went into the creation of a civilized population, Norbert Elias argues the importance of the concept of good behavior during the Middle Ages. Elias hypothesizes that “through it [good behavior] the secular upper class of the Middle Ages, or at least some of its leading groups, gave expression to their self-image, to what, in their own estimation, made them exceptional.”33 The social elites used good behavior,

33 Norbert Elias, The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations, trans. Edmund Jephcott (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2000), 54. 38

and their knowledge of it, to demonstrate to the rest of society that they were superior and deserved recognition. Combined with other elements, the concept of good behavior was an important aspect that encouraged the evolution of a gentry culture in England. The manifestation of noble traits, such as good behavior, was important for those families seeking a position among the gentry. Yet the question remains, how did these aspiring members become educated on the types of public behavior that society deemed appropriate? In England, the Late Middle Ages marked a time of expanding literacy, specifically in the number of people who could copy, understand, and write documents.34 As a group with a number of rising professionals, who acquired literacy skills for their profession, reading and writing was particularly important to the formation and solidification of the gentry. Yet the gentry did not utilize their literacy for purely professional pursuits. To demonstrate their higher social status, the gentry also used their literacy as a way to distinguish themselves from the peasants and yeomen. In fact, “there also seems to have been an increasingly strong desire to establish a group identity through ‘literary’ cultural pursuits, such as recreational reading and writing, sometimes in an attempt to emulate the activities of the nobility.”35 By leisurely participation in the literary realm, the gentry found ways to not only mirror the activities of the nobility but also to create an identity of their own. These rising professionals learned literary skills in order to further their education and business pursuits, however, they were similarly able to utilize them to increase their status.

34 John Nelson Miner, “Schools and Literacy in Later Medieval England,” British Journal of Educational Studies 11, no. 1 (Nov., 1962): 16. 35 Alison Truelove, “Literacy,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 85. 39

Reading and writing allowed members of the gentry to communicate more easily with one another, and in the process exchange ideas regarding what it meant to be a part of their social class. This increase in literacy, especially among the socially elite, encouraged the rise of a network focused on the solidification of the gentry as a superior class. In their climb up the social ladder, aspiring gentlemen, such as the Pastons, were required to demonstrate the outward manifestations of the elite through a variety of methods. As a community and individually, these rising professionals “were seeking a recognition hitherto reserved for the noble class, and in pursuit of this honor were acquiring and displaying objects and behaviors of authority that were traditionally noble.”36 One of the easiest ways for the aspiring gentry to demonstrate their new social status was through imitating the nobility’s behaviors

and habits of consumption.37 One way these traits were communicated was through conduct manuals. Owning conduct manuals not only provided the gentry with the status marker of possessing books, but they also instructed the gentry on the manners that the nobility exhibited on a daily basis. The ability of these rising professionals to read allowed them to gather the skills and appearance that was expected of those belonging to the social elite. The expansion of literacy was therefore critical, not only for professional but social reasons. Reading and writing were particularly valuable to those on the fringe of the gentry who desired to establish their social status. Specifically, as

36 Mark Addison Amos, “‘For Manners Make Men’: Bourdieu, De Certeau, and the Common Appropriation of Noble Manners in the Book of Courtesy,” in Medieval Conduct, ed. Kathleen Ashley and Robert L.A. Clark (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001): 26. 37 For a further discussion of the changes in English consumption during the Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods see, Keith Thomas, The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfilment in Early Modern England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Chapter Four, “Wealth and Possessions,” is particularly relevant as it discusses the changing nature of goods and consumption and how they contributed to social hierarchy. 40

Philippa Maddern says, there existed “a flourishing genre of late medieval instructive poetry and conduct literature explicitly aimed to teach aspiring gentlemen/women how to achieve a rise in status.”38 Families wishing to better their position, such as the Pastons, could receive instruction from a number of manuals concerning the behavior and attitudes that were considered acceptable for members of the gentry. Yet in order to learn of these traits, instructional manuals needed to be distributed not only amongst elites, but also to those aspiring to enter elite society. Recognizing the market for romances and conduct manuals, William Caxton encouraged the distribution of his works of French and English romances by persuading the gentry to read his works, resulting in a wide circulation.39 Far from altruistic, for Caxton, the distribution of his romances and instructional works was a business, and circulating his works among the emerging gentry proved to be a rewarding venture, for all of the parties involved with these manuals. Discussing the opportunity available to Caxton to establish his printing business at the time he did, H.S. Bennett notes the increasing literacy of the English population, particularly the vernacular, which encouraged the distribution of more texts.40 Recognizing the opportunity, Caxton “found a considerable reading public available, and secondly he found that this public had been accustomed for half a century at least to read matters of all kind. Caxton had only to reap where others had sown.”41 A larger reading public, especially among

38 Philippa Maddern, “Gentility,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 26. 39 Raluca Radulescu, “Literature,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 105. 40 H.S. Bennett, “Caxton and His Public,” The Review of English Studies 19, no. 74 (Apr., 1943): 113. 41 Ibid., 119. 41 those desiring to establish themselves in the gentry, allowed Caxton to establish a printing business that successfully distributed information through books and manuals. His work in turn enabled the aspiring gentry to gain the knowledge they believed necessary to strengthen their claims to status and power. Indeed, it was the gentry, and aspiring members of the gentry, that best utilized their literacy. Bennett argues that country gentlemen “evidently began to feel that the possession of a few books was a thing demanded by his position, if not by his own tastes.”42 The possession of books, no matter their subject, outwardly confirmed the status and wealth of the owner. Yet the value of the book to the gentry was not merely in its possession, content mattered also, for “books were a channel through which gentry culture could travel and hence they contributed to moulding a group consciousness … [for] books allowed members of a circle to keep in touch with one another.”43 Printed literature was critical in the transmission of attitudes. The passing of books from family to family allowed aspiring gentry to share ideas with each other about propriety, behavior, and even such things as terminology. These shared thoughts greatly facilitated the development of a common culture among these individuals and their families. The increased spreading of information through the sharing of books among the rising professionals contributed greatly to the establishment of the gentry as a distinct social entity during the course of the fifteenth century, one distinguished not merely by land or profession, but increasingly by shared cultural values. The Pastons recognized the importance of literacy in their quest to solidify their position among the gentry. Evidence suggesting the possession of books by

42 Ibid., 114-115. 43 Deborah Youngs, “Cultural networks,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 120. 42

early generations of the Paston family is sparse; however, there is evidence that in 1434 Agnes possessed a copy of the Stimulus Conscientiae, which was loaned to her by Robert Cupper.44 Agnes’ possession of this book suggested her acknowledgement of the importance of books in regard to the instruction of her family and also in the Paston’s participation in the larger, developing gentry culture. In particular, Agnes may have distilled in her descendants the importance of reading and book ownership. Her grandson, John II, appeared to take the family’s love of learning and books to heart. In a letter from William Ebesham to John II, Ebesham asked to be paid the remainder due to him for the work he performed for John II.45 Ebesham listed the literary works done for John II, and included in the list is “the Grete Booke, first for wrytyng of the Coronacion and other tretys of knyghthode.”46 John II was clearly interested in obtaining written works, as he had employed Ebesham to copy a number of texts for him. Although the specific contents of the Great Book remain a mystery, it appeared that the compilations included works concerning the activities and characteristics of knighthood. In this way, John II recognized the importance of exhibiting behavior proper for a knight. Beginning with Agnes, there is a record of the participation of the Pastons in literate society as it contributed to the development of a gentry culture. This participation in the gentry culture was continued through subsequent members of the family, such as John II, who not only enjoyed books but also recognized the instructional elements present in conduct manuals. These manuals served the twofold purpose of demonstrating the wealth of a family while

44 Bennett, The Pastons and Their England, 110-111. 45 Davis, ed., Paston Letters II, no. 755. 46 Ibid. 43

instructing those on the rise about the behaviors and traits that were necessary in order to belong amongst the social elites. Families such as the Pastons aspiring to the gentry class possessed a number of tools which aided in their rise in society. Such families benefitted from a growing government that required a larger workforce to maintain and expand its national power.47 The need of the crown for a larger professional class of subjects not only encouraged its growth, but also increased the social standing of those who filled these vital posts. Through activities such as the acquisition of land and beneficial marriages, aspiring families achieved the outward manifestations of being members of the upper echelons of society. However, these outward possessions meant nothing if ambitious individuals did not exhibit the behavior considered proper for those of the higher social classes. By obtaining conduct manuals aimed at instructing individuals on every aspect of proper behavior, ranging from table manners to the deportment of one’s self in a variety of situations, aspiring families gained insight into the details of what it meant to be a member of the gentry class. As more individuals subscribed to these tenets, the attitudes and behaviors in these manuals further solidified the evolving identity of the gentry class as a whole. It is in this developing gentry culture that we truly begin to understand the multifaceted elements that went into the establishment of the gentry as a distinct social class during the Late Middle Ages in England. As the heads of the household, men such as William Paston were vital instruments in the social rise of a family. Taking advantage of the increasing status of the professional class, ambitious men often exploited the social and legal

47 For a more complete discussion of the evolution of the English government and law see, Anthony Musson and W.M. Ormrod, The Evolution of English Justice: Law, Politics and Society in the Fourteenth Century, British Studies Series, ed. Jeremy Black (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999). 44

situations in their localities. Through his professional knowledge, William was able to elevate his family to a position of stability within the bounds of the gentry class. However, the actions of individuals such as William were not the only elements that allowed for the rise in stature of a family. Women, like Agnes and Margaret Paston, contributed to not only the elevation of the status of the family but also to the overall development of a larger gentry class in England. Through their words, as they survive in their remaining letters, we gain an image of the importance of the efforts of the Paston women in the rise of the family. Men such as William may have instigated the establishment of the family fortunes, but it was the continued efforts, especially after his death, of Agnes and Margaret that both stabilized their family and furthered it on its social climb. Without the continued focus of these two women, the Paston family could have easily fallen from its newly gained position of status. We turn now to the directing efforts of these women in order to understand both the manner in which women contributed to the emerging gentry culture and how their actions conformed to the image of proper female behavior as presented in the conduct manuals which aimed to teach these women what it meant to be considered gentle.

