The Language of Abuse

Download or read book The Language of Abuse written by Sara Butler and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-03-31 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Language of Abuse provides the first comprehensive examination of marital violence in later medieval England. Drawing from a wide variety of legal and literary sources, this book develops a nuanced perspective of the acceptability of marital violence at a time when social expectations of gender and marriage were in transition. As such, Butler’s work contributes to current debates concerning the role of the jury, levels of violence in late medieval England, the power relationship within marriage, and the position of women in medieval society.