medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Ms Brenda M. Cook wrote:
>
> This equation of "key" and "sceptre" fascinates me. A key is surely
> the insignia of a woman - in Anglo-Saxon graves the long iron thing
> with a crossbar at the end is the store-cupboard key and signifies
> she is the Lady - the "Loaf-distributor" i.e. she who rations fairly
> the food supply, she who controls the store cupboard and sees that if
> there is famine (an ever=present risk) that the hunger is not
> confined to the lower orders.
I though that Lady was "loaf-kneader", and that she was in charge of the
Dairy - which is where bread is made :-)
Christine Fell has argued that the word "locbore", translated by a previous
(male) scholar as "long-haired" in the law of King Aetherbert of Kent ('If a
freewoman with long hair commits any misconduct, she shall pay a fine of 30
shillings'), actually means "in charge of keys":
'If a freewoman, being in charge of keys, is found to be dishonest she must
pay a fine of thirty shillings.'
(C.Fell, 'A friwe locbore Revisited', Anglo-Saxon England, Vol. 13 (1984),
pp 157-165. See also: 'Words and Women in Anglo-Saxon England' in C. Hough
& K.A. Lowe (eds) 'Lastaworda betst' : essays in memory of Chritine E. Fell,
(Shaun Tyas, 2002) )
John Briggs
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