Wives: Partnership and Patriarchy

Abstract Wives who were living in households headed by their husbands occupied the most powerful, socially desirable position open to aristocratic women in Yorkist and early Tudor England, with the exception of the tiny number who combined marriage with appointments at court. Wifehood constituted a career that incorporated reproductive, managerial, political, and social functions essential to the survival and prosperity of their husbands’ patrilineages. With few exceptions, wives devoted their energy and attention to their marital families and the households in which they resided from the time they married. But these responsibilities required them to look beyond their residences and to maintain ties with their natal kin, more distant marital relatives, and friends at court since they needed these networks to advance their husbands’ and sons’ careers and arrange their daughters’ marriages. Wives also remained important to their families of birth by serving as intermediaries for them with their husbands and in-laws. Wives who carried out these duties successfully were rewarded materially for their accomplishments and earned the love and respect of their husbands and the admiration of their wider circle of family and friends.