Common Women: Prostitution and Sexuality in Medieval England

by Ruth Mazo Karras

Through a sensitive use of a wide variety of imaginative and didactic texts, Ruth Karras shows that while prostitutes as individuals were marginalized within medieval culture, prostitution as an institution was central to the medieval understanding of what it meant to be a woman. This important work will be of interest to scholars and students of history, women's studies, and the history of sexuality.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Feminism, Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intriguing and readable book. I chose to read it for a graduate level Middle English class, and while I cant say that I couldn't put it down, I did enjoy reading it and found myself spouting random facts from it to anyone who would tolerate my trivia. I've read several other articles by Karras and she hasn't failed me yet. Common Women is a great book for those interested in the subject matter.

[Caroline Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read if you’re looking for a factual overview of the topic. The author’s analysis of the economic conditions that lead to a change in the ways that prostitution is practiced and socially received - falls short. However the careful archival research can serve as a platform for future analyses, as Silvia Federici has done in “Caliban and the Witch” (I heard of this book through Federici’s citations). Overall, I would recommend if you’re looking for historical information on prostitution or gender relations (but only so far as it pertains to cis women) specific to Medieval England. Other reviewers are correct in that the author repeats facts over and over again to the point that it feels monotonous.

[Deyanira C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but the last 2 chapters were repetitive.

Anyway this explains very well how was prostitution in medieval England of course what can be known thanks to strange records most of them because of legal cases, so from that the author tries to build for us a full picture of factors that surrounded the prostitution like : payments, causes, religion, laws, pregnancy, pimps. From that we can get to imagine how could be the life of a prostitute in medieval England but of course we don't know thoughts, feelings or a true full life, since there is no something like a biography, so sadly you will not get much information, but there are many curiosities that I honestly didn't expect, like the slavery of young girls and how they were used, and also how church men were very involved in prostitution. All in all a good reading.

[Sohvi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has gotten a bit old, I would recommend reading research made more recently, especially if you are looking source material for your studies. However this was not a bad book in it's own time frame. Research seemed solid and facts were there, but writing could have been better and newer studies tend to be more comprehensive.

Also, this book had an incredible amount of repetition, which was very frustrating. The same things were told over and over again and that drove me nuts.

As a research this was ok, even good if you consider it was written over 15 years ago.
As a book I didn't like it. Not very well written and the constant repetition made me think whether the author had enough things to say.

NOTE: I read this book for my studies maybe 2 or 3 years ago so it's been a while. You might want to take that in consideration when thinking whether my review of this book has any merit.

[Quin Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative, brief account of sex work in medieval and early modern England, especially it's role in regulating women more generally. The control of sex workers was broad enough to label almost any woman a "whore" or the equivalent thereof, thus ensuring that women's independence was viewed with suspicion and highly regulated. While the author does at times lapses into "savior" rhetoric (ie that all sex workers were wholly forced into the work), she does for the most part maintain a focus on the constrained agency of sex workers, as well as how the criminalization, regulation, and condemnation of sex workers oppressed all women. Can be a bit dry at times as the author does lay out evidence at length, but I consider this a strength, especially in a history text. This is a particularly compelling read when paired with Silvia Federici's "Caliban and the Witch."

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book on a difficult subject. I have quibbles--some of the evidence is self-defining--views of 'whores' and 'prostitutes' as seen by courts and the church are always going to be the most severe views--but her survey of the evidence is excellent and her conclusions hard to resist. I also found it pretty easy to read. One thing I would suggest is that eatery reader go through the introduction, where she lays out her arguments, before the main text. I didn't--had to go back.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://jenninsf.wordpress.com/2006/0...

[kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

First finished: March 15, 2006
Second finished: December 6, 2011

[E. V. Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my History of Prostitution class. It was very engaging and looked at sex work from many different angles: religious, economic, socio-political, medical, etc.

[Katie O’Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

LATE MEDIEVAL, but still interesting.