Maintenance Meed, Meed, and Marriage in Medieval English Literature

Maintenance, Meed, and Marriage in Medieval English Literature explores how the relationship between husbands and wives were used as an analogy to relationships between men through an exploration of literary and documentary sources. The Meed passus in PPl provide the best example of the legal practice of coverture in Middle English literature, and are a focal point of the book. Meed’s inability to act because she is a woman contrasts with her duty to act as a lord, and conversely suggests some ways in which men were constrained as well. Investigating these passus in this fashion provides an opportunity to identify both female and male characters in Middle English texts who are experiencing similar tension. An earlier version of the material on PPl appeared as ‘Retaining Men (and a Retaining Woman) in PPl‘, YLS, 20 (2006), 191-214. (KEK)