Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600
Author: Judith M Bennett
Women brewed and sold most of the ale consumed in medieval England, but after 1350, men slowly took over the trade. By 1600, most brewers in London were male, and men also dominated the trade in many towns and villages. This book asks how, when, and why brewing ceased to be women's work and instead became a job for men. Employing a wide variety of sources and methods, Bennett vividly describes how brewsters (that is, female brewers) gradually left the trade. She also offers a compelling account of the endurance of patriarchy during this time of dramatic change.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History
[This] us a brilliant and provocative book....Bennett has written a book the conceptual perception of which extends to all historians interested in gender and in power.
Speculum - Ben R. McRee
Bennett's study is bold in its sweep, thoughtful in its analysis, and provocative in its argument. Its conclusions offer an important challenge to prevailing views of women's work, one that will reshape discussion of the subject for years to come. The questions that it leaves open and to which scholars will now have to address themselves concern the relationship between brewing and other sorts of work in which women were engaged. Bennett has initiated an important discussion that should produce a deeper, more nuanced understanding of women's work in the Middle Ages.
Table of Contents:
| List of Abbreviations | xiii | |
| A Brief Note on Conventions and Terms | xv | |
| 1 | Brewsters | 3 |
| 2 | When Women Brewed | 14 |
| 3 | New Markets, Lost Opportunities: Singlewomen and Widows as Harbingers of Change | 37 |
| 4 | Working Together: Wives and Husbands in the Brewers' Gild of London | 60 |
| 5 | New Beer, Old Ale: Why Was Female to Male as Ale Was to Beer? | 77 |
| 6 | Gender Rules: Women and the Regulation of Brewing | 98 |
| 7 | These Things Must Be if We Sell Ale: Alewives in English Culture and Society | 122 |
| 8 | Women's Work in a Changing World | 145 |
| Appendix | Interpreting Presentments under the Assize of Ale | 158 |
| Notes | 187 | |
| Bibliography | 237 | |
| Index | 251 |
New interesting textbook: Grand Livre De Cuisine or Ethnic Food Lovers Companion
Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well
Author: Pellegrino Artusi
First published in 1891, Pellegrino Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene has come to be recognized as the most significant Italian cookbook of modern times. It was reprinted thirteen times and had sold more than 52,000 copies in the years before Artusi's death in 1910, with the number of recipes growing from 475 to 790. And while this figure has not changed, the book has consistently remained in print.
Although Artusi was himself of the upper classes and it was doubtful he had ever touched a kitchen utensil or lit a fire under a pot, he wrote the book not for professional chefs, as was the nineteenth-century custom, but for middle-class family cooks: housewives and their domestic helpers. His tone is that of a friendly advisor - humorous and nonchalant. He indulges in witty anecdotes about many of the recipes, describing his experiences and the historical relevance of particular dishes.
Artusi's masterpiece is not merely a popular cookbook; it is a landmark work in Italian culture. This English edition (first published by Marsilio Publishers in 1997) features a delightful introduction by Luigi Ballerini that traces the fascinating history of the book and explains its importance in the context of Italian history and politics. The illustrations are by the noted Italian artist Giuliano Della Casa.
