A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c.1295-1344 (review)

Reviews 167 Bennett, Judith M., A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c.12 1344, Boston, McGraw-Hill College, 1999; pp. x, 147; 26 b / w illustrations; R.R.P. US$19.55 (paper). , A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c.1295-1344 is a mos book Not only does Judith Bennett attempt what is, to m y knowledge, the first scholarlybiography of a medieval peasant since Eileen Power's Medieval People (and Bennett's work is m u c h more detailed than Power's), but she writes about a female peasant. In addition, the story of Cecilia Penifader provides a starting point for a broad-ranging social history textbook. After a general introduction to the 'feudal system', manors, their records and Cecilia's h o m e manor of Brigstock in particular, Bennett discusses Cecilia's life in relation to the 'three orders', with a chapter devoted to each. 'The World Around Her' contains a useful examination of the advantages and disadvantages of medieval farming systems, as well as considering peasant work and housing. Here, as consistently throughout the book, Cecilia is compared to other peasants in terms of status, as Bennett clarifies the implications of medieval social structure. A further strength of A Medieval Life is the integration of diverse information into the narrative: in this chapter, for example, a discussion of family size leads Bennett to examine herbal contraceptives; later, a passage concerning peasant mobility branches into a consideration of antiSemitism and the story of St. H u g h of Lincoln. 'Lords, Ladies and Peasants' examines the position of peasants in relation to their manorial lords, as well as freedom and serfdom, and their associated rights and obligations. Bennett also discusses Brigstock's special position as part of the ancient demesne, and the unusual situation whereby the peasants leased the manor from their lord. In the following chapter, w e learn about the relationship of peasants to their parish church and their clergy, and, in some detail, about the significance of and ritual associated with the important medieval holy days. With a similar breadth of material and explanation, Bennett goes on to examine the Great Famine of 1315-1322, the meanings of kinship and household at different life-cycle stages, marriage and inheritance, the household economy and the importance of the land market in peasant economic strategies. The varied meanings of community from a peasant's perspective and the responsibilities of being part of a community are also 168 Reviews considered, with discussion ranging from the community of the realm, and its levies and laws, to Cecilia's relationships with her neighbours. Bennett points out the effects of gender on a peasant's life throughout this book, and she also devotes a chapter to the position of w o m e n and m e n in the medieval peasant community. Cecilia's lifetime, that is, the first half of the fourteenth century, was important as a period when many aspects of peasant life were in transition, and Bennett blends this wider perspective into her text. In the final chapter of A Medieval Life, entitled 'Medieval Peasants, Modern People', Bennett lucidly discusses the practice and implications of historical interpretation as compared to the collection of facts, a topic unfortunately lacking in m a n y short textbooks. Three approaches to interpretation are considered: 'understanding the past as an antecedent to the present; using it as a tool for understanding h u m a n society in general; and examining it as a w a y to see the present more clearly'. From a teacher's perspective, such a discussion should be very helpful in encouraging undergraduate history students to think critically. Bennett has drawn on the court rolls of Brigstock manor for the detail of Cecilia's life, and for information about her family and other Brigstock peasants. But it is clear that m u c h wider research, both primary and secondary, informs the bulk of this book. Given the textbook format and associated publishing constraints, the lack of detailed citations is understandable, though I hope that teachers would take the opportunity to discuss the relevant primary sources, and the reasons for the...