Turning the hourglass: Gender relations at the deathbed in early modern Canterbury

Abstract

The paper examines the gender relations and tensions that surrounded and informed deathbed practices in early modern Canterbury. Based on a detailed analysis of church court materials it argues that gender was a significant factor in the organization and management of dying. The care and attendance of the sick and dying were commonly associated with women's work and duty. As wives, neighbours, friends and servants women contributed in important ways to the preparations for death. Women were, however, largely marginalized during willmaking—the ritualized production of a text which was to guide the distribution of the deceased's wealth and a set of practices which were mainly conducted by high-status, professional men. The representation of women as figures which were required to be present at the deathbed and to watch over and tend the dying, combined with the representation of men in terms of their production of the will document, gave rise to gender divisions and differences. The process of dying often i...