Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


  • Record Number: 45663
  • Author(s)/Creator(s): McDougall , Sara
  • Contributor(s):
  • Title: Singlewomen and Illicit Pregnancy in Late Medieval France: The Case of Marie Ribou (1481)
  • Source: French Historical Studies 44, 3 ( 2021): Pages 529 - 558. Available with a subscription from Duke University Press: https://doi.org/10.1215/00161071-9005021
  • Description:
  • Article Type: Journal Article
  • Subject (See Also): Infanticide Law Mothers Pregnancy Sexuality Single Women
  • Award Note: Feminae Article of the Month October 2022
  • Geographic Area: France
  • Century: 15
  • Primary Evidence:
  • Illustrations:
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  • Abstract: This article examines the consequences of extramarital pregnancy for women in late medieval France. Pregnancy outside marriage is typically thought of as a disaster for women and children alike and for their families. However, careful analysis of records of royal pardon, other legal and prescriptive sources, and a wide range of other materials all suggests otherwise. The article demonstrates that, at least for some single mothers in late medieval France, illicit pregnancy did not necessarily mean disaster at all. Pregnant women could help themselves, and were helped by others. All this has important implications for our understanding of the regulation of sexuality and reproduction in late medieval France, and of the role of mercy in medieval justice. [Reproduced from the article page on the Duke University Press website: https://doi.org/10.1215/00161071-9005021]
  • Related Resources:
  • Author's Affiliation: John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
  • Conference Info: - , -
  • Year of Publication: 2021.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN/ISBN: 00161071 (print); 15275493 (online)