CHAPTER 3: THE IDEAL WOMAN: FEMALE EXERCISES OF GENTILITY

In their quest for gentility, the Paston family utilized the art of letter-writing not only to communicate with one another but also as a way to participate in the emerging gentry culture. Letters were one acceptable outlet for women to communicate their experiences and opinions to others. Agnes and Margaret Paston utilized the letter format not only to communicate information to other members of the family; they also created through it an image of themselves and their daily lives as impacted by both social and political factors. Evidenced in their letters, the Paston women, particularly Agnes and Margaret, often directed the family’s affairs, a result of their long lives and determined personalities. As dowagers, Agnes and Margaret were able to guide the family because they outlived their respective husbands by decades: Agnes survived William by thirty- five years, while Margaret lived for another eighteen years after the death of John I.1 As widows, Agnes and Margaret assumed the role of the head of household, to a great degree directing the lives of their children and the further expansion of family interests. Thus, while William and John I each increased the social standing and wealth of the Paston family by marrying Agnes and Margaret, Agnes and Margaret also contributed much to the position of the Pastons, notably in securing the family’s social position amongst the gentry. Clearly, in the Paston’s exercise of gentrification, women also played a crucial role. In this process, Agnes and Margaret Paston exhibited gentle behaviors in two very distinct ways. First, and most easily recognized in their letters, Agnes and Margaret acted like the gentry through the actual protection and

1 Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), liii, liv, lv, lvi. 46 expansion of the Paston family assets. Initially, they were each wives who expanded their husbands’ assets by marrying into the Paston family. However, Agnes and Margaret often participated in maintaining family affairs when their husbands were away; the Paston men were often required to be away from the family home due to their professional duties in London or because of death. Agnes and Margaret thus served as surrogates for their respective husbands, a position of prominence that became more permanent upon reaching widowhood. Specifically, Agnes and Margaret directed the affairs of the Paston family, concretely working to solidify the status of the family. Secondly, these women exhibited gentility in a representational way. Through their letters, Agnes and Margaret Paston personified the ideal woman of the rising gentry as depicted in contemporary conduct manuals. A close reading of these women’s letters reveals the ways in which they each exhibited gentility by appropriating elements of the ideal woman in their letters. By demonstrating behavioral traits which defined the ideal gentlewoman, like wifely obedience, Agnes and Margaret showed not only that they understood the instructions presented in conduct manuals, but also that they could utilize such behavior to confirm the increased status of their family. Furthermore, Agnes and Margaret presented themselves as pious women, claiming for themselves the piety, wealth, and leisure time that came to represent the gentry. The provision for one’s soul was a public display of an individual’s wealth and status, and including these religious motives in their letters shows the commitment of Agnes and Margaret to, at least outwardly, behave like the gentry. Through these activities, the Paston women embodied physical and representative images of the gentry. This chapter examines Agnes and Margaret Paston’s letters, particularly the way they presented themselves in them. The concrete ways which these women 47

influenced the Paston family and their rise into the gentry are discussed first, establishing the obvious impact that Agnes and Margaret had on their family. Their position as wives, and especially as widows, illustrates the actions of Agnes and Margaret while establishing the ideal roles of the English gentlewoman. Next, the representational behaviors of these women are examined. Agnes and Margaret likely learned gentle behavior from contemporary conduct manuals, and their self- presentation in their letters shows how learned images of proper behavior were utilized to increase and solidify their status, particularly through the outward projection of gentility. Such representational images are not definitive; instead, they suggest ways in which Agnes and Margaret exercised gentility in their daily lives. Agnes and Margaret Paston’s letters provide detailed information about the lives of gentlewomen and the development of the gentry in fifteenth-century England. Offering such a wealth of information, their letters need to be more than superficially read; they need to be placed in the context of the social elements of the time to show how Agnes and Margaret were a part of the gentry and how they used gentility to participate in the establishment of the group. As discussed in previous chapters, the Pastons, including Agnes and Margaret, lived at a time of increased social mobility in England, enabling the family to take advantage of opportunities to rise in prominence, a subject which dominates a number of their letters. Yet, as women, Agnes and Margaret were limited by social expectations as defined by fifteenth-century standards. For example, regardless of a family’s stature, women generally did not learn many of the basic skills that their male counterparts did. Specifically, education was limited for women of all classes; often they did not possess basic literacy.2

2 Eileen Power, Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 (Cheshire: Biblo and Tannen, 1988), 238, 244. Power suggests that even in convents, where women were allowed to enter a profession by 48

Furthermore, grammar schools in Late Medieval England were primarily focused on the education of their male pupils, leaving girls to find instruction in convents, where education was generally sparse, or in a private home.3 Faced with these limitations, women did not receive even those skills considered basic for men, such as rudimentary reading and writing. A limited education was the reality for women like Agnes and Margaret Paston, in spite of their social status. Though the fifteenth century in England presented opportunities to increase the status of families, at the same time there were limits on the prospects of women even in upwardly mobile families. In their limited educational opportunities, learning to read was an individual pursuit for girls and women of any social class; medieval society generally discouraged teaching women to read, and as a whole, the education of women focused on obtaining other skills.4 Indeed, the courtesy literature of both Geoffroy de La Tour Landry and the Ménagier of Paris discusses contemporary conventions of educating girls and women. In The Knight of the Tower, La Tour Landry alternately criticizes and praises education for women. In writing to his daughters, he notes “that as for wrytyng it is no force / yf a woman can nought of hit but as for redynge I saye that good and prouffytable is to al.”5 Reading was for La Tour Landry a desirable skill in a woman, while writing was superfluous. In

becoming a nun, education was limited. Further, she believes that nuns were only nominally literate; they were encouraged to read, but the dearth of remaining written evidence from the convents implies that they were not taught, or encouraged, to write. 3 John Nelson Miner, “Schools and Literacy in Later Medieval England,” British Journal of Educational Studies 11, no. 1 (Nov., 1962): 25. 4 Rebecca Krug, Reading Families: Women’s Literate Practice in Late Medieval England (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002), 28. 5 Geoffroy de La Tour Landry, The Knight of the Tower, trans. William Caxton (London: 1484), 84. 49

contrast, when instructing his wife how to perform her duties, the Ménagier assumes his wife’s capability to write.6 Informing his wife of which medicine will cure the bite of a dog, the Ménagier tells her to “take a crust of bread and write what follows: †Bestera †bestie †nay †brigonay †dictera †sagragan †es †domina †fiat †fiat †fiat†.”7 The Ménagier does not editorialize on whether reading and writing are essential skills for a good wife, but from his instructions, he obviously knows his wife can write, as well as understand Latin on some basic level. Although La Tour Landry’s opinion and that of the Ménagier appear to be contradictory, they both illustrate that the education of women, though not widespread, was nonetheless often dictated by individual circumstance. Even if a woman was said to be “educated,” it cannot be supposed with certainty that she had learned to both read and write competently. It is therefore possible that Agnes and Margaret Paston achieved only a nominal level of literacy, even if a number of documents attributed to each survive in the collection.8 The prospect of only a limited education for both Agnes and Margaret raises the question of how these women could have produced these letters. Examining the writing styles and autographs present in the Paston Letters, Norman Davis notes that, while continuity can be seen in the writing of many of the letters attributed to the Paston males, the letters attributed to the Paston women instead display a variety of writing styles.9 Added to the varied handwriting styles

6 The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier De Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by a Citizen of Paris (c. 1393), trans. Eileen Power (London: George Routledge & Sons, LTD., 1928), 305. 7 Ibid. 8 Of the extant documents, 22 are attributed to Agnes, while 107 are attributed to Margaret. 9 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, xxxvi-xxxvii. For a further discussion of Davis’ reasoning for Margaret not being the physical author of her letters see, Davis, “A Paston Hand,” The Review of English Studies 3, no. 11 (Jul. 1952): 209-221. In the article, Davis examined the writing styles in thirteen of Margaret’s letters. Looking at the spelling, word choice, and word form of the letters, Davis concluded that 50

of these letters, this also suggests that Agnes and Margaret did not autograph their own letters. Instead, an amanuensis, or scribe, likely recorded the letters dictated to them. This fact is not necessarily a comment on the quality or content of the letters themselves. Members of the upper echelons of society, men and women, often utilized secretaries to transcribe letters.10 This fact would certainly not detract from the authority of the individual who dictated it. According to Davis, “the natural interpretation of this multiplicity of hands in one person’s work surely is that the women could not write, or wrote only with difficulty, and so called on whatever literate person happened to be most readily at hand.”11 It is likely that Agnes and Margaret were educated in the manner encouraged by La Tour Landry, echoing the belief that the ability to read was important for a woman, while writing was a luxury rather than a necessity. Relying on the help of others to transcribe their thoughts, the educational experiences of the Paston women were likely similar to those touted by La Tour Landry, especially regarding the concept that reading was more important a skill for a woman to possess than writing. It was more beneficial for Agnes and Margaret to read the letters they received than be able to autograph one on their own, as they had ready access to others who could write for them. The letters in which Agnes and Margaret’s thoughts are recorded are noteworthy especially because of the limited educational opportunities available to women. However, their existence also speaks to the Paston family’s position in the rising professional class, as scribes were a luxury that the lower classes did not

all of these letters were written by one individual. However, the examined factors concluded that they were written by Edmond Paston and clearly were not physically written by Margaret. 10Alison Truelove, “Literacy,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 90. 11 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, xxxvii. 51

have. Without access to such individuals, Agnes and Margaret might not have been able to communicate through letters. It was their position among the aspiring gentry that allowed these women to participate in epistolary communication with others. Confirming the contemporary emphasis on reading, in a letter to his brother John III, John II suggested that his mother Margaret could read, requesting that John III “schewe ore rede to my moodre suche thyngez as ye thynke is fore here to knowe.”12 John III could have easily read the letter to his mother; however, the fact that John II advised his brother to show Margaret the letter implies that she could read the words for herself.13 In this sense, at least, the Paston women appear to have met the ideal of female gentility, although the individual literacy of women continued to vary among gentry families.14 Families wishing to prove their gentility seem to have been reticent to challenge this convention, believing it more beneficial to employ a scribe rather than enable women to record their thoughts and ideas on their own. As explored in the previous chapter, as legal professionals William Paston and his son, John I, recognized the importance of written documents to both their work and their efforts to establish their family among the gentry. This emphasis on written documents may have in turn encouraged their wives in similar types of

12 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 248. 13 Similar to the established opinions of La Tour Landry and other authors of conduct manuals, gentlewomen largely appear to be able to read. Similar to Margaret Paston, Elizabeth Stonor, a contemporary member of the gentry, often repeated the phrase, “which letter I have red and right well undyrstond,” in letter to her husband William, showing that at a minimum, she could read and comprehend the letters that she received. Christine Carpenter, ed., Kingsford’s Stonor Letters and Papers 1290-1483, Camden Classic Reprints (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), no. 180. 14 Julia Boffey, “Women authors and women’s literacy in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century England,” in Women and Literature in Britain, 1150-1500, ed. Carol Meale (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 165. 52

literary pursuits, a fact evidenced in their wives’ letters to them detailing family affairs. In describing Margaret Paston’s relationship to letter writing, Rebecca Krug suggests that John I encouraged his wife to write letters to him because of the example he witnessed in his parents’ relationship.15 In spite of the fact that no letters remain from William to Agnes, an extant letter sent from Agnes to William suggests that an on-going correspondence between the two existed. In this letter, Agnes mentions the arrival of Margaret, “þe gentylwomman þat ye wetyn of fro Redham.”16 William and Agnes were both active participants in the search for a wife for their son John I, as the outcome of the arranged meeting between John and Margaret was important for the economic and political ambitions of the Pastons. It appears that William initially wrote to Agnes about Margaret and her familial connections. Knowing the importance of obtaining a propitious marriage match, and aware that her husband wanted to hear an account of the meeting, Agnes detailed in her letter the first interactions between John I and Margaret. This conversation between William and Agnes illustrates that there was a tradition of letter writing in the Paston family, which succeeding generations of the family were likely encouraged to follow and imitate. The exchange of such letters enabled family members to communicate not only information about business dealings but also individual experiences, thoughts, and feelings regarding their daily lives. Following his parents’ example, John I probably encouraged his wife Margaret to write to him, particularly concerning household affairs while he was away. However, Krug proposes that rather than seeing writing letters to her

