Interpreting the Western Past with the Women and the Households Left in, 1500-1800 by Mary S. Hartman

In this Chapter from The Household and the Making a History, Mary Hartman states that the late marriage pattern in Northwestern Europe and the fact that brides were nearly as old as grooms when entering into marriage had far reaching consequences and was the motivating factor in the most important developments of the era namely religious upheaval, new systems of political authority, and transformed structures of livelihood.

She argues throughout that she goes against the original view that the strong currents of social change moved from wider society to households but rather she argues from households to the wider society. Concerning the Reformation, more people then ever before were seeking personal reasons for the ways they were supposed to live their lives. "The comparatively independent position of wives as partners in household governance also helped ensure that more women then ever before would have common interest with men, as well as some peculiar interests of their own, in becoming active heretics."(Hartman, p.214) Younger people were making more choices for themselves and had more responsibilities and looking for a towards a supreme being who had a preordained their fate.

She tells us that daily experiences in family life set the stage for political behavior. The late marriage pattern created more choices for young people including whom and when to marry this created families that contained two contributing adult decision makers. This is important because it represents an voluntary contract in which both partners agree to create and maintain the unit and both must contribute by supporting and sustaining members. This shaped the perception of state and politics as a voluntary contact. She also address the industrial reformation and tells up that the lalte marriage pattern created nuclear families that came to rely on alternate means then possesion of land to facilitate a living. This and the women in the work force prior to marriage contributed greatly to the industrial revolution.

Hartman argues that Households and work structures accompanying woman's late marriage had an enormous effect on gender arrangements and attitudes, one that literally shaped societal relations, structures, and developments" (Hartman, p.224) The uses a wide range of evidence from a study of the professions and work of the middle class to the traditions of village festivals to sermons. He evidence does seems to support her theory.

Mary S. Hartman, “Marrying Early and Marrying Late.”

The Mary S. Hartman reading connects three themes-marriage, gender and law, state and church.

At the beginning of 2^nd chapter Hartman is using Thomas More work Utopia to compare household structure in England (page 37). She is analyzing Utopia to show how English society was seen from many Utopian aspects.

In this chapter Mary S. Hartman is discussing marriage development of the West in relationship of the rest of the world. On page 39 she identifies northwestern European family patterns like late marriage, significant number who never marry, domestic service, nuclear household. She is noticing family pattern differences between the East and the West. Later Hartman compares family patterns with the rest of the world (China, India, and Morocco).

Mary S. Hartman also discusses early-marriage to late-marriage and shows that change to late-marriage has affected modern life. On page 54 she argues that agricultural production and seasonal agriculture works in Northwestern Europe affected late-marriage for both men and women.

Micahel Psellos, “A Brief Biography of Michael Psellos” and “The Court Memorandum”

“A Brief Biography of Michael Psellos” and “The Court Memorandum”


The biography of Michael Psellos and the introduction immediately preceding “The Court Memorandum” both provide information that allows the reader to better understand the significance of the “The Court Memorandum.” The introduction serves to address the questions of authorship that have arisen from the memorandum. Since Psellos was one of the involved parties in the dispute, it seems unlikely that he would have been the author of the manuscript based on the court proceedings. Furthermore, the report is written from the perspective of the judges, which would not have included Psellos since the case involved both him and his daughter. However, the author of the introduction, David Jenkins, is able to combine the different interpretations of authorship from several other scholars, and by systematically exposing their flaws and assumptions, he is able to construct a reasonable argument that does in fact, place Psellos as the author, even though he was an involved party in the case.

The biography also assists in establishing Psellos as the author of “The Court Memorandum.” By introducing Psellos as the immensely knowledgeable and gifted speaker he was, his writing patterns can be identified in the memorandum. In addition, by reviewing Psellos’ fluctuations in power and wealth, the reader is introduced to the fact that Psellos would have likely arranged the marriage of his daughter so far in advance, and with such an impressive dowry, since it was very possible that he could lose financial stability and be unable to provide the same amount in the future. The supplementary readings to Psellos’ primary source allow the reader to develop a deeper understanding of the issues behind “The Court Memorandum” and to better understand the background that lead to the development of the memorandum itself and the interpretations that scholars have made of it over the past.
Joseph Schindler

How Northwestern Europe was Strange: Marriage, Households, and History

In the first Chapter of The Household and the Making of History, Mary Hartman shows the link between the age of marriage, household structure, gender roles and how Western Europe progressed from what she called a "backward periphery on the western fringes"(pg 1) into one of the more advanced areas of the world. She argues that while in most social arenas men were the dominate players, but that through domestic arenas, and thus women, many of modern history's best features are the result of marriage and the household system. Despite the generally excepted notion of very young marriages in the medieval era, Hartman argues that people actually tended to marry at an older age. She says that by marrying later many women first worked outside of their homes and when they did get married the couple tended to pool their resources and start their own nuclear family. Hartman claims that streamlined households would explain, in part, why the economical changes that led to industrialization occurred. towards the end of the chapter Hartman once again reminds us that she believes that women helped shape the world and history just as much as men did, and that women are not often given the credit they deserve in the writing of history.