The Ties that Bind

This collection of essays, whose title echoes that of her most well known book, reflects both the broad range of topics which Professor Hanawalt has broached in her career as a medieval historian and also the range of topics her graduate students felt empowered to explore while they worked with her. Offering a wide methodological and disciplinary range, from political history to social history, and a broad range of sources, from public records to chronicles and literature, the contributors tackle subjects from the identification of alien clothworkers to the communal aspects of the mayor of Norwich's body; from the self-creation of noble widows to the community creation of chaste women collectives. The introduction further provides an overview of the influence of Barbara Hanawalt's work on modern-day medieval studies.