15 Krug, Reading Families, 31. 16 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 13. 53

husband as a duty, Margaret instead embraced the culture of letter writing and adapted the form for her own purposes. Margaret establishes herself as the author of these letters, never asking a scribe for verification of her authorship; instead, Margaret recorded her opinions in her letters and used these missives as a way to increase her social standing.17 Thus, in spite of the fact that Margaret did not physically write down her thoughts, she nonetheless claimed the letters as her own, and recognized that the words were still of her own composition, as they recorded her own thoughts and opinions. Yet Margaret was not the only gentlewoman to suggest authorship of a letter without actually autographing it. Noting the social conventions regarding female letter writing, Krug further argues that “Margaret and her friends and associates generally used the verb ‘written’ to describe their actions even when they had clearly employed a scribe, suggesting that despite the oral component of their writing, they distinguished between speaking and dictating.”18 Margaret and her circle of gentlewomen clearly believed their letters embodied their personalities and thoughts and that, despite using an amanuensis, Margaret had agency in determining what to include in the content of her letters. Women like Agnes and Margaret Paston obviously believed that in dictating a letter, their thoughts and personalities were sufficiently present to constitute authorship. Although medieval letters often included personal details, the nature of these documents generally limited the type of information that might be contained within. The very structure of a letter, in which an author intends to pass information on to the recipient, dictates the type of information that might have

17 Ibid., 43. 18 Ibid., 46. 54

been included by Agnes and Margaret. Margaret herself recognized the limitations of her letters when, in writing to her husband, she noted “I may non leyser have to do wrytyn half a quarter so meche as I xulde seyn to yow yf I myth speke wyth yow.”19 If Margaret had more to say to John I, either the content was not appropriate for this format, or she was limited by time and space. Margaret’s statement suggests that she realized the limits of letters; far from private, medieval letters often were read, or transcribed, by people other than the author or recipient. At a minimum, the scribe who transcribed Margaret’s words would be aware of the content of her letters. Thus the correspondence between Margaret and John I, and similarly that between Agnes and William, was not strictly a private matter between husband and wife. Like other letter-writing women, Margaret likely recognized the semi-public nature of the correspondence, and chose her words

accordingly.20 Late Medieval letter writing thus presented a contradiction. On the one hand, it allowed authors to include more intimate thoughts than did more public documents. On the other hand, however, personal opinions and intimate views were likely limited, due to the quasi-public nature of the correspondence. The letters of the Paston women thus present their thoughts to a certain degree, as the information included within was probably censored by the authors. As a result, Agnes and Margaret Paston likely created an image of themselves that was intended for a wider audience than just the letter’s recipient and appropriate to their station and ambitions.

19 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 126. 20 Ann Crabb, “‘If I could write’: Margherita Datini and Letter Writing, 1385-1410,” Renaissance Quarterly 60 (2007): 1172. Examining a set of Italian letters between Margherita Datini and her husband, Francesco, Crabb exposed the private/public quandary of letter writing. The composition of a medieval letter, as experienced by the Datini and the Pastons, often included several individuals; often a scribe transcribed the letter, and employees likely read letters aloud to their recipients. As a merchant, Francesco was in a similar class position as William and John I; each of these men had access to scribes and literate employees who could perform such tasks. 55

While very likely censored, the women’s correspondence nevertheless provides a number of details about the daily lives of a gentry family in fifteenth- century England. What details are there were likely chosen to create a concerted image designed to support the Paston’s social ambitions. Combined with the ideal image of a gentlewoman as established by Geoffroy de La Tour Landry and the Ménagier, the letters of the Paston women define which female behaviors were important for the gentry to establish as part of their developing culture. Exhibiting these behaviors, the Paston women expressed their gentility, illustrating to all in a quasi-public forum that they were worthy members of the gentry. As previously noted, Margaret was limited in what she included in one letter to her husband, carefully choosing her words and conscious of the image those words presented. Especially in the context of the aspirations of the Paston family, Margaret and Agnes likely recognized that any public view of the family, regardless of its degree of publicity, was potentially important to solidifying their social position. The way in which the Paston women wrote their letters thus shows the image the family chose to present, while also illustrating their participation in the construction of a culture shared by families with similar social aspirations. This shared behavior partly marked the gentry as a group, distinct not only from the peasantry but also the aristocracy. In this way, the letters of Agnes and Margaret Paston show how the developing gentry culture impacted women’s lives and the ways in which they were concurrently able to participate in its establishment. As discussed in the previous chapter, social and political changes in society encouraged the development of a unified gentry. Of these changes, the expansion of national government, which employed professionals of various backgrounds, was critical to the increase in social mobility. This need for professional workers enabled families like the Pastons, whose male heads were involved in professions 56

such as the law, to find positions serving the government and subsequently increase their fortunes and social standing.21 For these families, this avenue for advancement provided such a great opportunity that they were willing to endure any attendant hardships that resulted from their new appointments. As professionals serving in royal government, William and John Paston I, and many of their contemporaries, were often required to spend time away from their localities, in the major governmental outposts, particularly London. In their absence, wives such as Agnes and Margaret were expected to fill the void by maintaining the family holdings. During such times, Agnes and Margaret were valuable assets to their respective husbands, and were given the task of maintaining stability and the familial assets, while also performing the traditional duties of a good wife and mother. Indeed, a large part of both women’s extant correspondence result from their husbands’ absences; each wrote detailed letters on the state of family affairs, recounting also any local news which might be of interest to their husbands.22 However, without such absences, husband and wife would not need to communicate through a written format. These letters thus provided Agnes and Margaret with an avenue to inform their husbands of information while enabling them to show how they were adhering to gentle ideals while their husbands were away. Agnes and Margaret each brought physical wealth and status to the Paston men whom they married.23 In this way, Agnes and Margaret each contributed to

21 Peter Coss, The Origins of the English Gentry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 15. 22 Of Agnes’ 22 extant letters, only one is addressed to her husband William. However, of Margaret’s 107 remaining letters, 69 are addressed to John I. 23 Colin Richmond, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 117. 57

the efforts of the Paston family through their marriages. However, both women physically contributed more to the Paston family than this initial infusion of wealth and prestige. As both wives and widows, Agnes and Margaret were concerned with maintaining and increasing the Paston family holdings and status. Their lives as wives and widows presented completely different opportunities to these women, forcing each to adapt to the current needs of the family. In the absence of their respective husbands, due to business or death, Agnes and Margaret worked to further the gentle status of the family and solidify its position in the ranks of the gentry. In letters to her husband, Margaret Paston expressed a true concern for the affairs of the family. Margaret did not confine herself to the domestic maintenance of the family holdings; instead, she often took the initiative to handle the family’s business dealings when her husband was away. In 1465, John I was imprisoned at the Fleet in London; although the exact reason is unknown, it is possible that the question of the Paston family’s servile origins was publicly raised, leading to the seizure of some of their property in the city.24 Isolated from the family, John relied on Margaret to handle the family affairs. Writing to her husband while he was in prison, Margaret spoke of her commitment to the family and her husband’s wishes, noting, “I wolde fayn doo well yf I cowed, and as I canne I wol doo to youre pleasure and profet.”25 Through the remainder of the letter, Margaret recounted the ways in which she obeyed John’s instructions to handle business. For example, Margaret wrote, “I haue spoke wyth John Strange

24 Frances and Joseph Gies, A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998), 175. 25 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 184. 58

of the matere that ye wrote to me of.”26 Telling John I of her actions was one way in which Margaret demonstrated both her obedience to him and her ability to take care of family affairs. She clearly wanted John to understand that the family was being taken care of during his time in prison, and recounting her activities was likely one way to assuage any fears he might have had. In this instance, Margaret was committed to the economic maintenance of the Paston family. She competently performed the business dealings of the family, all the while demonstrating her loyalty to her husband and to the Paston’s rise into the gentry. As wives, Agnes and Margaret often completed tasks regarding familial affairs in their husbands’ names. However, upon the deaths of their husbands, both women achieved a position of authority in the family, giving them more freedom to direct the family’s affairs. Due to their longer lives, Agnes and Margaret were able to continue the ambitious plans of their husbands. As widows, these women guided their children on the path to achieving their husbands’ goals by securing the family lands and continuing to exhibit gentle behavior to solidify their position amongst the gentry. As evidenced by the lives of Agnes and Margaret, the marriage cycle of the gentry often included young brides marrying older grooms, making widowhood a fairly common occurrence in Late Medieval society.27 Since widows, especially wealthy ones, were not unusual in society, authors of courtesy manuals included instructions on how these women should conduct themselves. Seemingly individuals who were outside of the natural order of society, widows needed advice particularly on their acquired position of prominence in the family. In a basic structuring of women’s positions, the

26 Ibid. 27 Peter Fleming, Family and Household in Medieval England (New York: Palgrave, 2001), 21. 59

Ménagier placed wives in a position of superiority, noting “that after your husband, you should be mistress of the house, the giver of orders, visitor, ruler and sovereign administrator, and it is for you to keep your maidservants in subjection and obedience to you, teaching, correcting and chastising them.”28 For the Ménagier, a wife was clearly second only to her husband; in his absence, she should be the supreme authority of the family. Besides making decisions on the management of family assets, a wife’s, or widow’s, duties included instructing those within her household, ensuring their behavior was consistent with the overall image of the family. Following the deaths of their respective husbands, Agnes and Margaret became the ruling elders of the Pastons, largely assuming the family roles which their husbands had fulfilled during their lives. As de-facto heads of the family, Agnes and Margaret often advised and directed the actions of their family, as evidenced in many of their letters addressed to their children. In these missives, Agnes and Margaret seem to push the boundaries of appropriate female behavior; however, they primarily adhered to actions that would further advance their overall familial interests. In directing the affairs of the family, Agnes and Margaret first adhered to gentry ideals, setting aside some of the behaviors expected of women. As someone outside the immediate Paston family circle examining the actions of Agnes, cousin Elisabeth Clere detailed to John I the brusque manner in which his mother was treating his sister. In this letter, Elisabeth describes the steps Agnes took to convince her daughter Elizabeth to marry Stephen Scrope.29 According to Elisabeth, Elizabeth Paston “hath son

28 The Goodman of Paris, 209. 29 Davis, ed., Paston Letters II, no. 446. 60

Esterne þe most part be betyn onys in þe weke or twyes, and some tyme twyes on o day, and hir hed broken in to or thre places.”30 If Elisabeth Clere’s account is true, Agnes Paston utilized violence to persuade her daughter that she did indeed want to marry Scrope. Although participating in seemingly inappropriate behavior for a gentlewoman, Agnes was thinking first of the family’s larger interests. As the established head of the Pastons, Agnes tried to convince her daughter Elizabeth to agree to a marriage which would benefit the overall position of the family. In this sense, Agnes exhibited above all a concern for her family’s social gain, a characteristic strongly encouraged by the developing gentry culture. Land and status were vital to the claims of rising individuals, and these elements needed to be obtained, regardless of the cost. It is likely that Agnes realized that such a propitious marriage match for her daughter could not be found elsewhere, which in her mind warranted coercing her daughter. Elisabeth Clere was not immediately involved with the situation between Agnes and Elizabeth Paston. As an outsider, Clere presents an alternate image of Agnes, one that is not carefully formulated to express gentility. Instead, we have an image of Agnes that does not directly adhere to the ideal woman as presented in contemporary conduct literature. Rather, Elisabeth described Agnes as a cruel mother, injuring her daughter in order to coerce her to enter into an undesired marriage. In spite of this harsh treatment, Agnes’ actions demonstrate her commitment to the overall social standing of the family. A marriage with Scrope would have been both politically and economically beneficial to the Pastons. Thus, in this instance, Agnes exhibited the larger behaviors of the gentry, although in her actions she did eschew her commitment to always behaving like a proper gentlewoman.

