Uxores,ancillae and dominae: women in thirteenth-century Hungary in the Register of Várad

Women’s history for Árpád-era Hungary (1000–1301) has generally been restricted to legal issues and the royal court. This study addresses these deficiencies by examining women in the Register of Várad in regard to three areas of investigation: marriage practices and the involvement of the Church, access women had to property and the access women had to authority. Evidence from the register indicates that by the thirteenth century, ecclesiastical ideas regarding marriage were barely making themselves felt. Ideas of consent and even the indissolubility of marriage were at times unimportant. Though priests were occasionally present at marriages, their role was not decisive. Women had three primary means of obtaining property. They could receive gifts or dower on the event of their wedding, and they could receive a portion of the patrimony. This inheritance was termed the quarta filialis as it amounted to no more than one-quarter of the father’s property. These gifts came under the control of the woman’s husband, and she could not access them until his death. Widowhood combined with guardianship of a minor son could allow women to exert considerable power and, just as elsewhere in Latin Europe, women’s access to public and private authority most approximated that of men’s as a widow. Not all women, of course, had access to such power. The Register of Várad shows numerous instances of women slaves who were under the complete control of their master.     

Uxores, ancillae and dominae: women in thirteenth-century Hungary in the Register of Várad

Women’s history for Árpád-era Hungary (1000–1301) has generally been restricted to legal issues and the royal court. This study addresses these deficiencies by examining women in the Register of Várad in regard to three areas of investigation: marriage practices and the involvement of the Church, access women had to property and the access women had to authority. Evidence from the register indicates that by the thirteenth century, ecclesiastical ideas regarding marriage were barely making themselves felt. Ideas of consent and even the indissolubility of marriage were at times unimportant. Though priests were occasionally present at marriages, their role was not decisive. Women had three primary means of obtaining property. They could receive gifts or dower on the event of their wedding, and they could receive a portion of the patrimony. This inheritance was termed the quarta filialis as it amounted to no more than one-quarter of the father’s property. These gifts came under the control of the woman’s husband, and she could not access them until his death. Widowhood combined with guardianship of a minor son could allow women to exert considerable power and, just as elsewhere in Latin Europe, women’s access to public and private authority most approximated that of men’s as a widow. Not all women, of course, had access to such power. The Register of Várad shows numerous instances of women slaves who were under the complete control of their master.     

Royal slaves in the Danish-Norwegian West Indies 1792–1848: Living in autonomy

A group of slaves owned by the King of Denmark-Norway, termed Royal Slaves, performed essential and specific functions in the urban colonial society of the Danish-Norwegian West Indies. This article traces the development of this group of slaves and examines their standard of living and level of skills compared to plantation slaves in the Danish-Norwegian West Indies. The article argues that the Royal Slaves, through their access to provision grounds, had opportunities for a better life and developed a particular group identity, and that particular Royal Slaves possessed skills which led them to have positions of substantial social status in the social hierarchy of colonial society. Lastly, the article compares the conditions of living of the Danish-Norwegian Royal Slaves to Royal Slaves in other contemporary slave communities in order to further assess how, and if, the Danish-Norwegian Royal Slaves lived and worked under considerably different conditions than other Royal Slaves across the Caribbean.     

秦及汉初简牍中的“外妻”

"外妻"初见于睡虎地秦简,指隶臣"外妻",新出《岳麓书院藏秦简(伍)》中又有"奴外妻"。"外妻"之"外"指妻与夫的身份存在良与贱、庶与奴的差异。隶臣"外妻"特指隶臣自由民身份的妻。秦及汉初"隶臣"的性质可按来源不同分为"刑徒"和"官奴婢",有"外妻"者身份一般为"刑徒"。隶臣"外妻"需提供隶臣"从事公"时的衣服,后改为"冗作"而官府"勿禀食"。隶臣家庭有一定财产,其经济收入来源于从事商业活动及雇佣劳动等。隶臣"外妻"所生子女承袭出生时其父的身份。"奴外妻"特指私家奴的自由民身份的妻。私家奴与"外妻"在身份上虽有奴庶之别,但私家奴对"外妻"有夫权和家长权。奴与"外妻"的婚生子女身份从父,但奴对子女无父权。"外妻"现象是秦及汉初"良贱为婚""庶奴为婚"的一种反映。