In this biography of the extraordinary fourteenth-century English noblewoman, Elizabeth de Burgh, Frances A. Underhill illuminates the obstacles to uncovering the life of a medieval woman. As the lady of Clare and a granddaughter of Edward I, Elizabeth was related by blood and marriage to many of England's great families, was extremely wealthy in her own right, and founded several institutions including Clare College, Cambridge. Her life is comparatively well documented; while her letters have not survived, her household accounts have and provide much of the detail that enrich Underhill's account. Numerous other records--foundation charters, the Close Rolls, the Patent Rolls, and so on--provide additional information about Elizabeth's activities and relationships. Despite the relative fullness with which her affairs and actions are documented, the intimate parts of Elizabeth's life remain hidden. Her relations with her three husbands, her motives for taking a vow of chastity after her third widowhood, her affections for her grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends, and her devotion to Franciscan spirituality, can only be inferred from the dry accounts that remain. Underhill acknowledges that we would like to know more but cannot. Her careful interpretation never stretches the evidence too far, but still underscores Elizabeth de Burgh's courage in the face of difficulties and dangers and finally her determination to structure her own life.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the major events, political and personal, that shaped Elizabeth's life. As daughters of Gilbert de Clare and Joan of Acre, she and her two sisters were rich prizes in the marriage game, and in 1308 at age 13 Elizabeth was married off to John de Burgh, heir to the earldom of Ulster. John died five years later, leaving her with one son and jointure lands in Ireland which would supply her an income for almost fifty years. When her brother Gilbert died at Bannockburn in 1314, his sisters became the heirs to the vast Clare estates, and the young widowed Elizabeth saw her value as a marriage partner rise sharply. Her uncle Edward II probably intended to marry her to one of his court favorites, as he had earlier married Elizabeth's sister Margaret to his then-favorite Piers Gaveston. This did not happen, as a nobleman named Theobald de Verdon abducted her from Bristol Castle and married her in 1316. Was Elizabeth complicit in this? The history of abduction followed by marriage, a not uncommon practice in late medieval England, has not been fully explored. As Underhill points out, many women were seized, raped, and forced into marriage. On the other hand, a 'sham' abduction could conceal a woman's free choice, and Elizabeth may well have opted for Theobald in order to thwart her royal uncle's plans. In the event, the groom died just months later, leaving Elizabeth a widow for the second time and pregnant with her second child.
Emphasizing the vulnerability of even the wealthiest and best- placed noblewomen, Underhill comments that "Neither money nor power, title nor status, protected them from natural calamity, personal loss, or political violence." (12) Nor, one might add, from the rapacity of men. Elizabeth was now a wealthy twenty-one year old woman whose closest male relation, her uncle the king, controlled her future. Edward II cared little for her, seeing her only as the means to promote his own personal and political ends; for this reason he forced her into marriage with a new favorite, Roger Damory. This marriage too produced one child, before Damory ensnared himself in the dangerous political webs of Edward II's reign and was killed. Because Damory had led a revolt against the king, his widow Elizabeth suffered from the king's vindictiveness. Edward II threatened her estates, and of course had the right to force on her yet another marriage.
With her life seemingly a permanent pawn in a royal chess game, Elizabeth de Burgh moved to take control of her lands and her future. She dictated a secret memorandum recording her grievances against the king, she petitioned parliaments (unsuccessfully) for redress against attempts to steal some of her lands, and she supported the successful coup mounted by Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer against Edward II. Finally, Elizabeth foreclosed any further marriages by taking a vow of chastity. She entered into the state of permanent widowhood, "the only route to independence and liberation from male control" (44) for fourteenth-century women, and it is at this point that we see Elizabeth de Burgh emerge from the shadows of her husbands and their political entanglements.
The last part of Chapter 1 reviews Elizabeth's life from the 1330s until her death in 1360, highlighting her capable administration of her estates, the organization of her household, the gift-giving and hospitality that characterized the nobility, her sympathy with the Franciscans, and finally her religious and educational foundations. In fact, later chapters treat these topics in more detail, as each one focuses on a particular aspect of Elizabeth's life: estate management, relations with friends and family, politics and patronage, and piety. This organization of the book leads inevitably to some repetition. As part of Chapter 1's chronology of Elizabeth's life, for instance, Underhill relates the unhappy fate of her son William, murdered in Ireland in 1333. A fuller account of William's character, life, and death then appears in Chapter 3. Chapter 1 recounts Elizabeth's foundation of a Franciscan house at Walsingham as an example of her religious patronage, and Chapter 5 discusses it again. Despite such redundancy, this structure has clear advantages. Having established the chronology of Elizabeth's life in Chapter 1, Underhill is then free to focus her analysis on how Elizabeth shaped the second half of her life as a permanent widow, great lady, and important patron.
