Gender, Power and the Politics of Access in the Fourteenth Century

Abstract

The central thesis of this study is the analytical interrogation of the relationship between gender, power and the politics of access in the fourteenth century. It concludes that, though there were undeniably gendered expectations and norms in fourteenth century English socio-politics, the methods through which individuals transgressed these norms, and the punishments for doing so, were not, overall, solely gendered, but rather determined by other factors as well. Using curated comparative case studies, this project examines the intersection of three of the key forces - gender, power, and the politics of access - to bring about significant moments of socio-political shift in the fourteenth century, such as the deposition of Edward II and the accession of Edward III. The first part of this thesis begins in the early fourteenth century with an examination of the comparative masculinities of Edward II and Roger Mortimer. It then introduces the woman they had in common, Isabella of France, to explore how her femininity affected her ability to access and exert power throughout an array of networks. The second part comparatively examines four so-called `Royal Favorites': Alice Perrers, Katherine Swynford, Piers Gaveston and Robert de Vere. Using the framework established earlier, this section isolates and then interrogates these case studies by examining their gender, marital and sexual statuses, and social and economic statuses.