30 Ibid. 61

As evidenced by the situation above, being head of the family and making important decisions was not always an easy, or desirable, thing. In regards to the Pastons, marriage arrangements in succeeding generations often created tension between matriarchs Agnes and Margaret and their respective children. Dealing, like Agnes, with an uncooperative daughter, Margaret was faced with her daughter Margery’s secret betrothal to a family employee, Richard Calle.31 Following the death of John I, Margaret was charged with arranging appropriate, and beneficial, marriages for her children. However, Margery’s actions represented a lost opportunity in securing such a marriage. Faced with actions seemingly treasonous to the overall advancement of the Pastons, Margaret chose to challenge the betrothal by seeking a Bishop to examine whether Margery and Calle had actually exchanged vows of commitment. Describing the situation, Margaret noted that “I was wyth my moder at here plase wan sche was exameynd, and wan I hard sey wat here demenyng was I schargyd my seruantys þat sche xuld not be reseyued in myn hows. I had ȝeuen here warnyng, sche mythe a be ware afore yf sche had a be grasyows. And I sent to on ore ij more þat they xuld not reseyue here yf sche cam.”32 During her trial, Margery steadfastly adhered to the fact that she had exchanged words of betrothal with Calle, ignoring the wishes of her mother and the interest of her family. Because of her betrayal of her family’s honor, Margery was isolated not only from her family but also their lands. Margaret thus handled the situation in a manner similar to Agnes; both disobedient daughters were duly punished for not placing first the interests of the Pastons as a whole. Through their actions, Agnes and Margaret adhered to the advice of the Ménagier; as heads

31 Gies, A Medieval Family, 207-210. 32 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 203. 62

of the household, each worked to ensure the obedience of their daughters, while correcting them when they went astray. In this way, Agnes and Margaret were instructing their daughters both on how to behave properly and on the danger that disobedient behavior posed for the family’s position in society. Protecting the interests of the family was extremely important for those who only recently acquired a higher social status and those aspiring to progress even further. Recognizing the often-immediate benefits of the marriage market, Agnes and Margaret tried to control their daughters’ choices in order to arrange a match that would further the goals of the family. Besides securing strategic marriage matches, the acquisition and maintenance of land was also vital to the image of a family; money could be earned, but it was the possession of land that signified a family’s arrival to the upper echelons of society. As such a vital commodity, the Pastons were accustomed to protecting, sometimes through armed struggles, their land. Margaret was especially aware of the need to protect the family’s land, violently if need be; while John I was alive, she was attacked and expelled from their home in Gresham.33 Having learned from this experience, Margaret appeared determined to ensure that the Paston family continued to possess their house at Caister, which was attacked in September 1469.34 Showing her concern, Margaret encouraged John II to aid his brother in protecting Caister, noting that they “stond in grete joparté” with “the place sore brokyn wyth gonnes of þe toder parte.”35 As a member of the Paston family, and as a gentleman in his own right, John II needed to help protect Caister from outsiders. In fact, without

33 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 131. 34 Helen Castor, Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During England’s Tumultuous Wars of the Roses (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), 254-263. 35 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no 204. 63

his help, “thei be like to lese bothe there lyfes and the place, to the grettest rebuke to you that euer came to any jentilman, for euery man in this countré marvaylleth gretly that ye suffer them to be so longe in so gret joparté wyth-ought help or othere remedy.”36 Margaret’s focus was clearly on saving the life of her son at Caister and maintaining the family’s possession of the land. However, she reminded John II that his unwillingness to aid his kin would result in a loss of honor, injuring his established image as a gentleman. Protecting familial holdings demonstrated an individual’s dedication to his family and also his worth as a member of the gentry. In giving such advice to John II, Margaret was thinking of her family and their possession of Caister, while also encouraging her son to participate in the behavior expected of gentlemen. The Pastons were not the only family rising into the gentry which experienced problems in maintaining their acquired land. One such family was the Armburghs. Writing primarily in the and 1430s, the Armburgh family left a collection of letters smaller than that of the Pastons; however, their extant letters provide a concentrated view of an individual’s interaction with the law, as the letters largely focus on the family’s disputed inheritances in Hertfordshire, Essex, and Warwickshire.37 Involved in legal disputes concerning their inheritance, the Armburghs showed a strong determination not only to maintain their family holdings, but also to preserve their image. Similarly to Margaret Paston’s desire, Joan Armburgh, matriarch of the family, demonstrated her personal dedication to protecting the Armburgh family lands. In one letter, Joan confronted John Horell, a former employee, about his betrayal of the Armburghs

36 Ibid. 37 Christine Carpenter, ed., The Armburgh Papers: The Brokholes Inheritance in Warwickshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, c. 1417- c. 1453 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 1, 4-6. 64

by aligning himself with a rival family.38 Speaking harshly to Horell, Joan chastised him for his actions. Not pretending to adhere to civility, Joan ended with “I can no more at this tyme but I pray God send the that thu hast deseruyd, that is

to say a rope and a ladder.”39 In this letter, Joan avoided convention by writing frankly to Horell. Rather than using phrases of gentility and courtesy in her missive to Horell, Joan believed it was necessary to inform him harshly that he had made an enemy of the Armburghs. In this instance, protecting the family’s image as landowners and as members of the gentry was far more important than verbally adhering to social convention. Although Joan Armburgh here eschewed ideal gentility, she did adhere to the developing gentry culture through her desire to protect the possessions and status that her family had earned. Through the actions described in their letters, Agnes and Margaret Paston worked to maintain and expand the interests of the family. These actions thus elucidate the ways that these women concretely adhered to the ideals of the gentry. In this way, the actions of Agnes and Margaret are consistent with the findings of Gary Schneider in his discussion of the developing epistolary culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern England.40 As Schneider argues, individuals created representations of themselves through their letters, even in seemingly intimate correspondence between husband and wife.41 Specifically, individuals incorporated social conventions, like polite conversation and proper behavior, to confirm their position in society to the letter’s recipient.42 Further, the public

38 Ibid., 120-123. 39 Ibid., 123. 40 Gary Schneider, The Culture of Epistolarity: Vernacular Letters and Letter Writing in Early Modern England, 1500-1700 (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2005). 41 Ibid., 115-116. 42 Ibid. 65

exhibition of proper behavior encouraged individuals to group together with others who participated in similar types of behavior. In this way, proper behavior and shared morals became important to the solidification of the gentry largely due to the fact that “in a society such as medieval Europe, in which external qualities were believed to reflect internal qualities, people would no doubt consider a person’s behavior toward others as an indicator of that person’s morality or goodness.”43 To the public, outward behavior reflected the true nature and worth of an individual. Thus, to be recognized as a member of the gentry, one needed to behave like a gentleman or gentlewoman. Agnes and Margaret must have recognized the importance of public appearance to the efforts of the Paston family. It is likely that these women chose to exhibit proper behavior in their letters to prove that they were worthy members of the gentry. By imitating the ideal images found in contemporary conduct manuals, these women created a picture of their gentility to benefit the rising status of the Paston family. They found such images of the ideal gentlewoman largely in contemporary conduct literature, texts used primarily by the upper classes as a way to define themselves and their purpose in life.44 Members of the gentry, or those aspiring to its ranks, used these manuals to learn behavior appropriate to their station, a fact confirmed by the wide circulation of courtesy texts and the large number of extant conduct manuals.45 The wide circulation of such manuals suggests that they were widely read and that they were used as

43 Anna Dronzek, “Gendered Theories of Education in Fifteenth-Century Conduct Books,” in Medieval Conduct, ed. Kathleen Ashley and Robert L.A. Clark (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001), 137. 44 Kate Mertes, “Aristocracy,” in Fifteenth-century attitudes: Perceptions of Society in Late Medieval England, ed. Rosemary Horrox (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 43. 45 Raluca Radulescu, “Literature,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 101. 66

instructive tools for both children and adults. The Pastons specifically collected such material, as evidenced by the commission of John II of a “Grete Booke,”

which contained instructions on knighthood and proper behavior.46 Conduct manuals instructed people on how to behave properly and according to their station; further, they granted rising professional families, such as the Pastons, common parameters around which to coalesce as a group and define what it meant to be a part of the gentry. Conduct manuals generally tailored their advice around one specific sector of the population. Many of these conduct manuals especially targeted women; such texts primarily focused on the proper behavior of women as wives and mothers, largely stressing the relationship between husband and wife.47 Texts like The Knight of the Tower and The Goodman of Paris discuss the behavior expected of upper class women, stressing particularly obedience and submission. Courtesy literature thus presented the ideal image of wifely behavior as defined largely by male authors such as La Tour Landry and the Ménagier. Women such as Agnes and Margaret Paston likely read these authors’ works or other similar contemporary manuals, emulating an image of idealized female behavior presented therein. Further, I argue Margaret and Agnes consciously did so as part of their exercise to prove their gentility. Geoffroy de La Tour Landry and the Ménagier provide detailed instructions on proper behavior which women like Agnes and Margaret Paston included in their letters to illustrate the status of the family. In one example, giving instruction to his daughters, La Tour Landry stresses the nature of a proper relationship

46 Davis, ed., Paston Letters II, no. 755. 47 Nancy Armstrong and Leonard Tennenhouse, ed., The Ideology of Conduct: Essays in Literature and the History of Sexuality (New York: Methuen & Co., 1987), 5-6. 67

between husband and wife. He recounts the story of two disobedient wives, which he compares to an obedient wife, who obeys her husband’s wishes no matter how foolish he seems.48 As their punishment, the two disobedient women were beaten after they refused to perform their husbands’ wishes, while the obedient woman was greatly praised. From this example, medieval women learn that “it is a moche fayre thynge a man to haue a wif obeysaunt in alle thynges to her husbond.”49 Specifically, the obedient wife “was more preised than the other two that wold not do the commaundement of theyr husbondes. For moyen peple chastysen theyr wynes by buffettys and strokes / but gentyl wymmen ought to be chastised by fayre semblaunt and by curtosye.”50 In La Tour Landry’s example not only was obedience to one’s husband extremely important, but those choosing to disobey were likely to be physically corrected by their husbands for their defiance. Conversely, a primarily obedient woman did not need physical correction when in error; instead, she only required instruction through courtesy. In this example, La Tour Landry praised the obedience of a wife, regardless of what was asked of her, while also establishing the traits, like obedience, that were essential for a gentlewoman to emulate. Similarly, the Ménagier believed in the virtue of an obedient wife. Devoting an entire section to humility and obedience, the Ménagier advises “that it behoves you to be obedient to him that shall be your husband, and that by good obedience a wise woman gains her husband’s love.”51 Obedience was a way for a woman to gain affection from her husband, in addition to fulfilling her wifely

