WHAT HAVE WILLS GOT TO DO WITH IT? WOMEN'S RELIGIOUS PATRONAGE IN EARLY REFORMATION ENGLAND, C.1530–1558: EVIDENCE FROM THE PCC. Issue 1 (April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomson, Stephanie
• Is Part Of: Archives. Volume 54:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 15
• Page End: 31
• Publication Date: 2019-04
• Subjects: English Reformation -- wills -- early modern women -- patronage -- The National Archives
• DOI: 10.3828/archives.2019.3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-9535

Abstract

Abstract : Despite the attendant methodological issues, probate records are an invaluable source for the study of lay piety and the English Reformation. This article examines some of the ways in which wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, now held in The National Archives, can inform our understanding of women's patronage during this period of religious change. It focuses in particular on women's support for preaching, their bequests of objects to churches and clergy, and their sponsorship of domestic chaplains, but also addresses some of the broader implications of this research.