Sources for Medieval History of Women

Abstract

The essay investigates some of the sources for the study of medieval history of women in the territory of present-day Slovenia. Among the most genuine sources, documents speak about the way of life, activities, marriages, dowries, the custom of the so-called jutrnja (husband’s present to his wife the morning after their wedding day), deaths, births, wills, inheritance systems, et cetera. Additional valuable data can be found in town statutes, chronicles, sermons, hagiography, and on coins, coats of arms, and seals. However, the works of writers and artists of that period, both ecclesiastical and secular, represent by far the most numerous available sources on the subject.