"By royal power and command" : maidens (and other women) in towers -- Confinement of women in war and armed conflict -- Other species of "garde" -- "A dreary and solitary place" or "honourable captivity"? -- Wrongful imprisonment and abduction -- "Countless ravishments of women"? -- Common law -- Escaping the confines of the common law -- "Not averse to the arrangement"? -- Other roles -- Agency and contagion
Summary
This study of the confinement of women highlights the disparity in regulation concerning male and female imprisonment in the middle ages, and gives a useful perspective on the nature of medieval law, its scope and limitations, and its interaction with royal power and prerogative. It examines situations in which women might be imprisoned without formal accusation of trial; how social status, national allegiance and stage of life affected the chances of imprisonment; the relevant legal rules and norms; the extent to which legal and constitutional developments in medieval England affected women's
