3. Households: Structures, Priorities, Strategies, Roles

Early Modern England: Politics, Religion, and Society under the Tudors and Stuarts (HIST 251)

Professor Wrightson lectures on the structures of households in early modern England. Differentiating between urban and rural households, the households of great lords and those of yeoman, husbandmen, and craftsmen, the varying structures and compositions of households are discussed. The process by which households were established, courtship and marriage, are addressed. Stressing the various ways in which early modern households differed from modern notions of the home, Professor Wrightson analyzes the roles played by individuals within them. The positions occupied by women and the array of tasks that they were expected to perform in furtherance of the household economy receive detailed attention, as do the experiences of children. Professor Wrightson discusses the manner in which households could be affected by external crises, such as plague or harvest failure, and touches on the strategies and steps employed by householders to ensure survival of this important unit.

00:00 - Chapter 1. The Household
05:45 - Chapter 2. "Huswifery"
14:48 - Chapter 3. The Role of Children
17:54 - Chapter 4. The Priority of Survival
24:11 - Chapter 5. Providing for the Future
28:47 - Chapter 6. Marriage

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2009.