48 La Tour Landry, The Knight of the Tower, 18. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid. 51 The Goodman of Paris, 138. 68

duties. However, it is the consequences of disobedience that ultimately encourages a wife to obey. According to the Ménagier, “by default of obedience, or by arrogance if you anger him, you destroy yourself and your husband and your household.”52 Disobedient behavior risked not only the disapproval of one’s husband; it could ultimately result in the destruction of a family and its honor. For a family aspiring to the gentry, a loss of honor due to a woman’s disobedient actions would be a fatal blow. Wifely obedience was of such importance to the station of a family that its absence could not only alter the relationship of husband and wife, but also the family’s position in society. As the dominant voices in medieval society, men such as La Tour Landry and the Ménagier provided the majority of opinions on behavior considered appropriate for the female population, primarily because books composed during the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods were mostly written from a male perspective, regardless of the intended audience.53 However, in examining the encouraged behavior of women, it is important to consider the opinions of female authors regarding the types of behavior women should exhibit. Even the few female authors writing in the Middle Ages stressed the importance of wifely obedience as a woman’s crowning trait. Christine de Pizan was a recognized female author during the Middle Ages, writing texts which were so widely distributed that she was able to make her living solely as a writer.54 In her works, de Pizan wrote primarily to women, providing instructional advice from a female perspective – that is, from the viewpoint of an individual who would also be

52 Ibid. 53 Suzanne Hull, Women According to Men: The World of Tudor-Stuart Women (Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 1996), 9. 54 Sandra L. Hindman, “With Ink and Mortar: Christine de Pizan’s ‘Cite des Dames,’” Feminist Studies 10, no. 3 (Autumn, 1984): 458. 69

expected to follow the behaviors she prescribed. For example, in The Book of the City of Ladies, first published in 1405, de Pizan encouraged women to be obedient to their husbands.55 Speaking directly to married women, de Pizan advised “do not scorn being subject to your husbands, for sometimes it is not the best thing for

a creature to be independent.”56 Recognizing the structure of society at the time, and largely speaking from experience, de Pizan recognized that women sometimes experienced a better life in the confines of marriage than they would if they remained single. However, de Pizan discussed the realities of marriage and noted that such a relationship may not always be pleasant. Providing practical instruction, de Pizan gave advice to women in a number of marriage situations - those who had pleasant husbands, those whose husbands were neither good nor bad, and those whose husbands were cruel. Rather than assuming the infallibility of husbands, as male authors such as La Tour Landry and the Ménagier did, de Pizan provided further advice for women who may not have been content in their marriages. Women possessing good husbands should “praise God” and “be diligent in serving, loving, and cherishing their husbands in the loyalty of their heart.”57 Obedience was clearly a trait these women should exhibit, and in this instance, attention to a husband’s desires should be an easy task. Women who had mediocre husbands “should still praise God for not having the worst and should strive to moderate their vices and pacify them.”58 Wives whose husbands were cruel “should strive to endure them while trying to overcome their vices and lead

55 Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, trans. Earl Jeffrey Richards (New York: Persea Books, 1998), xvi, 255. 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 70

them back, if they can, to a reasonable and seemly life.”59 No matter the worth or desirability of one’s husband, de Pizan advised that as wives women should remain obedient and loyal. Those in undesirable situations should try to correct the attitude and actions of their husbands, all the while understanding the man’s position of authority as husband. De Pizan’s instructions are similar in this aspect to those of her male counterparts, prescribing that in all situations women should be loyal and subservient to their husbands. The Pastons must have recognized that the behavior of the female members of the family was just as important, if not more so, than that of its males. Since the emulation of obedience, a trait strongly encouraged in conduct literature such as the above, was vital to the image of a family, men and women like the Pastons participated in proper behavior to confirm that they were worthy members of a social group, in their case, worthy members of the gentry. Recognizing this emphasis on proper behavior, through their letters the Paston women demonstrated, often to their husbands, the ways in which they exhibited such traits during their absences. A topic in many of their missives, obedience to their husbands’ wishes was seemingly a priority for both Agnes and Margaret. Of Agnes’ remaining letters, only one is addressed to William, making it difficult to determine how she demonstrated obedience directly to her husband. However, her obedience to William’s wishes is clear in letters addressed to her children. Many of these were written after William’s death, illustrating her strong commitment to fulfilling not only his individual requests but also his larger social aspirations for the family. In one instance, writing to her son Edmond I not long after his father’s death, Agnes reminded him “to thynkke onis of the daie of yowre fadris counseyle

59 Ibid. 71

to lerne the lawe; for he seyde manie tymis that ho so euer schuld dwelle at Paston schulde have nede to conne defende hymselfe.”60 Agnes was concerned that her son should fulfill William’s request. Yet the advice also possessed a degree of practicality regarding the family’s ambitions. Agnes was likely aware that the rapid social advancement of the family, particularly regarding its acquisition of land, would cause problems with those who viewed the Pastons as usurpers trespassing beyond their proper station in life. In this sense, Edmond needed to study the law not only to fulfill his father’s request, but also to have the skills to defend the efforts of the family legally. Even after his death, Agnes perpetuated the wishes of William, in this case by encouraging Edmond to participate in the legal profession. In this way, Agnes illustrated her commitment to both William’s immediate concern of who would legally protect the family and also his larger goal of firmly establishing the family amongst the ranks of the gentry. In like manner to her mother-in-law, Margaret Paston, in letters to both her children and her husband, also illustrated her adherence to proper behavior. In a letter to John I, Margaret focused on updating him on the social and political happenings in the region. However, before writing this letter, Margaret completed one of her husband’s errands by visiting a Lady Morley to deliver a message from her husband regarding a business dispute. Concerned that the matter would be resolved in a way that would injure the Pastons, Margaret asked Lady Morley to “teryn tyl ȝe kom hom.”61 It appears that Margaret wanted to allow for the return of John I, possibly requesting more time so that he could gather any necessary legal documents to support the Paston’s position. Although likely receiving no

60 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 14. 61 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 128. 72 formal education, Margaret’s business acumen was a strength in such situations; she knew how to manipulate others in order to produce a result that was desirable for the Pastons or, as in this case, avoid a decision that could hurt the standing and image of the family. Furthermore, Margaret was clearly concerned with keeping her husband informed of local events, a thought she confirmed later in her missive. Before ending her letter, Margaret noted, “if I here any strawnge tydyngys in þis contré I xall send ȝw wurd.”62 Details she provided to John I in his absence not only kept him informed of local politics; often the information Margaret relayed could be beneficial in performing business transactions regarding the family’s locality. In this way, Margaret exhibited obedience to her husband by visiting Lady Morley and also by providing John I with local information that could impact his business dealings while away. Concerned with describing the ways in which she was obedient to John’s wishes, Margaret concurrently demonstrated her adherence to the gentry ideal of an obedient wife. However, it is likely that Margaret’s highlighting her obedience also served a second purpose; for instance, she may have described her completion of John’s errands to avoid disappointing, or even angering, him. Despite this immediate concern, the frequency with which Margaret wrote of such events suggests that they held a deeper significance than the avoidance of her husband’s anger. Phrases such as “I haue do yowre herrrendys to myn modyr and myn hunckyl … And also I hauwe delyuyrit þe todyr thyng þat ye sent me inselyd in þe boxe as ye comaundit me,” appear repeatedly throughout Margaret’s correspondence with John I.63 The repetition of this information suggests that

62 Ibid. 63 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 127. 73

Margaret was concerned primarily with stressing obliquely her adherence to the idealized image of an obedient wife. Agnes and Margaret Paston were not alone in their adherence to wifely obedience. Elizabeth Stonor, a contemporary in social status with comparable aspirations, similarly detailed her obedience to her husband, William, even while he was away. Like the Paston men, William Stonor was often required to spend time away, leaving his wife Elizabeth in charge of the family land. Elizabeth frequently detailed the Stonor family affairs to her husband during his absences, just as Agnes and Margaret kept their respective husbands informed of local events affecting their family. In her letters, Elizabeth often noted the errands which she had completed for her husband. For example, in one letter she explained, “as for þe vj cowpull of haberndens, the which ye wryte ffore, they shall be bought and sente yow right shortly. And as ffor your gownys of chamlet and dublettes of sylke, I have bought hem: the which shall plese yow right well.”64 It appears that Elizabeth was not only concerned with providing her husband with the items he requested, but also with stressing her commitment to completing his errands. Furthermore, she recognized his material needs and took steps to ensure his comfort. On a practical level, such letters detailing obedience informed absent husbands of the attention to detail which their wives gave to the family and its material needs. Yet, the thought to include the fact that such errands were completed, often noting that it was done as the husband wished, reveals a commitment not only to one’s husband, but also to social convention, particularly proper behavior.

64 Carpenter, ed., Stonor Letters, no. 176. 74

Wifely obedience was clearly a trait encouraged by both male and female authors of courtesy literature, and one to which aspiring gentlewomen ascribed. Still, wifely obedience was a trait largely seen only by close relatives or others with whom a woman had repeated interactions. More visible, and therefore crucial to a woman’s public image was her participation in religious benefaction. Giving to the Church and providing for the remembrance of deceased family members constituted a very public commitment to religion which illustrated and buttressed, by their very ability to monetarily give to the Church, a family’s status.65 Since religious giving was public in nature, and thus seen by many, those aspiring to the gentry made various types of charitable contributions to demonstrate their rising status. Of these contributions, the provision for masses or prayers for the dead was one of the most common activities in which the gentry participated.66 Such an act demonstrated, generally for years following the death of an individual, both the status that the deceased had gained throughout his or her life and the ability of surviving family members to provide for this service. This outward manifestation of wealth clearly illustrated the rise in status of an individual family, further confirming their rightful place in the upper echelons of society. Medieval authors of conduct literature recognized the importance that religion had both in society at large and individual lives. With the significance of religion, conduct manuals often included instructions on all aspects of religious

65 Christine Carpenter, “Religion,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 136-137. For a more detailed discussion of the commitment which individuals had to the Church and their religion during the Late Middle Ages see Part I of Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England c.1400-c.1580 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005). 66 Richard Britnell, The Closing of the Middle Ages?: England, 1471-1529 (Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 1997), 157. 75

behavior, including items such as the frequency with which prayers should be said and the manner in which masses should be attended. In his instructions to his daughters, La Tour Landry detailed the value of praying for those who were deceased. To explain the need to perform such an act, La Tour Landry told a story of a girl who prayed for the souls of the dead while hiding from a man who she believed wanted to injure her.67 After finding her, the man decided to leave her unharmed because he believed he saw a large group of people surrounding her. By praying for the dead, the girl was protected from harm. For La Tour Landry this story was “a fayre example to praye for them that ben departed oute of this world at al tymes.”68 In his advice, a commitment to praying for the souls of the dead guaranteed that they would protect the living in return. This story illustrated the importance of remembering on a regular basis those who had died and not only in the moments when it was convenient for the living. Such prayers were mutually beneficial; they provided a benefit for the living while easing the suffering of departed souls. The deaths of both William and John I left Agnes and Margaret with the task of providing for the remembrance of their souls. As a family with a recent rise in status, it was important for the Paston women to demonstrate their gentility. One way these women exhibited their gentility was through their provision of religious gifts in memory of deceased family members. Beginning in 1466, Agnes composed a series of draft wills, detailing her last wishes. In one of these documents, dated 16 September, Agnes left instructions that a monk should receive compensation for singing “the masse of the Holy Goste in Our Lady

