Departure from the peace-weaver: Rethinking the power of women in medieval England

The word peace-weaver, freoduwebbe in Old English, is a term that is only found in three places in Old English literature; however, in some scholarly circles a peace-weaver is characterized as a common fixture in the Anglo-Saxon and even Anglo-Norman cultural fabric. Among some modern critics of Old English literature, a peace-weaver is thought to be the female connective link between two, often feuding, tribes or kingdoms, and marriage of the peace-weaver into the opposing party is meant to strengthen peace between the two groups. Usually directed towards a queen or highborn woman, the term has restrictive qualities as she is said to be a passive character who does her best to calm aggression between the men who hold political power in the two groups to which she is related. The Old English sources for freoduwebbe , however, do not support the interpretation that a peace-weaver is contingent upon marriage or even always referring to a woman. The peace-weaver motif has been used as an interpretive lens to not only understand women in Old English literature, but also to describe the probable social roles of women in actual Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman society. In an historical context, it is the least effective way to describe the abilities of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman queens and noblewomen, and their potential for political power. This thesis will critique the peace-weaver label and will argue that it unnecessarily limits our understanding of female power in early medieval England.