Chapter 2, "Her Good Estate", examines the basis of Elizabeth's wealth and power--the extensive lands she controlled in Ireland, Wales, East Anglia, Dorset, and the Midlands, which made her one of England's richest people. Elizabeth was a highly competent manager who took a personal interest in the exploitation of her estates, which provided not only a large income but also provisioned her household with game, fish, wool, fuel, and other necessities. Underhill concludes from her careful examination of the household accounts that the lady of Clare (so-called because her primary residence was Clare Castle) spent grandly in public, as befitted a great noblewoman, but economized when prestige was not at stake. The complexity of her household is underscored by the detailed picture of its arrangements: one baking day could produce over 2,000 loaves of bread; more than 48,000 gallons of ale were brewed and purchased in 1328-29; livery costs alone could be 200 pounds per year. Clearly, this vast enterprise required various kinds of expertise, and Elizabeth recruited men to her council, her "upper management team" (82), who could oversee her far-flung affairs and guard her legal and economic interests.
Elizabeth's relations with family and friends form the subject of Chapter 3, in many ways the most fascinating part of the book. The serial marriage pattern of the nobility left Elizabeth with complicated family ties; she had, for example, six half-siblings in addition to her two sisters and brother. She bore three children herself, but also had step-children from her Verdon marriage who remained close to her. Her three marriages gave her numerous in-laws, and with some she maintained contact for life. Such a dizzying array of family connections can be hard to follow, and genealogical charts would have helped to decipher them. Underhill pays close attention to Elizabeth's connections with female relations: sisters, daughters, nieces, step-daughters, and others. Clearly Elizabeth maintained close relations with many of these women, prompted as Underhill suggests by duty and self- interest, but probably by affection as well. Elizabeth's friendships with other noble widows, including Queen Isabella and Countess Mary de St Pol, seem more clearly based on warmth of feeling and mutual regard. Records of visits, letters, gifts, special meals of swans and herons, show Elizabeth's fondness for these women.
Chapter 4, "Politics and Patronage", demonstrates the "ways in which a female could build a political base" (119) and her need to do so. Elizabeth had learned that neither lands, money, nor royal kinship could guarantee her security. For this reason she cultivated men of importance, in both East Anglia and the royal government, who would regard her business with favor. She offered them hospitality, gifts of money and livery, and employment. She cultivated ecclesiastical foundations as well, paying special attention to three houses in East Anglia traditionally associated with the Clare family. In detailing and assessing Elizabeth's patronage, Underhill shows the complex calculations that shaped her patronage and underscores the profound mutual dependencies that bound together fourteenth-century society.
Elizabeth de Burgh, lady of Clare, is best remembered today for her foundation of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and Underhill emphasizes the significance of this act, which "initiated the idea that the nobility might care about and fund the spread of knowledge" and showed that "females could play a key role in the learning enterprise". (148) Chapter 5, "Piety and Prestige", demonstrates that the foundation of Clare Hall was in many ways the culmination of Elizabeth's spiritual and intellectual life. She had made multiple pilgrimages to Walsingham and Canterbury, owned books that indicated a keen interest in learning, left money for the poor, supported an anchoress, started chantries, and became increasingly interested in the Franciscans for whom she founded a friary at Walsingham. Clare Hall, however, distinguished Elizabeth as "a serious figure who merited attention, rather than a mere female" (143), and brought her the rewards of prayers, prestige, and an ongoing connection with educated men and the intellectual life.
Underhill's careful chronicle of Elizabeth de Burgh's life reveals the complex nature of a noblewoman's relationships and activities, and also points to the gaps in documentation. There is much we will never know. Underhill sometimes appears too cautious in her conclusions; she claims, for example, that gender never became an "obvious focus" for Elizabeth (152) while also noting that she became "increasingly devoted to female spiritual potential..." (151) evidenced by her attention to the Minoresses in London. The notes are difficult to follow as they are grouped without running page numbers in the back of the book. The index is far too limited, comprised primarily of proper names and place names. Overall, however, this biography is a valuable addition to the history of medieval women and to the history of patronage and the noble household in the fourteenth century.