67 La Tour Landry, The Knight of the Tower, 4. 68 Ibid. 76

chapel in Norwiche, where he [William] purposed to leye his body, euery day iiij d. to sing and pray for his sowle and myn and al the sowles that he and I haue hade any goode of or be beholdyn to pray for.”69 In this draft, Agnes reiterated William’s desire that an individual should pray for the souls of the dead on behalf of the Paston family. Further, in her final will, Agnes confirmed that she desired to have a perpetual mass said for both her and her husband, leaving also funds for “the mending of the chappell of Our Ladie within the said place [], wheras Sir Thomas Gerbredge my grandfather and Clement Paston my sonn.”70 Thus she provided not only for remembrance but also for repairs needed at the chapel of Our Lady, where members of her family had been buried. This demonstrated Agnes’ commitment to giving to the Church and to her desire to participate in the gentry ideal of religious benefaction. Giving to the Church, whether in the form of money for perpetual masses or in providing funds to build or repair a section of the Church building, illustrated to the larger population the social status of a family or individual. In the case of the Pastons, their religious giving in Norwich was likely meant to confirm to their neighbors that they had firmly established themselves as members of the gentry and that they were able to participate in activities reserved for the upper echelons of society. After the death of John I in 1466, Margaret realized the importance that providing for his memory had to the image of the remaining family members. Writing to her son John III in 1471, several years after the death of his father, Margaret complained of the wasteful spending of his brother John II.71 For Margaret, John II’s spendthrift ways resulted in the neglect of his father’s grave,

69 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 31. 70 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 34. 71 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, no. 212. 77 an egregious consequence in her mind. Noting the severity of these actions, Margaret wrote that “yt is a schame, and a thyng þat is myche spokyn of in thys contré, þat ȝowr faders graue ston is not mad.”72 Clearly Margaret was concerned that John I’s gravestone was still not built five years after his death; however, her main concern appeared to be what those around her thought of the situation. The absence of a gravestone for John I caused the Paston’s neighbors to discuss the social position of the family. John II’s lavish spending did not leave money enough to provide for the memory of his father, an action strongly encouraged by the developing gentry culture. His inability to commission a gravestone for his father, due to his financial situation, brought negative attention to the Pastons. Considering the efforts that John I had put toward furthering the Paston family, likely the last thing Margaret wanted was for the family’s neighbors to begin to question their gentility. For Margaret, the provision for the dead was not solely a matter of religious devotion; perhaps more importantly, it also confirmed to others that the Paston family belonged in the gentry. Like the Pastons, other families aspiring to the gentry were concerned with maintaining their family image through providing remembrances for the dead. The Armburghs, although largely focusing on the family’s legal disputes, provide in their letters glimpses of the daily lives and experiences of individual family members. In one such example, Robert Armburgh discussed his role in the execution of his wife Joan’s will. Leaving instructions on how her affairs should be handled, Joan wrote that Robert “schulde dispose the money coming of the seid lyflode for her soule, her husbondis soulys, her aunceters soulys, her frendis soulys and for all cristin soulys.”73 Joan was clearly concerned with providing for

72 Ibid. 73 Carpenter, ed., Armburgh Papers, 173. 78 her own soul, however, she did demonstrate in her instructions to Robert a commitment to those who had already passed, including her first husband, her ancestors, and her friends. Robert appeared to take Joan’s instructions about the care of her soul seriously. Writing to his mother Sybil Palmer, John Palmer wrote that she should postpone her visit due to his grandfather Robert Armburgh’s financial situation. John noted that Robert was burdened by “what in gode doen for my granddame is [Joan’s] sovle sith the tyme of her deth.”74 According to John, his grandfather adhered to one of his grandmother’s last wishes in spite of the financial difficulty it placed on the Armburgh family. It is likely that Robert was not only fulfilling his late wife’s desires, but he was also providing for her soul to demonstrate to those around him that he was a member of the gentry who was dedicated to the maintenance of the souls of the dead. In a set of letters focused primarily on legal proceedings, the inclusion of Joan’s desire for the provision of her soul demonstrated the family’s commitment to the dead and likely its goal of strengthening the Armburgh family image. Religious giving was thus one way that families like the Pastons and Armburghs illustrated their social status to others. As I have discussed above, the letters of the Paston women demonstrate the concrete and representative ways that Agnes and Margaret exercised gentility. In their correspondence, Agnes and Margaret utilized proper behavior, as established in contemporary conduct literature, to define themselves in such a way as to confirm that they were not peasants reaching beyond their social station but instead that they belonged to the gentry. The Paston women were not alone in choosing to present a positive image through their missives; others, such as Joan

74 Ibid., 185. 79

Armburgh and Elizabeth Stonor, similarly emulated gentility, highlighting it in their correspondence. In their extant letters, each of these women constructed an image of herself that conformed to the ideal gentlewoman as defined by the developing gentry culture. In a sense, these women participated in proper behavior because it “was a flexible code by which the civil man could define and redefine his relationships within civil society.”75 Women in the gentry, or those aspiring to the gentry, used their polite behavior to demonstrate that they belonged to a distinct social group, interacting with others who shared their economic position and value system. The way in which these women presented themselves reflects a conscious effort to prove to others – family and neighbors – that they did indeed belong within the ranks of the gentry. Agnes and Margaret Paston recognized the importance of using polite behavior to further their familial interests. Their outward actions and appearance were particularly important, since the Paston family was attempting to rise above their initial professional status to join the ranks of the landowning gentry. Since the gentry was beginning to formally coalesce during the fifteenth century in England, to learn of the behaviors which the developing group considered acceptable, the Pastons examined literature, specifically conduct manuals, such as The Knight of the Tower and The Goodman of Paris. These manuals provided women such as Agnes and Margaret with the guidance they needed to enact and demonstrate their gentle status. In this way, conduct manuals greatly contributed to the development of the gentry culture, establishing a uniform image of the ideal gentlewoman. By promoting like values of behavior, those aspiring to the gentry subscribed to similar ideals to create a standardized reflection of gentility.

75 Anna Bryson, From Courtesy to Civility: Changing Codes of Conduct in Early Modern England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), 96. 80

The relationship between individuals and conduct literature demonstrates the societal pressure to adhere to certain types of behavior in order to create an acceptable image of the self and the family. Conduct manuals presented the rising professional class with an ideal image of the upper echelons of society, providing individuals with a standard which they could emulate to prove their own gentility. Yet this was not a static relationship where courtesy literature dictated the types of behavior which individuals such as Agnes and Margaret Paston could or could not present. Instead, individuals embraced some of the ideals presented in conduct literature, creating an image that was acceptable to society while still exhibiting their individual personalities and agency. Letter writing was one venue in which women like Agnes and Margaret Paston could demonstrate their commitment to gentry ideals. Subscription to the ideals given in courtesy literature, as seen in the extant letters of gentry families, concurrently allowed for a development of a group of individuals who participated in like behavior to form their own culture. Conduct literature was thus supremely important in the instruction of the developing gentry culture of Late Medieval England. Women – and men – used such ideals as a guideline for their own lives, while adapting these traits to their individual needs. The unification of individuals who had adapted these ideals in a similar way encouraged the formation of groups such as the gentry. In this way, conduct literature provided more than casual advice to the reader; instead, it enabled individuals to come together and define themselves as a distinct group, separate from the rest of society.

CONCLUSION

Through their letters in which they embraced and enacted traits such as wifely obedience and religious benefaction, Agnes and Margaret Paston each created for themselves an image of gentility. To learn which characteristics were most desirable for an aspiring gentlewoman to possess, these women turned to conduct literature such as The Knight of the Tower and The Goodman of Paris, which provided detailed instructions on what it meant to be a member of the upper classes in society, knowledge useful for families that desired to increase their social status. Although beneficial to individuals, the advice found in conduct literature was similarly useful in the formation of the English gentry and its culture.1 Courtesy manuals provided a guide for proper behavior for the upper echelons of society; as more professionals increased their wealth and standing,

they desired to gain the status previously reserved for the established nobility.2 One way of gaining such status, and distancing an individual from the peasantry, was by adopting and exhibiting the behavior of the nobility. This seemingly simple, but very public, act demonstrated that the individual understood what being a member of the gentry entailed. Furthermore, this behavior could be used as a marker for membership in a group – greater than peasant yet less than noble: the gentry. Women played a unique role in the development of the English gentry. Exhibiting proper behavior was a public manifestation that an individual had gained a raised status; however, an adherence to “good manners” was particularly

1 Raluca Radulescu, “Literature,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 101. 2 Philippa Maddern, “Gentility,” in Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 21-25. 82

expected of women. By outwardly manifesting the comportment of the gentry, women were able to demonstrate not only their acquired gentility but also by association the gentility of their family. As evidenced by the content of their letters, Agnes and Margaret Paston enacted proper modes of behavior to affirm their status as members of the gentry. By embracing society’s expectations that women should behave differently from men, Agnes and Margaret Paston were able not only to demonstrate that their family behaved like worthy members of the gentry, they were also able to impact the formation of the group’s culture. Good behavior was one element of gentility, a public trait which women were encouraged to present and one which they often embraced to gain social influence. All too often in the study of the history of women, females are grouped together solely because of their sex, largely ignoring differentiating factors such as class or race. As a result, the experiences of women are often homogenized, creating the mirage of a single “female” experience. For example, generalizing the situation of women in Early Modern Europe, Merry Wiesner noted that “women were outside of the social order because they were not as clearly demarcated into social groups as men. Unless they were members of a religious order or guild, women had no corporate identity at a time when society was conceived of as a hierarchy of groups rather than a collection of individuals.”3 As a whole, Wiesner recognized that women were generally not divided into specific groups or guilds, and this impacted their ability to influence the social order of Europe. However, in the case of the Paston women, Agnes and Margaret were clearly members of a developing and distinct social class, a fact which greatly impacted their lives and experiences. By embracing ideal gentle behaviors, Agnes

3 Merry E. Wiesner, Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 306. 83

and Margaret were able to contribute to the development of the gentry as a distinct entity. By making a conscious choice to embody such ideal traits, these women helped the gentry self-define, thus establishing a gentry “culture” in the fifteenth century. Thus in the example of Agnes and Margaret Paston, their association with the gentry played as influential a role in their lives as their sex. Contrary to Wiesner’s generalizations, the Paston women were a part of the social order and had an impact on the creation of the identity and image of the gentry as a class. Agnes and Margaret embraced female social convention, and used it to create a representation of themselves that was consistent with the overall image of the gentry. Gender and class were two realms in which women operated during the Late Middle Ages. However, it was a combination of these two elements which determined the experiences, and subsequent actions, of individuals. Women of the upper classes felt this conflict acutely. Susan Dwyer Amussen has argued that “as parents, mistresses and even as wealthy neighbours women might have authority over men – a contradiction which made gender a problem in the class system, just as class became a problem in the gender system.”4 All women were impacted by more than their sex; a woman’s social status affected her available opportunities and also her ability to influence those around her. As an heiress, Margaret Mautby brought coveted land and wealth to her husband John Paston I.5 Coming from a family with a higher status than the Pastons, Margaret also brought an expertise to her husband’s family in regards to how the upper classes operated in society.

