An In-Depth Analysis of Barbara Hanawalt's The Ties that Bound

In the Medieval village, the family was extremely important. Some could even make the argument that the power of family was everything or at least the glue that kept everyone's lives held together. The important thing to consider with The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England is that Hanawalt's perspective, arguments, and evidence are different than what has traditionally been presented for findings from that time period. Through Hanawalt's arguments and evidence, she reveals the inner workings of these peasant families and reveals why the family was so important in Medieval England.

For starters, Hanawalt urges the reader to disregard what they have learned about families in Medieval England, calling historians and scholars of the time period incomplete in their analysis and study of the family in Medieval England.1 With this in mind, it is possible to see the role family played in Medieval England. Essentially, the family was judge, jury, and executioner of daily life. That is to say, the family "was the basic economic unit for working the land, producing and socializing the younger generation, and finally passing on wealth from one generation to another."2 Essentially, this means that the family had a part in virtually all aspects of life in Medieval England, more than in today's world, most certainly. The sheer versatility that the familial establishment possessed meant that it was a vital part of any village, as each family was seen as a unit, which oftentimes would produce commodities, such as grain and, later, livestock, both of which were considered precious at many times during this period.3

The role that families played in the well-being of society, especially in the face of such misery and despair, cannot be denied, as the effects they had were profound. Families were collectively responsible for the well being of each individual village, so that each village, as each individual family, was considered a unit, or cell, that would farm the land in service of whatever greater authority presided over it.4 In that respect, families were the individual cogs, while society itself was the machine, making families an integral part of society even if the signs of social stratification were already present, especially during that time period. Another important factor that contributed to the way families helped to recover from misery and despair at the time (due to things like famine and the black plague) was twofold. First, they came together in hours of need. This helped from an emotional standpoint, as they allowed for the loss of family members to disease, famine, war, or another disaster, much more evenly distributed, paying homage to the phrase "misery loves company."5 From a more practical standpoint, families were able to recover economically from times of hardship due to the efficiency with which they were able to farm and profit. After the black death killed millions of people between 1347 and 1350, families were forced to take up new ways to improve their farming and profit potential.6 To do this, they utilized extremely organized crop farming, as well as techniques such as farm rotation, which allowed them to leave sections of land without crops and focus on specific areas at a time in order to give the nitrogen time to replenish.7 In doing this, families were able to recover from the misery and despair that affected many people during this time, both on an emotional and economic level. This also segues into the common misconception that Medieval life during this period was "all gloom," largely due to the black death, but this simply was not the case. Blood ties were stronger than ever during this time period, with a firm, established head of the household to act as an emotional focal point for the rest of the family.8 Furthermore, evidence discovered around this time found that there were still numerous games, competitions, and general merrymaking which seemed to indicate that life was still, relatively speaking, happy for these people.9 It is likely that society and families, in general, focused on work and familial bonds in an effort to not focus on the pain of losing crops and loved ones.

There are a number of ideas and practices during this time that would be considered alien to someone living in the twenty-first century, and not because of technological reasons, either. For starters, standards of living during this time were, somewhat expectedly, much below that of the average for a first-world country. While this, in and of itself, is not exactly alien, this was also combined with cramped, small households, and, as if that was not bad enough, they were, collectively, responsible for a set goal; usually the harvesting of a certain amount of crops or livestock.10 The key difference here between that time period and modern-day is that dysfunctional families, of which there were many, even during Medieval times, had to not just live with each other, but also accomplish a specific goal, which oftentimes required working together for extended periods of time.11 This is in stark contrast to families today, in which it is generally normal for members of a household to have different vocations and responsibilities. Another alien concept is the concept of marriage within the family in Medieval England. Marriage was ruled by ecclesiastical jurisdiction for an extremely long time, meaning the church had control over who could and could not be married.12 This was in addition to the power that the head of household had at the time, as oftentimes they would arrange a marriage between two non-consenting adults for reasons that were sometimes although frequently not related to love.13 This somewhat fatalistic view toward marriage was nevertheless a common staple of family life in Medieval England, and one that went on for centuries, perhaps even longer.14 These concepts in family would likely seem alien to the casual observer, who is used to much more freedom in one's daily life; something that was largely lacking in Medieval England at that time. Nevertheless, they were still able to overcome their numerous hardships, and this is largely because of the structure, power, and determination that families during that time possessed.

Bibliography

Campbell, B. M. S., and Ricardo A. Godoy. Common Field Agriculture: The Andes and Medieval England Compared. No. 220. Cambridge: Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University, 1986.

Hanawalt, Barbara A. The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England. Oxford University Press, 1986.

Helmholz, Richard H. Marriage Litigation in Medieval England. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

McCloskey, Donald N., and John Nash. "Corn at Interest: The Extent and Cost of Grain Storage in Medieval England." The American Economic Review 74.1 (1984): 174-187.

Woolgar, Christopher Michael. The Great Household in Late Medieval England. Yale University Press, 1999.