4 Susan Dwyer Amussen, An Ordered Society: Gender and Class in Early Modern England (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 3. 5 H.S. Bennett, The Pastons and their England: Studies in an Age of Transition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), 2. 84

Margaret understood the relations and mannerisms needed to be genuine members of the gentry. She was accustomed to a position of power, and her insights would prove invaluable to the efforts of her new family. Margaret knew her position as a gentry woman, and knew how to manipulate society to achieve her desired goals, and those of her family. It was this knowledge that allowed women such as Margaret Paston to transcend the limitations of their sex, and participate in the development of English gentry culture. The Paston women thus exhibited gentility in two distinct ways, each of which impacted the position and status of the family. First, Agnes and Margaret exercised gentility by protecting the assets of the family. During the absences of their husbands, and following their deaths, these women actively maintained the family’s various affairs. As leaders of the family, Agnes and Margaret remained committed to their husbands’ desires to solidify the gentle status of the family and protect it from outsiders. In this way, they adhered to the gentry ideal of maintaining family lands, status, and wealth. The Paston women also utilized gentility in a representational manner, specifically to establish the status of the family. This representational manner of gentility included exercising proper behavior to demonstrate that they belonged to a higher social status than the peasants or yeomen. To learn of the behaviors encouraged by the gentry, Agnes and Margaret turned to the advice of conduct literature. These manuals directed the Paston women and others in a similar social position on the behaviors that were expected of the upper classes. By emulating the behavior encouraged in these manuals, the Paston women demonstrated their commitment to gentle behavior. In their letters, Agnes and Margaret consciously structured their thoughts in such a way as to present the idealized image of a gentlewoman. The semi-public nature of letters enabled these women to present 85

an image of gentility that would likely be seen by others than the letter’s intended recipient. By representing gentility in such a way, Agnes and Margaret demonstrated that they chose to adhere to the standards being adopted by the gentry as a group in the fifteenth century. The advice of authors like Geoffroy de La Tour Landry and the Ménagier clearly influenced the immediate actions of the Paston women. But the question remains, how did these conduct manuals contribute to the developing gentry culture of the Late Middle Ages in England? Examining one such instructional text, Felicity Riddy explained the ways the poem “What the Goodwife Taught Her Daughter,” shaped the identity of medieval families. Specifically, this poem encouraged self-definition, allowing groups, such as the gentry, to establish uniform values for its members.6 As a printed text, such advice was more easily spread to others. Similar to how medieval families utilized the advice present in “What the Goodwife Taught Her Daughter,” gentlewomen such as Agnes and Margaret Paston used conduct manuals like The Goodman of Paris and The Knight of the Tower to create a unified image of what it meant to be a part of the gentry. The decision of the Paston women to subscribe to the ideals presented in these manuals demonstrated their desire to solidify their position amongst the elite. Their decision alone did not mark the beginning of the gentry culture in England. It was the concurrent decisions of women in similar positions, like Elizabeth Stonor and Joan Armburgh that demonstrated the group formation qualities of conduct literature. The choice of numerous women in a similar class position to emulate the same behavioral traits encouraged the unification of the gentry as a group.

6 Felicity Riddy, “Mother Knows Best: Reading Social Change in a Courtesy Text,” Speculum 71, no. 1 (Jan., 1996): 69. 86

The Paston family lived at a point in history that enabled them to participate in the development of a new social class in England. The expansion of English government encouraged individuals such as William Paston to better their social position by entering a professional position, like the legal profession which the early Pastons pursued. This allowed for the economic advancement of families like the Pastons. However, there were parallel elements that promoted both social movement and the formation of groups of similar individuals. One such factor was the rise of the family as a social and political unit. Religion and the Church no longer defined the groupings of individuals; instead, individuals increasingly associated primarily with their families, a process finished by the accession of Elizabeth I.7 This decline in religion impacted more than the structure of the Church, it also altered the structure of society, causing a change in the way people thought about the traditions of England. The family was a natural element to focus on after the decline in religion. This emphasis on the family was especially relevant to the aspiring gentry as they needed to unify first the thoughts and actions of their close relations before attempting to join with other families in a similar position. As evidenced by the extant words of the Pastons, both male and female members of the family were concerned with the overall image of the family but also with the behavior of their close relatives. For example, in one instance, writing of her errands, Agnes Paston noted that “the sey Elyzabet Paston that che must vse hyr-selfe to werke redyly as other jentylwomen don, and sumwhat to helpe hyr-selfe ther-wyth.”8 Agnes was undoubtedly concerned about

7 A.L. Rowse, The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971), 85. 8 Norman Davis, ed., Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), no. 28. 87

the actions of her daughter and felt it necessary to write a reminder that Elizabeth should behave in the same manner as other gentlewomen. Aligning the interests of the family was one of the first unifying factors in the development of a cohesive gentry. The family’s rise in prominence influenced the way that individuals thought about society and its traditions. Similarly, other factors impacted the structure and organization of English society. The fifteenth century is often identified as an era in which a new sense of Englishness developed, a fact important not only for nation-building but also in promoting group formation. Growing lay vernacular literacy, particularly among rising professionals and the nobility, furthered a feeling of what it meant to be English.9 Yet the fact that more individuals could read did not define this Englishness; instead, it was what these individuals read that created a unified image. The growth of the vernacular encouraged the formation of an English national identity. A standard written English developed around London, the commercial center of the country, first adopted by the printer William Caxton for the translation of continental works and other texts printed and distributed throughout England.10 This use of the English language first, over French or Latin, separated the English from the continent and further defined them. This standardized English was necessary in shaping the identities of individual social groups that sought to expand their position within the larger populace. Printers like Caxton not only

9 Rosemary O’Day, The Professions in Early Modern England, 1450-1800 (Pearson Education Limited: Essex, 2000), 26-33, and Richard Britnell, The Closing of the Middle Ages?: England, 1471-1529 (Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 1997), 132-134. O’Day discussed the development of the professions in England, including the legal profession, and the impact that choosing an occupation had on an individual. One important element of her argument included the formation of professional groups who identified with one another not only because of their jobs but also their similar interests. Britnell takes group formation a step further, recognizing how individual groups organized during the fifteenth century, creating a sense of Englishness in the process. 10 Britnell, The Closing of the Middle Ages?, 133. 88

introduced standardized English through his press, but by printing a number of conduct manuals during the Later Middle Ages, including The Knight of the Tower, he perpetuated the types of behavior considered acceptable for various sectors of society, including the gentry. The unified English voice subsequently produced an English image that could be adopted and adapted by each of the separate sectors of society. In this way, a common language allowed individuals to come together, creating group identities that were intimately linked to England and its culture. The rise in importance of the family and the increase of printed works in a standardized vernacular provided the developing gentry with the framework to create a coherent class. Further, a concurrent change occurred in the evolution of the code of chivalry emulated by the elite. The concept of honor and worth of an individual was increasingly seen through social works rather than military feats.11 This change in emphasis was extremely beneficial to the efforts of rising families such as the Pastons. Achievements through the professions, like the legal occupation of William Paston, began to be recognized as honorable pursuits.12 No longer did an individual have to participate in war to achieve honor for himself and his family. Medieval authors like Dante, Boccaccio, and Chaucer increasingly associated nobility with noble deed rather than birth; in fact, their words encouraged a nobility defined by wealth and learning, a concept which further enabled social mobility.13 The Late Middle Ages encouraged a change in the meaning of personal honor; no longer was it reserved for the military prowess of the . Honor became something that those of humble birth, such as the

11 Diane Bornstein, Mirrors of Courtesy (Hamden: Archon Books, 1975), 59. 12 O’Day, The Professions in Early Modern England, 179. 13 Bornstein, Mirrors of Courtesy, 60. 89

Pastons, could gain for themselves through economic achievement and learning. However, wealth and literacy did not instantly provide an individual with status

and honor, rather, one needed to behave like the nobility to enter its ranks.14 The Pastons took advantage of these changing definitions of honor and nobility during the Late Middle Ages and skillfully manipulated these concepts to their advantage. It is likely that women such as Agnes and Margaret Paston knew of the need to properly present oneself to the public, and this focus permeated the images seen in their letters. The Paston family represents one manifestation of the varied forces which encouraged social mobility for the professional class in England. We have knowledge of their experiences and activities based on the sheer volume of extant documents left by the family. However, the individual experiences set the Pastons apart from others aspiring to the gentry; they are one example of those rising to the gentry, but they are likely not representative of the experiences of the gentry as a whole. Clearly the Pastons participated in events which were common amongst the ranks of the gentry. For example, William and Agnes Paston arranged for a propitious marriage for their son John I, an act which was common, even expected, for gentry families.15 Furthermore, William utilized his position as a legal professional to gain wealth and land.16 Particularly the acquisition of land, after gaining wealth, was a natural step for the gentry to take, for it truly established their increased position in society. Such activities largely characterized the development of the gentry class in fifteenth-century England.

14 Ibid., 61. 15 Colin Richmond, The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 121. 16 Ibid., 23. 90

By participating in such events, the Pastons contributed to the development of the gentry as a class of like-minded persons. Individual experiences of aspiring gentlemen and gentlewomen may have varied, but their shared experiences encouraged them to form a distinct social entity in the gentry. Studies of the gentry as a separate social entity have only recently begun to examine the intricacies of the group and its foundation. Furthermore, the lives and experiences of gentlewomen have only superficially been examined, largely due to the limited amount of information left by women.17 With this limited information, the opinions recorded by Agnes and Margaret Paston in their letters become more important to the study of gentlewomen. In spite of the substantial insight provided through the letters of Agnes and Margaret, we cannot assume that their experiences were representative of all gentlewomen. For example, Agnes and Margaret had a significant influence on the lives of their children and in the direction of the Paston family largely due to the length of their lives spent as dowagers after the deaths of their respective husbands.18 Not all gentlewomen outlived their husbands, eliminating their chances to have an expanded influence in their family like the Paston women did as widows. One contradicting experience was in the life of Joan Armburgh, who died before her husband Robert.19 Joan’s shorter life prevented her from asserting influence and guiding her family as dowager, an experience well documented by the Pastons. Similarly, Elizabeth Stonor was outlived by her husband William, who eventually remarried

17 Only a number of studies on gentlewomen of the Late Middle Ages in England exist. For examples of this scholarship, see: Peter Coss, The Lady in Medieval England (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000), and Ffiona Swabey, Medieval Gentlewomen: Life in a Gentry Household in the later Middle Ages (New York: Routledge, 1999). 18 Davis, ed., Paston Letters I, liii, liv, lv, lvi. 19 Christine Carpenter, ed., The Armburgh Papers: The Brokholes Inheritance in Warwickshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, c. 1417- c. 1453 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 173. 91

after her death.20 The long lives of Margaret and Agnes Paston obviously created more opportunities for them to impact not only their family, but also the developing gentry culture. As widows, they had more active roles in the public affairs of the family and their actions ultimately impacted the status of the Pastons. Agnes and Margaret Paston may not have been typical gentlewomen during the fifteenth-century in England. Yet an examination of the manner in which they used the advice in courtesy literature to learn and exhibit proper behavior in their letters demonstrates the forces at work in the development of the gentry. The gentry was clearly a social and political group that consisted largely of those with professional positions that participated in the governance of England. Yet the members of the gentry were not solely concerned with politics and their professions; social factors, such as the way in which an individual behaved, further defined one’s class position in an England where the upper classes were expected to act in a more “civilized” manner than the peasantry. In this way, the exhibition of proper behavior demonstrated to the public the social standing of an individual and their family. Regardless of wealth, the absence of such behaviors encouraged criticism from peers which could lead to the alienation of an individual from their adopted social group. Rising individuals, like the Pastons, particularly needed to transcend the position of a parvenu to become established members of the gentry. The most obvious demonstration of their gentle status was their exhibition of behavior deemed appropriate for members of the gentry. Agnes and Margaret Paston likely understood the importance of distancing oneself from the peasantry, and the family’s humble origins, and each of these women desired to create an image of gentility through their correspondence.

20 Christine Carpenter, ed., Kingsford’s Stonor Letters and Papers 1290-1483, Camden Classic Reprints (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), xxviii. 92

In their letters, the Pastons detail the social, economic, and political changes occurring in England. The Paston Letters provide insight into the daily lives of a family during the Late Middle Ages, making the collection important to the research of historians. However, it is in going past the basic details of the letters that we truly discover the wealth of information the Pastons left in these extant documents. As two of a limited number of medieval women leaving written documents, Agnes and Margaret Paston are especially important to examinations of not only the lives of women but the ways that they were impacted by the social and political transformations of the fifteenth century. Through their correspondence, both of these women demonstrate the ways that they exercised gentility to increase not only their own social standing but that of their family. Gentility was not based solely on land and wealth; additionally, the exhibition of proper behavior proved to society that individuals like the Pastons belonged in the gentry. Participation in such behavior was one venue in which women contributed to their families’ rise in status. In this way, the letters of Agnes and Margaret Paston specifically illustrate the ways that women engaged in the founding of a gentry culture in fifteenth-century England.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier De Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by a Citizen of Paris (C. 1393). Translated by Eileen Power. London: George Routledge & Sons, LTD., 1928.

Carpenter, Christine, ed. Kingsford’s Stonor Letters and Papers 1290-1483. Camden Classic Reprints. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

______, ed. The Armburgh Papers: The Brokholes Inheritance in Warwickshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, c. 1417- c. 1453. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998.

Davis, Norman, ed. Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971.

______, ed. Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century. Vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.

De Pizan, Christine. The Book of the City of Ladies. Translated by Earl Jeffrey Richards. New York: Persea Books, 1998.

______. A Medieval Woman’s Mirror of Honor: The Treasury of the City of Ladies. Translated by Charity Cannon Willard. New York: Persea Books, 1989.

La Tour Landry, Geoffroy de. The Knight of the Tower. Translated by William Caxton. London: 1484.

Rickert, Edith. The Babees’ Book: Medieval Manners for the Young: Done into Modern English from Dr. Furnivall’s texts. London: Chatto and Windus, 1923.

Stapleton, Thomas, ed. Plumpton Correspondence: A Series of Letters, chiefly domestick, written in the reigns of Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII, and Henry VIII. London: Johnson Reprint Company, 1968.

95 Secondary Sources

Allmand, Christopher. The Hundred Years War: England and France at War c. 1300 – c. 1450. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Amos, Mark Addison. “‘Manners Make Men’: Bourdieu, De Certeau, and the Common Appropriation of Noble Manners in the Book of Courtesy.” In Medieval Conduct, ed. Kathleen Ashley and Robert L.A. Clark. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.

Amussen, Susan Dwyer. An Ordered Society: Gender and Class in Early Modern England. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Altman, Janet Gurkin. Epistolarity: Approaches to a Form. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1982.

Armstrong, Nancy and Leonard Tennenhouse, ed. The Ideology of Conduct: Essays in Literature and the History of Sexuality. New York: Methuen & Co., 1987.

Bennett, H.S. “Caxton and His Public.” The Review of English Studies 19, no. 74 (Apr., 1943): 113-119.

______. The Pastons and Their England: Studies in an Age of Transition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951.

Boffey, Julia. “Women authors and women’s literacy in fourteenth- and fifteenth- century England.” In Women and Literature in Britain, 1150-1500, ed. Carol Meale. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Bornstein, Diane. Mirrors of Courtesy. Hamden: Archon Books, 1975.

______. The Lady in the Tower: Medieval Courtesy Literature for Women. Hamden: Archon Books, 1983.

Britnell, Richard. The Closing of the Middle Ages?: England, 1471-1529. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.

Bryson, Anna. From Courtesy to Civility: Changing Codes of Conduct in Early Modern England. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.

Carpenter, Christine. Locality and Polity: A Study of Warwickshire Landed Society, 1401-1499. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 96 ______. “Religion.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

______. The Wars of the Roses: Politics and the Constitution in England, c. 1437-1509. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Castor, Helen. Blood and Roses: One Family’s Struggle and Triumph During England’s Tumultuous Wars of the Roses. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.

Chartier, Roger, Alain Boureau and Cécile Dauphin. Correspondence: Models of Letter-Writing from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.

Cherewatuk, Karen and Ulrike Wiethaus, ed. Dear Sister: Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 1993.

Constable, Giles. Letters and Letter-Collections. Brepols: Turnhout, 1976.

Coss, Peter. “The Formation of the English Gentry.” Past and Present, no. 147 (May, 1995): 38-64.

______. The Lady in Medieval England. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000.

______. The Origins of the English Gentry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Crabb, Ann. “‘If I could write’: Margherita Datini and Letter Writing, 1386- 1410.” Renaissance Quarterly 60 (2007): 1170-1206.

Curry, Anne. The Hundred Years War. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Davis, Norman. “A Paston Hand.” The Review of English Studies 3, no. 11 (Jul., 1952): 209-221.

Dockray, Keith. “Why Did Fifteenth-Century English Gentry Marry?: The Pastons, Plumptons and Stonors Reconsidered.” In Gentry and Lesser Nobility in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Michael Jones. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986. 97 Dronzek, Anna. “Gendered Theories of Education in Fifteenth-Century Conduct Books.” In Medieval Conduct, ed. Kathleen Ashley and Robert L.A. Clark. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.

Duckett, Eleanor. Women and their Letters in the Early Middle Ages. Baltimore: Barton-Gillett Company, 1965.

Duffy, Eamon. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England c.1400-c.1580. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.

Elias, Norbert. The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations. Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.

Fleming, Peter. Family and Household in Medieval England. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

Gies, Frances and Joseph. A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England. HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.

______. Women in the Middle Ages. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1978.

Gillingham, John. “From Civilitas to Civility: Codes of Manners in Medieval and Early Modern England.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Sixth Series, 12 (2002): 267-289.

Given-Wilson, Chris. The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages. London: Routledge, 1996.

Goldsmith, Elizabeth C., ed. Writing the Female Voice: Essays on Epistolary Literature. Boston: Northeast University Press, 1989.

Green, David. Edward the Black Prince: Power in Medieval Europe. London: Pearson, 2007.

Gretton, R. H. The English Middle Class. London: G. Bell and Sons, LTD., 1917.

Guillén, Claudio. “Notes toward the Study of the Renaissance Letter.” In Renaissance Genres: Essays on Theory, History, and Interpretation, ed. Barbara Kiefer Lewalski. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.

Harris, Barbara J. “Property, Power, and Personal Relations: Mothers and Sons in Yorkist and Early Tudor England.” Signs 15, no. 3 (Spring, 1990): 606-632. 98 Hindman, Sandra L. “With Ink and Mortar: Christine de Pizan’s ‘Cite des Dames.’” Feminist Studies 10, no. 3 (Autumn, 1984): 457-483.

Horrox, Rosemary, ed. Fifteenth-century attitudes: Perceptions of Society in Late Medieval England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Hull, Suzanne. Chaste, Silent & Obedient: English Books for Women 1475-1640. San Marino: Huntington Library, 1982.

______. Women According to Men: The World of Tudor-Stuart Women. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 1996.

Keen, Maurice. “Chivalry.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Maddern, Philippa. “Gentility.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

McFarlane, K. B. The Nobility of Later Medieval England. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.

Miner, John Nelson. “Schools and Literacy in Later Medieval England.” British Journal of Educational Studies 11, no. 1 (Nov., 1962): 16-27.

Morgan, D.A.L. “The Individual Style of the English Gentleman.” In Gentry and Lesser Nobility in Late Medieval Europe, ed. Michael Jones. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986.

Musson, Anthony, and W.M. Ormrod. The Evolution of English Justice: Law, Politics and Society in the Fourteenth Century. British Studies Series, ed. Jeremy Black. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

O’Day, Rosemary. The Professions in Early Modern England, 1450-1800. Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2000.

Payling, S.J. “Social Mobility, Demographic Change, and Landed Society in Late Medieval England.” The Economic History Review 45, no. 1 (Feb., 1992): 51-73.

Postan, M. M. The Medieval Economy and Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. 99 Power, Eileen. Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535. Cheshire: Biblo and Tannen, 1988.

Radulescu, Raluca. “Literature.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Radulescu, Raluca and Alison Truelove. Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Richmond, Colin. The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: The First Phase. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

______. The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: Fastolf’s will. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

______. The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century: Endings. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000.

Riddy, Felicity. “Mother Knows Best: Reading Social Change in a Courtesy Text.” Speculum 71, no. 1 (Jan., 1996): 66-86.

Rowse, A.L. The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971.

Schneider, Gary. The Culture of Epistolarity: Vernacular Letters and Letter Writing in Early Modern England, 1500-1700. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2005.

Scott, Joan Wallach. Gender and the Politics of History. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Shaw, David Gary. Necessary Conjunctions: The Social Self in Medieval England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Sponsler, Claire. Drama and Resistance: Bodies, Goods, and Theatricality in Late Medieval England. Medieval Cultures, ed. Rita Copeland, Barbara A. Hanawalt, and David Wallace, no. 10. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

Swabey, Fiona. Medieval Gentlewomen: Life in a Gentry Household in the later Middle Ages. New York: Routledge, 1999. 100 Thomas, Keith. The Ends of Life: Roads to Fulfilment in Early Modern England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Truelove, Alison. “Literacy.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Youngs, Deborah. “Cultural networks.” In Gentry Culture in Late Medieval England, ed. Raluca Radulescu and Alison Truelove. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. Gender in History. New Perspectives on the Past. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.

Wiesner, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. California State University, Fresno

Non-Exclusive Distribution License (to make your thesis available electronically via the library’s eCollections database)

By submitting this license, you (the author or copyright holder) grant to CSU, Fresno Digital Scholar the non-exclusive right to reproduce, translate (as defined in the next paragraph), and/or distribute your submission (including the abstract) worldwide in print and electronic format and in any medium, including but not limited to audio or video.

You agree that CSU, Fresno may, without changing the content, translate the submission to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation.

You also agree that the submission is your original work, and that you have the right to grant the rights contained in this license. You also represent that your submission does not, to the best of your knowledge, infringe upon anyone’s copyright.

If the submission reproduces material for which you do not hold copyright and that would not be considered fair use outside the copyright law, you represent that you have obtained the unrestricted permission of the copyright owner to grant CSU, Fresno the rights required by this license, and that such third-party material is clearly identified and acknowledged within the text or content of the submission.

If the submission is based upon work that has been sponsored or supported by an agency or organization other than California State University, Fresno, you represent that you have fulfilled any right of review or other obligations required by such contract or agreement.

California State University, Fresno will clearly identify your name as the author or owner of the submission and will not make any alteration, other than as allowed by this license, to your submission. By typing your name and date in the fields below, you indicate your agreement to the terms of this distribution license.

Melissa Marie Morris Type full name as it appears on submission

11/19/2010

Date